this music meme thing

Adam passed the baton he got from Rudi for this music meme. I usually ignore memes, but it was from a friend, so ...

But first, a word about music and me. I’m not obsessed with music. If I had an iPod, I’d probably load it with more books than music. There are musicians I like a lot and never grow tired of, but I don’t HAVE to have music playing all the time. In fact, having music playing for any length of time while I’m working, for example, begins to annoy me—unless I’m in the flow. Then I like it.

My husband considers me a music moron. Maybe. But I’m quite deaf, so listening to anything is work for me. I’m not totally deaf, mind you—I have about 30% of hearing. Born that way, nerves never developed, nothing to be done about it. Hearing aids don’t work (though the new digital ones seem like possibilities—IF I could afford one).

I won’t go into detail about the music that influenced my life—I’m nearly 50, so that would take way, way too much time. I don’t like most jazz. Back in the sixties, I preferred the Beatles to the Stones and that hasn’t changed much.

I’m not crazy about heavy metal live because it makes my ears bleed.

Springsteen, Paul Simon, U2, Robert Johnson, Leo Kottke, Fred Neil, yes. Motown—this is embedded into my psyche since I grew up in a Detroit blue-collar ‘burb during Motown’s finest hours.

I like Eno, Kitaro, Enya as well as Owen, Low, Alexi Murdoch, Tom Waits. I love acoustic guitar played well, bottleneck guitar played by someone who’s been through some rough times, blues by singers not well-fed white boys, minimalism.

I know all of the words to “Build Me Up, Buttercup” from listening to it repeatedly on WKNR and then later after buying it as my first 45, but won’t sing it because I can’t carry a tune.

I like quite a bit of country music but don’t listen to it much. Rap is interesting to me because my New York City middle school students taught me a lot about it. I like quite a bit of classical music, but don’t seek it out. I don’t like screechy vocals or all this over-emoting crap that all sounds the same.

But, here is the meme, then I really have to get some work done.
Total volume of music on my computer:
First, I use a laptop with those crapola harmon/kardon speakers built in, so it’s not exactly a thrilling experience to listen to music on my computer. And I don’t have an iPod. So, the answer is 270 MB, about 70 songs. That’s what, about 3.5 hours worth? When I hear a song I like a lot, I generally try to buy the CD and then listen to it on Stanley’s computer since I got him really good speakers for it for Christmas a few years ago.

The last CD I bought:
Ghosts of the Great Highway, Sun Kil Moon. And I listen to it a lot.

Song playing right now:
Nothing. The last song I heard was, hmm, oh yes, on WFUV: something by Aimee Mann, then a song by Chris Isaak, then something smarmy by Al Green.

Five (or so) songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:
Stand by Me ONLY by Ben E. King
Blue Guitar, Cowboy Junkies
Carry Me Ohio, Sun Kil Moon
White Room, Cream
Dinosaur Act, Low
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, Paul Simon
I’m on Fire, Bruce Springsteen
Late Summer, Early Spring (Season Suite), by John Denver
Everybody’s Talkin’, Harry Nilsson
Orange Sky, Alexi Murdoch
and on and on and on.

Five Victims People To Whom I’m Passing The Baton:
Well, let’s see. There’s Kate, and Stanley of course. And Les. And Tony. And Ben, if I can figure out how to reach him via email and get him to comment.

There. Done.

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