iv - Day 04 – Your music, in great detail

In my family, there's a longstanding tradition of answering a question with a question.  Lest this blog get backed up by another post that'll take far too long to vocalize, I present:

Answering a meme with a meme, part I:
30 minutes of music

Minute 01 - Your favorite song: "Push" by the Cure.  The guitar parts in this song just drive to the heart of me.
Minute 02 - Your least favorite song: Umm.  Having a hard time with this one.  Why waste brain space on something like this?  The only thing I can come up with right now is "Lady Lumps" by Fergie.  Ugh.
Minute 03 - A song that makes you happy: "Around the World" by Daft Punk.  I always smile when I remember an old buddy, Al, dancing around a pool table drunk acting out the dance moves from the video to this song.
Minute 04 - A song that makes you sad: "Hurt" by Johnny Cash.  An unlikely cover, but wow.  I identify with the Reznor version of this song, but Cash brings it to a whole new level.  If this song doesn't destroy you, you're not really listening to it.
Minute 05 - A song that reminds you of someone: There isn't just one, really.  Every important person in my life has at least one song I associate with them, as do some folks along the edges who could have been bigger players under other circumstances.  If you're reading this and you're curious, you can ask in the comments and I'll tell you what your song is.
Minute 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere: Umm, "Ostia" by Coil.  The white Cliffs of Dover, an area of England that's always held an interest for me, for reasons both mundane and morbid.  
Minute 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event: "Drive" by REM was in heavy rotation on my walkman towards the end of high school and I'll always associate it with that transition period in my life.
Minute 08 - A song that you know all the words to: Pick a Cure song, any Cure song!  It's possible they're my favourite band, ever.
Minute 09 - A song that you can dance to: Give me a 120 bmp 4/4 beat, distorted (preferably ESL) vocals and analog synths and I can find a way to move to it (or make fun of it, or both).  But a special favourite of mine would have to be "Suspended" by Numb.  That Gordon guy really had a thing going and I'm sad he stopped making music when he did. 
Minute 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep: This actually isn't possible: if I like a song it'll hold my attention, and if I don't, it'll irritate me.  Either way, no sleep while there's music on!
Minute 11 - A song from your favorite band: "Disintegration" by The Cure.  I never understood why this one didn't end up on a single, it really deserved the extra attention.
Minute 12 - A song from a band you hate: "Two Princes" by the Spin Doctors.  Man, I hate those guys.
Minute 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure: "Dancing with Myself" by Billy Idol.  Don't ask, I can't explain.  I had to go out and buy Guitar Hero 5 IMMEDIATELY after seeing that this song was on the track list, thanks to an episode of Castle.
Minute 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love: Man, I like all kinds of random stuff, and I get the sense no one really knows what to expect from me anyway, but I'll say, uh, "I'm on Fire" by Bruce Springsteen.
Minute 15 - A song that describes you: I'm hard pressed to think of a whole song that does an adequate job of describing me (what with my not having been the object of many...er, scratch that, any...musician's burning need to write a song).  These lyrics from "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in my Hands" by the "Primitive Radio Gods" seem apt:

Am I alive or thoughts that drift away?

Does summer come for everyone?

Can humans do what prophets say?

If I die before I learn to speak

Can money pay for all the days I lived awake

But half asleep?

Minute 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate: I have to say this isn't possible.  That part of me that really connects with a song never goes away or changes its mind.  The closest I come to this is having songs I'm not in the mood to listen to in the moment.  Right now, for instance, I'm not inclined to pop in any Cubanate.
Minute 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio: I haven't actively listened to the radio since, um, high school? So, no radio = no answer!
Minute 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio: See above.
Minute 19 - A song from your favorite album: Though The Cure is by far my favourite band, ever, my favourite album, ever, would have to be "The Downward Spiral" by Nine Inch Nails.  "Ruiner" is the first track that comes to mind.  The original is good, and the remixes are better.  Good fodder for my angstiest moments.
Minute 20 - A song that you listen to when you’re angry: "Electrocution" by Front Line Assembly.
Minute 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy: Another hard one.  I tend not to seek out music when I'm in a good mood, so I'd have to say whatever finds its way into the random shuffle on my MP3 player.
Minute 22 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad: "Inama Nushif" from the "Children of Dune" soundtrack.  Dune's my favourite book/series, and our family dog Harley died around the time they aired the Dune Messiah/Children of Dune miniseries on TV.  This haunting song, which I would have loved on its own merits, has the benefit of reverberating on several layers.
Minute 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding: Too late!
Minute 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral: Screw that noise, I don't believe in an afterlife, and I have a hard enough time imposing my oddball musical preferences on the people around me as it is.  Why would I do that to them if I'm not there?
Minute 25 - A song that makes you laugh: "Detachable Penis" by King Missile.  Take one part suburban express bus, one part maladjusted quasi-punky teenager, thirty parts business-suit clad bureaucrats, and one well timed airing of "Detachable Penis" on CKCU college radio.  Good times!
Minute 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument: My latest project is "Under the Bridge" by RHCP.  Not cause I like the song that much, but John Frusciante is a genius and I'm trying to pick up some of the seemingly effortless flourishes he brings to otherwise pretty simple chord progressions.
Minute 27 - A song that you wish you could play: "Cliffs of Dover" by Eric Johnson.  It's at the edge of guitar-god wankery but it's still a catchy tune.  Moreover, I think with enough practice I might eventually be able to get to play it.
Minute 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty: "RU486" by NCC.  I'm pretty sure I completely, 100% disagree with the contents of the lyrics (never been able to find them online, not that I'm that eager to know), but the music is really good, one of the better tracks to come out of the industrial scene a decade ago.
Minute 29 - A song from your childhood: "Abracadabra" by Steve Miller.  If I had a dollar for every time my younger sister sang that chorus when she was little, I'd be a very, very rich man.  I'd also be able to think of another song I associate with my childhood!
Minute 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year: "Push" by The Cure.  It's been tops for years now, probably won't change, it'll take a heck of a song to capture the same sort of emotional response.