Late again. Whoops.
Joni Mitchell’s “River” is one of the most beautiful and moving songs ever written. I’m pretty sure that if it was played at my funeral, the folks who aren’t already crying will start. And I want a truckload of tears at my funeral.
Below, I’ve included the original album version and a live version she did with Herbie Hancock. (If you don’t have Hancock’s Joni Mitchell album, you’re missing out.)
Well, since Rob and I have been married for nearly six years, I have already had a wedding, so the song I wanted to play at my wedding was the song I actually did play at our wedding. My brother and his now wife made two mix CDs for our engagement, and among the awesome songs they compiled was Pat Benetar’s “We Belong.” When we were listening to the CDs driving back to New York from Boston with our friends Liz and Jason (who were going to be in the wedding), “We Belong” came on, we all sang along, giggled a bit, and I said, “This is so going to be our wedding song.” It’s also a rockin’ pop song, and full of over-the-top metaphors and emotions. It’s a totally tubular 80s classic.
Again, this is too much like Day 4. WTF? And again, I’ll split the hair and say that this is probably meant to be a song that I will play when I’m sad in order to fell… happier? sadder? Well, when I’m sad, a happy song will just annoy me. I prefer to wallow a bit, even find something that will break the seal and make me cry. The few things that will do it are songs from tragic gay loves stories — psychoanalyze that — specifically “What Would I Do?” from Falsettos (there’s that show again) and anything that Gustavo Santaolalla wrote for the Brokeback Mountain sountrack; I’ve included “The Wings” and the Emmylou Harris-sung “A Love That Will Never Grow Old.”
For a limited time: WHAT WOULD I DO with Stephen Bogardus
Michael Rupert | Myspace Video
Is there anything better than this picture?
Anyway, Day 21 is is perfect for today, since it’s my birthday. And I’m happy, not least because my Facebook wall is overloaded with people writing “Happy Birthday!” on it. It’s wonderfully moving seeing these things from people who I’ve never met in person, from my oldest friends, from my newest friends, even from my nursery school teacher. But today’s song is way too similar to Day 3’s, which is a song that makes me happy. I guess one is a song that if it comes on, I’m happy, and today is a song that I put on because I’m happy. I think they’re somewhat interchangeable, and I could answer “Express Yourself” again, but I think that would be cheating.
Anyway, I’ve found myself listening to Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” when I’m in a great mood recently, and it is very happy-making. It’s her first and best song. And, because it’s my birthday, I’m going to be happy for longer than four minutes, and I’m adding on Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA,” which I just adore in so many, admittedly wrong, ways. For me, it’s pure joy.
Dance! Dance! Dance! Party! Party! Party!
Whoops! Sorry — I’m a day late!
When I’m really angry, music doesn’t help. It’s too all-consuming for me; I’ve got some anger issues that a lot of therapy and some happy pills have done a good job on, and I mostly keep that eye-blurring rage from happening. When I’m more mildly angry, however, when I’ve got my righteous rage on, I’m pretty aware of how I feel, and I will even get a little self-referential. And I’ll play something like “You Oughta Know,” which is the best angry, lover-spurned, fuck you song ever. When it first started getting airplay in the summer of 1995, people in Boston would request it as “the angry girl song.” It’s so awesome to sing along to, especially if you have an axe to grind. I could have used it as Day 8 as well, since I know all of the words to it.