Musically Intertwined

I love music and singing and karaoke, so sometimes I think in song. At the risk of sounding like a junior high school girl, here are some lyric snippets that I've found myself subconsciously singing over and over again in my head -- or out loud. At work. Yeah -- my coworkers love me.

From "Take a Bow," by Rhianna:
"And the award for the best liar goes to you / For making me believe / That you could be / Faithful to me / Let's hear your speech. / How bout a round of applause? / Standing ovation... /But you put on quite a show / You really had me goin' / But now it's time to go / Curtains finally closing / That was quite a show / Very entertaining / But it's over now / Go on and take a bow / But it's over now..."

From "Brainy," by The National:
"I’ve been dragging around from the end of your coat for two weeks, ah ah. / Everywhere you go is swirling, everything you say has water under it, ah ah. / You know I keep your fingerprints in a pink folder in the middle of my table / You’re the tall kingdom I surround / think I better follow you around / You might need me more than you think you will"

From "Fuck and Run," by Liz Phair:
"And whatever happened to a boyfriend / The kind of guy who tries to win you over? / And whatever happened to a boyfriend / The kind of guy who makes love 'cause he's in it? / And I want a boyfriend / I want a boyfriend / I want all that boring old shit like letters and sodas / Letters and sodas / You got up out of bed / You said you had a lot of work to do /But I heard the rest in your head / And almost immediately I felt sorry / 'Cause I didn't think this would happen again / No matter what I could do or say / Just that I didn't think this would happen again / With or without my best intentions"

From "Take Me or Leave Me," by Jonathan Larson:
"Take me for what I am / Who I was meant to be / And if you give a damn / Take me baby, or leave me / Guess I'm leaving; I'm gone!"

From "Hey Jupiter," by Tori Amos:
"Sometimes I breathe you in /And I know you know / And sometimes you take a swim / Found your writing on my wall / If my heart's soaking wet / Boy your boots can leave a mess.... / Guess it's clear he's gone / And this little masochist / Is lifting up her dress"

From "Rush Hour ," by Ani DiFranco:
"I expected he would be there in the morning / I awoke to the alarm / He was still in arm's reach / But his body had wandered off long ago / You could see it in his eyes / Love isn't over when the sheets are stained / In my head there remains / So much left to be said / Make me laugh / Make me cry / Enrage me / Just don't try to disengage me. "

She Got Game

Being successfully single isn't something one can just swoop right back into after years of being part of a couple. Or so I learned this past weekend.

I traveled to Maryland this past weekend to visit my friend J (and say hi to Neil) and attend one of J's legendary parties. She's quite the socialite, and a diverse crowd always turns up at her soirees. The evening began, and I started talking to two cute cops. They were men of few words -- tough guys' guys who were kind and shy and sweet. I loved that because the men I tend to meet in New York are creative types who talk a lot about concepts and ideas. The thought of conversing with men whose job it is to hustle and protect and do was incredibly hot. So I tried to flirt. And failed. Miserably. Instead of coming up with witticisms or cute questions to ask them, I clutched my cup of Yuengling and shifted from foot to foot in my bright, crazy-print new dress (which I realized too late is a little more Paris Hilton-esque than I had intended), trying to think of something to say.

Then it hit me: I have no game.

I think I lost a bit of moxie somewhere in that stretch of time in a relationship when impressions and appearances don't matter as much, so you say what you want and do what you want and generally backslide into being a regular gal, minus your usual dose of sparkly wit or biting humor. I'm gonna have to get that back at some point, but it'll happen. Incrementally, but I'll get there.

Also, I want to update my Typing Pool Breakup Song List, which -- thanks to all the incredibly smart, sympathetic, and music-savvy people who read this blog -- has become what I like to call "awesome."

Here's the new rundown:

1. "Here I Go Again," Whitesnake (a surprisingly good breakup song)
2. "Greenville" Lucinda Williams
3. "On My Own," Peach Union
4. "Smile," Lily Allen
5. "Song for the Dumped," Ben Folds Five
6. "Ex-Girlfriend," No Doubt
7. "More Adventurous," Rilo Kiley (courtesy S in Minnesota)
8. "Don't Stop Believin'," Journey (or any Journey, if you get right down to it) (courtesy Dr. Blogstein)
9. "Wang Dang Doodle," Koko Taylor (courtesy Phil)
10. "Alone Again, Naturally," Gilbert O'Sullivan (courtesy Dave)
11. "Message in a Bottle," The Police (courtesy Neil)
12. "Erased," Annie Lennox (courtesy Madame X)
13. "Kiss You Off," Scissor Sisters (courtesy Anndi)
14. "I'm Coming Out," Diana Ross (courtesy Tisha)

Consider my iPod filled.

To cap this list off, I was listening to Tori Amos's (quite decent) new album, American Doll Posse, today, and these lines from the song "Bouncing Off Clouds" seemed appropriate:

"Make it easy, make this easy, it's not as heavy as it seems...
Well, you can stare all day at the sky,
But that won't bring her (him) back,
That won't bring her (him) back
You say you're waiting on Fate,
But I think Fate is now
Waiting on us."

So. Geeked.

May 1 cannot come fast enough.