If ya can't beat em, join em

I started blog entries 3 times yesterday and ended up ditching all of them due to lack of interest (from me). I've already told you everything Dean can do, and after talking to not one but two claims adjusters, I have no desire to talk about my wreck again. EVER. SO, I'll take it as a sign that several (like, a weird, uncanny amount) of my favorite bloggers wrote about music in one form or another over the past few days. I cannot tell you my absolute favorite song in the world. It doesn't work that way for me. Music has always been super-important to me, thanks to my musical parents, and certain songs define certain periods of my life. Nothing can evoke feelings of nostalgia in me like hearing a song from my past. So, in no particular order, here is a list of some of my favorites. Remember, I grew up in the 80s and was a teenager in the 90s, but had parents and uncles who grew up in the 70s and early 80s, so that has definitely informed my musical tastes. It doesn't help that I married an 80s alterna-guy.

Song I wish I'd written: "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" by U2. Anyone ever heard this one? Because it's awesome. OH, Bono, how I love thee... I really love all U2 songs. Their lyrics are amazing.

Favorite sappy lyrics: "Bed of Roses" by Bon Jovi. I mean, come on, who doesn't love the line "Tonight I won' t be alone, but you know that don't mean I'm not lonely." I used to like listening to this one when pining over boys in my single days.

Song that immediately reminds me of my husband: "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. He once sang it with the band at a Mexican restaurant, but he forgot the words to the second verse. So, in true Marcus form, he yelled, from the stage and into a microphone "Baby! What's the second verse?"

Song that immediately transports me back to high school: There are so many of these, but the first one that comes to my mind is "Friday I'm In Love" by the Cure. Every time I hear the opening riff, I feel like I'm back in my old Dodge Shadow driving to Bronco Belle practice. (The Bronco Belles was our dance team. We rocked it. I was much thinner then and looked hawt in my sequined leotard.)

Cassette Single my 8th Grade best friend, Paige, and I wore out fastest: It's a tie between "Blaze of Glory" by Bon Jovi from the "Young Guns 2" soundtrack and "To Be With You" by Mr. Big. Dean and I just heard the latter on the all 90's music TV channel. He was unimpressed that I knew every word.

Best song for skating: "Mickey" by Toni Basil. This is the only song I ever remember them playing at the skating rink. I'm sure there were others. I vaguely remember hearing "Karma Chameleon" at one point, but "Mickey" was definitely the most-played at our particular rink.

Most played slow song at high school CYO dances: Again, a tie. Growing up in Louisiana, we had a lot of country fans, so "The Dance" by Garth Brooks was a constant fixture at our dances. For the rest of us, Asher the DJ always played "Everybody Hurts" by REM.

Favorite song we did a Bronco Belle routine to: "If" by Janet Jackson. We actually had to change the choreography right before the pep rally. (Scandalous!) My friend Jessica, whose father just happened to be our assistant principal, choreographed this one and it was a bit, um, risque in her dad's opinion. We toned it down.

Favorite song from college: "Turn My Head" by Live. My roommate, Charlie, and I used to listen to this and classic Aerosmith for HOURS.

Favorite song from grad school: Ok, so this song was not written or recorded while I was in grad school, but I played it on the juke box every single Sunday night at Bumpers, the place we went to sing Karaoke. (Karaoke with theatre folks, by the way, is amazing. They actually added a second karaoke night just for us.) I digress. The song is "Come Monday" by Jimmy Buffett. We all liked it because Monday was our day off.

Song I wish I could sing really, really well: ANYTHING by Dusty Springfield. GAAAAH! She's amazing. "Song of a Preacher Man?" Awesome! "Wishin and Hopin?" AWESOME! Heard her version of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" Cause guess what? It's awesome!

Favorite song to hear at Karaoke: "Kiss" (The Prince version). I should add a disclaimer that I only like this when it's done well. There's nothing worse than bad, off-key falsetto, you know?

Song that reminds me of my dad: "When A Man Loves A Woman" by Percy Sledge. Because my dad can sing it JUST LIKE Percy! (I'm sure he will appreciate me sharing that with the internet) Dad, Mom and I once saw Percy Sledge in concert in the lounge of a casino in Tunica, MS. It was surreal.

Song that reminds me of my mom: "Breakin' Up Is Hard To Do" and "Build Me Up Buttercup." We like to sing them in harmony. We sing them to Dean sometimes. I think it confuses him because our voices sound alike. He seems pretty underwhelmed. But dang it, we've been working on these songs for 20 years and planning to sing them to a baby and you are going to listen and love them, Deeeeeeeeeeean. Yeah.

Non-baby song that Dean likes: "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Lepard. Seriously, there are nights when Marcus and I have to sing it over and over just to get him to eat.

So there's a sampling of my, uh, eclectic taste in music! Share your favorite song in comments!