Posted on July 1, 2006
You would think that the internet age would make travel planning easier.
You would be wrong.
I just spent the past four hours arranging flights, hotels, rental cars, and all the other crap that makes travel so much fun. Nothing ever matches up. Flights always have ridiculously long layovers. Hotel check-in times are always too late and check-out too early. And meetings are never in the most convenient place. The good news is that in-between it all, I get to be in New York for a few days...

Then it's off to Wisconsin...

And finally back to Chicago...

And that's only for the first two weeks. I haven't got the energy to plan the rest of the summer.
And now, because it's Saturday and nobody seems to read my blog on Saturdays... AND because I'm a total meme whore... AND because I'm a total music whore... AND because I'm a total whore for Karla's Tales of a Texpatriate... I am stealing this rather cool "Three Songs Meme" from her in an extended entry (because it is MASSIVE)...
Songs, Continued...
NAME UP TO THREE:
The rules are that you can only name a maximum of three, and you have to list specific songs. For your listening pleasure, I've included links to the iTunes Music Store, when available.
- Songs That I Loathe to the Core of My Being
- I Wanna Make Love by Kid Rock. I'm not sure that's the actual name of the song, but it's whatever song that no-talent ass-clown was screaming at the American Music Awards a couple years ago. "I WANNA MAKE LOVE! I WANNA MAKE LOVE! I WANNA MAKE LOVE!" over and over again. The stupidest f#@%ing song I've ever heard.
- This is the Night, by Clay Aiken. Actually, you can pick any of Clay Aiken's shitty songs and plug them in the #2 spot... it makes no difference since they're all crap. This one was played on an airline flight somewhere, which is the only reason I remember the title.
- Solitaire, by Clay Aiken. In fact, I loathe this little bastard so much you can stick any of his dumbass songs in the #3 spot as well. I chose this one at random, and it sucks ass even worse than that other wretched pile of excrement. This screeching pile of ass is popular WHY?!?
- Musical Artists That I Loathe to the Core of My Being
- Clay Aiken. Yeah. Shocked, I know. I'd rather impale my eardrums with railroad spikes than listen to his "singing"... if that's what you call his whiny droning.
- Taylor Hicks. Holy crap! And I thought Clay Aiken was bad! Taylor Hicks makes me want to blow my head off... WITH AN ATOMIC BOMB! This American Idol shit has got to stop.
- Neil Diamond. Oh how I loathe him. Oddly enough, he's a good songwriter and has written some decent songs... I just can't stand it when he sings them. Every time he comes on the radio I throw up in my mouth a little bit.
- Rolling Stones Songs I Love
- Paint It Black. The theme song for Tour of Duty, one of my favorite television shows.
- Start Me Up. Quintessential Stones song.
- Jumpin' Jack Flash. Hey, it's a gas gas gas! And it's also from that cool Whoopi Goldberg film by the same name.
- Beatles Songs I Love
- Help! This is the song that defines the Beatles for me.
- Hello, Goodbye. And this is my favorite Beatles song ever.
- Here Comes the Sun. I love this song, but am afraid to admit that I like it best when Nina Simone sings it... probably one of the most beautiful Beatles covers ever.
- Who Songs I Love
- Baba O'Reily. Theme song for CSI New York, and my favorite Who song.
- Who Are You. Theme song for the original CSI.
- Won't Get Fooled Again. Theme song for CSI Miami, starring the worst actor of any generation: the craptastic David Caruso.
- Reggae Songs I Love
- Is This Love, by Bob Marley. Bob had so many cool songs, but I think this is my favorite.
- Tomorrow People, by Ziggy Marley. A great 80's reggae song that kind of reinvigorated the genre.
- Red Red Wine, by UB40. Kind of a faux reggae song, but I love it just the same.
- Country Songs I Love
- You've Got A Way, by Shania Twain. I don't like Country music, so this pop song by a hot country artist is going to have to do.
- This Kiss, by Faith Kill. Ditto.
- 9 to 5, by Dolly Parton. Ditto again.
- Movie Soundtracks I Love
- 101, by Depeche Mode. The greatest band of all time had the greatest concert movie of all time from the greatest tour of all time and created the greatest live soundtrack of all time.
- Songs of Faith and Devotion, LIVE, by Depeche Mode. The astoundingly brilliant soundtrack to the concert film Devotional. Proving once again that Depeche Mode is the best live band to ever grace a stage (even when lead singer Dave Gahan is coked out of his mind).
- About A Boy, by Badly Drawn Boy. Some of the most beautiful music you will ever hear, including I Love NYE which is magic.
- Musical Soundtracks I Love
- South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. How Trey Parker and Matt Stone managed to create a South Park musical that didn't suck is beyond me. Hysterically funny film with really great music. Of course, it was their second musical... Team America which featured the brilliant song America, F#@% Yeah! that took things to another level entirely.
- Xanadu, by Olivia Newton John and ELO. The movie was kind of crap, but the soundtrack had amazing Olivia Newton John cuts and one of my favorite Electric Light Orchestra songs ever: Don't Walk Away, which is a crushingly haunting tune.
- Grease, by John Travolta, Olivia Newton John, and Sha-Na-Na. Not exactly a favorite, but it's about the only other musical I've ever seen.
- Cover Songs I Love
- Solsbury Hill, by Erasure. A really nice cover of Peter Gabriel's hit.
- Super Trouper, by The A-Teens. A nifty bubble gum pop dance version of a great ABBA song.
- American Woman, by Lenny Kravitz. A kick-ass version of the Who original track. I really struggled between this song, No Doubt's version of Talk Talk's It's My Life, Billy Idol's version of Tommy James' Mony Mony, and Jordis Unga's jaw-dropping version of David Bowie's Man Who Sold the World for this last spot.
- Contemporary Top-40 Artists I Secretly Love
- Keane. Their stuff is just beautiful, and is in sharp contrast to most of the crap out there now-a-days.
- Daniel Powter. I got hooked on his song Bad Day, and then discovered he's got an entire catalog of great music.
- Coldplay. They have such massive popularity for a reason... their stuff is amazing.
- Songs That Bring Me to Tears
- Don't Answer Me, by The Alan Parson's Project. I went to an Alan Parson's concert with my best friend before he died, and this song always reminds me of him whenever I hear it.
- Storm on the Sea, by The Thompson Twins. A haunting melody that touches me for reasons I cannot explain.
- The Scientist, by Coldplay. This song has a kind of longing to it that is painfully beautiful to listen to.
- Songs That Make Me Shake My Ass
- Enjoy the Silence, by Depeche Mode. Every time I hear this song, it takes me back to a Depeche Mode concert and gets me moving.
- Brand New Lover, by Dead or Alive. It's a slammin' 80's dance track that never fails to pack the dance floor.
- Rock The Casbah, by The Clash. Thrash to The Clash. Killer track that has me rockin' out every time I hear it.
- Classical Composers I Love
- Ludwig Van Beethoven. Powerful, moving, wondrous.
- Anotnio Vivaldi. Uplifting, lyrical, inspirational.
- Johannes Brahms. Beautiful, innovative, complex.
- Rap/Hip-Hop Songs I Love
- Party Up by DMX. Few rap artists can rip into you quite like DMX. His rap just tears through you like a rusty knife, and this song manages to temper that brutality with a catchy beat you can't get out of your head.
- Feel So Good by Mase. This guy has a voice like butter, and I am confident that he could sing any type of music he set out to. This song samples Gloria Estefan's Bad Boys in a way you couldn't possibly guess. Brilliance.
- Down for Whatever, by Ice Cube. I admit I got hooked on this song (and a few other rap classics, like Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta by Geto Boys) because of the Office Space movie soundtrack. One of my favorites though, is when they beat the crap out of the FAX machine to Still (also by the Geto Boys).
- 70s Disco Songs I Love
- Night Fever, by The BeeGees. How can you have a list of disco hits without The BeeGees? How is it that the iTunes Music Store doesn't sell The BeeGees?
- If I Can't Have You, by Yvonne Elliman. One of the few disco-era songs that doesn't make me puke. Much.
- Disco Inferno, by The Trampps. If you ignore the fact that it's disco, it almost doesn't suck.
- 70s Supergroup Songs I Love
- The Name of the Game, by ABBA. The ultimate 70's supergroup... was there anybody else bigger than ABBA? I actually like most of their stuff, but this is a favorite (and a lot less embarrassing to admit than Dancing Queen.
- Get Down Tonight, by KC and The Sunshine Band. This song is TOTALLY AWESOME and I LOVE IT!
- I'm Not In Love, by 10cc. Well, I guess they were a supergroup. I was in grade school.
- Metal Songs I Love
- Walk by Pantera. Whenever I am pissed at the world, the first group I reach for is Nine Inch Nails. The second group I reach for is Pantera. They are a real metal band that knows how to rip the shit out of you with lyrics so tight you'll have no choice but to scream along. I was gutted when Dimebag Darrell was killed, because his guitar slams made Pantera. Walk shows his talents well, almost overshadowing the driving drum beat.
- Rainbow in the Dark, by Dio. This is one of those metal songs that almost has an almost pop edge to it... which gave it a kind of cross-chart popularity and brought more people to metal music. This was both bad and good for the genre but, at its heart, Rainbow in the Dark remains a metal classic.
- South of Heaven, by Slayer. I rediscovered this album during Day of Slayer, and have found a new appreciation for the title track (great lyrics). I catch some crap for not putting Raining Blood at the top of my list, but have to say that South has an edge over Reign. for me.
- New Wave Songs I Love
- People are People by Depeche Mode. Before they were an amazing alternative band, DM was an amazing New Wave band on the cutting edge of the British invasion.
- Until She Comes, by The Psychedelic Furs. Gotta have The Furs on there! This is one of those songs that's actually a very nice ballad in New Wave clothing.
- Bizarre Love Triangle, by New Order. After Joy Division dissolved, New Order formed to go on to even greater heights. I love just about everything they've ever done, and they were the corner of a New Order, Depeche Mode, Morrisey triangle that kept me happy through the New Wave era.
- Soul/R&B Songs I Love
- Another Sad Love Song, by Toni Braxton. One of the hottest. Singers. Ever.
- Waiting for You, by Seal. I guess this is kind of R&B-ish isn't it?
- Got To Be Real, by Cheryl Lynn. This woman could cut through glass with that amazing voice.
- Power Ballads I Love
- Get Right With Me. by Depeche Mode. Dave Gahan has one of the most amazing voices ever, and this ballad fills ever corner of a room when you play it.
- November Rain, by Guns n' Roses. Actually, Axl Rose has a number of songs that qualify as amazing power ballads... his voice is all at the same time raw, biting, and hauntingly melodic.
- Love Bites, by Def Leppard. This song works on so many levels, and makes for a pretty sweet power ballad with lyrics you can't help but want to sing along.
- Pre-Rock and Rock-Era Songs I Love
- Chatanooga Choo Choo, by Glen Miller. There was music before rock? About the only band I know that pre-dates Elvis is Glen Miller. His music is funky-fresh... in a 1940's kind of way.
- String of Pearls, by Glen Miller. Not as well known as the song above, but I actually like it even better.
- Little Brown Jug, by Glen Miller. If you've ever seen The Glen Miller Story you already know what makes this song special.
- Punk Songs I Love
- Should I Stay or Should I Go, by The Clash. Probably considered more "rock" than "punk" though The Clash is my favorite punk band, and this is one of my favorite songs by them.
- Liar, by The Sex Pistols. The very definition of punk rock is The Sex Pistols. Karla already gave God Save The Queen, so I'm going with Liar.
- Beverly Hills, by The Circle Jerks. I just wanted to have a reason to write "circle jerk" in my blog at long last.
- Singer/Songwriter Songs I Love
- Still Fighting It, by Ben Folds. This song is brilliant in every measure, and Ben Folds manages to create beautiful music
- Miracle, by Jon Bon Jovi. One of my most favorite songs. Beautiful lyrics, and features amazing guitar work by the incomparable Jeff Beck.
- On My Way Home by Enya. There's so many beautiful Enya songs that it's hard to narrow it down to just one. On My Way Home has a hopefulness and spirit to it that kind of sets it apart.
- MTV Videos I Love
- Take On Me. by a-ha. Redefined the brilliance of music videos back in the 80's. It was pretty much all down-hill from here.
- Here I Go Again, by Whitesnake. Sorry, but that image of Tawny Kitaen freakin' on the hood of that car has never left me.
- Bad Day by Daniel Powter. This is the only contemporary video I've loved enough to buy from the iTunes Music Store. A great song with a cool story makes for an awesome video.
- None of the Above Songs I Love
- Mercy in You by Depeche Mode. This is an amazing song that I never tire of listening to. I have heard it at least once a week (daily, work days) since it debuted 13 years ago.
- If You Were Here, by the Thompson Twins. A hauntingly beautiful song from one of my all-time favorite bands. Most people remember it as the song that closed out the film Sixteen Candles when Samantha and Jake are sitting on the dining room table with the birthday cake.
- Nothing's Impossible, by Depeche Mode. This song off their latest album has haunted me ever since I first heard it, and has stuck in my head like few other songs ever have.
- Guilty Pleasures
- Erasure. They've stuck by their 80's pop music style and continue to crank out new music that I enjoy from time to time. In-between all the synth-pop silliness, they occasionally crank out a brilliant song like You Surround Me that reminds me all over again why I love their music.
- A Flock of Seagulls. Most people dismiss this band as one-hit-wonders thanks to their only real hit, I Ran. But this is really unfair, because they have a great catalog of synth pop music... like You're Mine and The More You Live The More You Love.
- The Cure. It's probably not fashionable to like them anymore, but whenever I hear the sublimely perfect Pictures of You, from the equally sublimely perfect album Disintegration that spawned it, I fall in love with the band all over again.
- Songs to Have Sex To
- Closer, by Nine Inch Nails. I gotta go with Karla on this one. Nothing screams raw, animal sex like this killer track. Of course, you could say that about a lot of NIN stuff.
- Turn The Lights Down, by a-ha. Mesmerizing vocals by Morten Harket and Anneli Drecker in a dreamy musical score that could put anybody in the mood.
- At Last by Etta James. I'll take Etta over Barry White and Marvin Gaye any day. Intrigued? Here's a list of more love songs from a different meme I did.
Holy crap that was a long-ass meme! Probably would have gone faster if I didn't feel the need to explain everything and then grab all those iTunes Music Store links.
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Travel 2006
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