I listen to music while I walk and my trip to class is approximately three songs long. Thanks to a schedule filled with holes, I end up walking either to or from Vilas approximately four times per day. Some quick math will tell you that I have the opportunity to listen to 12 songs during my daily treks across campus.
Lately, though, the most recently played songs for my walks have centered on only three songs. Because I believe in the basic journalism tenets'and honesty and randomness are two of them'I will divulge these songs to you, regardless of the embarrassment factor involved. They are, in no particular order, 'Waterloo' by swinging Swedish sensation ABBA, 'What a Girl Wants' by former genie in a bottle and current Mrs. Dirrty, Christina Aguilera and the quintessential addition 'I Want It That Way' by a group my mother has always mistakenly called the Blackstreet Boys.
Needless to say, my playlist embarrasses me. You could even go as far as to say it is tearin' up my heart. I labeled the list 'Dirty Pop' on my iTunes and you are the first, well, 10,000 people to know about my little secret. I think it started as a joke. I downloaded 'The Sign' once because I was feeling nostalgic. And once I downloaded that, I needed 'Whoop There It Is,' 'Bills Bills Bills' and some really old Madonna tracks. I felt awful after my crap music downloading bender. I worried that the RIAA would find me and not only fine me a million dollars, but also charge me extra for selecting so many awful songs.
This week, I embarked on a play list meant to wean me off of my embarrassing music. I should really know better. I have 2,442 songs to select from. Finding a few to replace my traditional walk to class mix shouldn't have been very challenging.
Monday, I made the innovative female play list. I picked out some Giant Drag, Imogen Heap and really old Fiona Apple. It didn't have the same effect as ABBA though. Where was the joy? When did the dance beats come in? Why did Fiona Apple sound so sad? With too many questions to consider, I switched play lists for my first walk home to some stronger male voices. John Legend, Pete Yorn and a bit of Brian Wilson walked me back to my apartment that afternoon. It was tough to get excited though. I have the music in me. I need to unleash it.
Tuesday improved. I set up some lists that I could select on a moment's notice. I made an oldies one, a singers named Ben lineup (Harper, Lee, E. King) and an angry emo list in case it snowed again. It was great not having lists with artists approved by the creators of 'Now That's What I Call Music.' Yet, something was still missing. I needed to feel some keyboard, and an ill-placed rap artist in the bridge. Those are the only things getting me through my mornings.
So after further review, I am going to keep my Dirty Pop play list. I will be ashamed, I will be embarrassed, but I will arrive to class thoroughly entertained and ready to learn. I don't care if my choices of pick-me-up tunes are a little unorthodox. They are fast, they are catchy, and frankly, I want it that way.
