In Sickness

Oh, yes. I am sick. After weeks and weeks of being surrounded by people with terrible colds and not catching it, I thought maybe I was immune. But nope. Here it is. Luckily, I got through my show on Tuesday (though being not getting home until after 2:30am and having to get up and go to work the next morning at 7:30am probably did not help how I feel now) and hopefully this will have mostly run its course by next Tuesday for the last night of our residency at the 331 Club.  Still bums me out, though, because I have all the plans on Saturday and I want to do them all. But even if I was well, it would be a draining day.

I’m at work today. My officemate is out this morning so I don’t feel too terrible being all gross and snotty at my desk right now. Thinking I might leave early today, though. I don’t know. I don’t really have the sick time. But I always feel like such a hypocrite being at work really sick because I get SO PISSED when other people do it.

I think one of the reasons I don’t feel so utterly death-like, though, is because I finally slept through the night last night with no interruptions. A full 8 hours of solid sleep. I haven’t had that in so long. Mainly because Robbie, my dog, wasn’t sleeping through the night and he would get up and wander and make all sorts of noise. But on Monday, after another night of barely any sleep, I went out and bought him the best dog bed ever. And he loves it. And now it’s hard to get him off of it. So we are all sleeping now.

And now, here it is. I’m sick at work, so the headphones are in and I will do all I can to not remove them so I can tune out my staggered breathing and sniffling and try to get some stuff done. My playlist of the 25 Songs that helped me get through the day.  I currently have a pretty female heavy playlist on the iPod, so bring on the ladies (and Eddie Vedder):

“Bobbing for Apples” – Regina Spektor

“1234” – Feist

 “Doubt” – Wye Oak

“Soft Shoulder” – Ani Difranco

 “Kiss” – Scout Niblett

“I Remember You” – Rilo Kiley

“The Killing Type” – Amanda Palmer

“Acid Tongue” – Jenny Lewis

“Shepherd”  - Anais Mitchell

“Hail to Whatever You Found in the Sunlight That Surrounds You” – Rilo Kiley

“Once in a While” – Eddie Vedder

“Tiger Boy” – Haley Bonar

“Glory” – Liz Phair

“In the Margins” – Ani Difranco

“It’s a Secret” – Dark Dark Dark

“Summer in the City” – Regina Spektor

“Big Wave” – Jenny and Johnny

“I Feel It All” – Feist

“You Promised Me” – Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps

“Under the Earth” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

“Eager For Your Love” – Tristen

“Laying and Lying” – Zoo Animal

 “Love Out of Lust” – Lykke Li

 “Go Long” – Joanna Newsom

“Draggin’ Around” – Rilo Kiley

Here We Go...

Welcome to 2013! Back to the regularly scheduled schedule. Back to alarm clocks and desk jobs. It was really really hard to get up and get to work today. I feel the worst for my dog, though. He’s been with us since just before Thanksgiving and so he was only starting to get used to our schedule between the Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks. But then The Husband was off work for 2 weeks for the holiday break and so the poor dog I’m sure has completely forgotten what our schedule is really like. It’s going to be a shock for him today. I feel terrible and just want to go home and cuddle with him.

There’s so much to do and so many things I had been putting off until now. Feeling overwhelmed. I need a vacation.

Here are 25 songs playing on my iPod that are getting me through this first day back.

1.  "The Day is Coming" - My Morning Jacket

2. "For All the Little Things" - Fort Wilson Riot

3. "Sad Baby" - Haley Bonar

4. "We R Ctrl" - Gramma's Boyfriend

5. "That's Just What Happened" - Erin McKeown

6. "Animal" - Jenny and Johnny

7. "Bobbing for Apples" - Regina Spektor

8. "Transmission of Robert Hoodin" - Gifts or Creatures

9. "Ballad of a Flickering Flame" - Southside Desire

10. "Green Fields" - The Good, The Bad, & The Queen

11. "NY" - Flight

12. "Money"- Haley Bonar

13. "Jonathan" - Fiona Apple

14. "The Next Messiah" - Jenny Lewis

15. "Say Something" - James

16. "Pretty Bird" - Jenny Lewis

17. "Green to Grey" - Caroline Smith & The Good Night Sleeps

18. "Trout Heart Replica" - Amanda Palmer

19. "On & On" - Erykah Badu

20. "An Innocent Fiction" - Erin McKeown

21. "Puppets" - Atmosphere

22. "Philharmonics" - Agnes Obel

23. "Don't You Know" - Pulp

24. "Ruin" - Cat Power

25. "Skinny Love" - Bon Iver

Holiday Haze

Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I hate the 4^th of July holiday. Not what it represents or what we are supposed to be celebrating, but the way we celebrate it. With explosions.

I’ve never been into fireworks. Not even as a kid. I recall the initial reaction each year when I was told it was that time again. I would be excited because I was supposed to be, right? And then they would start and I would see the first one and give an ‘ooooh’ and then I would get bored. Sitting there staring at the same explosion design over and over again just got so dull. Year after year the same display. Blah.

And the noise…I never liked that.

As I got older and teen-aged and friends who supply their own displays, I would play along and say it was “cool”, but deep down I hated it. It made me nervous. I’ve always been a worrier and I could just see fires happening or limbs being lost in all of this “fun”.

Now as an adult living in a neighborhood rapidly filling with teenagers - and the usual asshole neighbor or two – it still haunts me because now I have to deal with all of them. It just makes me ever more eager to get out of this house and this little family neighborhood and back to the city in an apartment with no yards for annoying teenagers to shoot homemade fireworks displays off in.

As this was happening last night at midnight, I said to myself “where are their parents??? who is letting them do this???” And then I felt old. But then I didn’t care. Because 1) I’ve got a cold and I’ve discovered the 4^th of July is the worst time to have one because it’s summer and you want to be outside but also because sleep is impossible because people feel it necessary to explode things in normally quiet neighborhoods all night long and 2) Just because I did stupid shit as a kid doesn’t make it right. I wish I had more discipline as a child and genuinely feel awful about the noise and disturbances I gave my neighbors while I was growing up. I suppose I’m paying for it now.

I’ve also never understood why we get the day of July 4^th off when the whole event is based around lighting loud things off at night when it’s dark. Why don’t we get July 5^th off instead? It’s like if New Year’s Eve was the day everyone got off of work and we were all expected to come in on the 1^st.

Grumble Grumble Grumble….I know. I sound like a crazy old man complaining about the world from my park bench. Truly, that is basically my personality in a nutshell. Especially when I’m sick. I hate being sick.

But, here I am at work just trying to get through it with a sinus headache, achy body, and 5 hours sleep. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way – so I guess that’s a good thing – and it’s happening now and not a month from now when I need to be healthy and in good voice for the CD release show. So, there’s that, as well.

And since I am at work, sick, I get to do a 25 Songs Set of what’s playing on my iPod and helping me get through the day.  Hooray.

1. "How Come You Never Go There" - Feist

2. "Disco Ball" - Flatbear

3. "No Provenance" - Joanna Newsom

4. "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" - Joanna Newsom

5. "The Absence of God" - Rilo Kiley

6. "Jailbird" - The Elected

7. "Minnows" - David Karsten Daniels

8. "Shuger Crash!" - Gramma's Boyfriend

9. "Comfort Me" - Feist

10. "36th" - Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles

11. "Puget Sound" - Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles

12. "The Locust Years of Chelsea" - Rank Strangers

13. "Gonna Get Along Without You Now" - She & Him

14. "The Party" - Regina Spektor

15. "Done Wrong" - Ani Difranco

16. "Left Alone" - Fiona Apple

17. "Calliope" - Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps

18. "One Line" - PJ Harvey

19. "My Wife, Lost in the Wild" - Beirut

20. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder

21. "The Colour of the Earth" - PJ Harvey

22. "Why Don't You Come Over" - Bethany Larson and the Bee's Knees

23. "Doubt" - Wye Oak

24. "Box of Letters" - The Ericksons

25. "Monica" - Dan Bern

Hey Ladies

Yesterday, Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles, one of my most favorite local bands, announced the release of their 4^th album, Heat. This marks yet another in a long list of my favorite female musicians and female fronted bands who are due to release albums this year. Other notables:

• Ani Difranco - This officially came out on Tuesday, but I have had it since mid-December. But, still…it counts.
• Zoo Animal  - Another local Minneapolitan band fronted by the great Holly Newsom. You can stream the album here. I cannot wait to just zone out to this.
• Anais Mitchell – One of the greatest folk singers of my time.
• Regina Spektor – Her last album took me a while to really get in to. And even just as recently as this week, I started to really love two songs I never gave a chance to before. I’m curious how this one will go.
• Cat Power – I’ve only heard rumors of this one. But she’s suddenly become super poster on Facebook, so I’m guessing the rumors are true. I have to say, though, her status updates are posted all in caps and it’s really annoying. She, or whoever is posting on her behalf, need to stop that. It’s making me think less of her.
• Ingrid Michaelson – I really like Ingrid  - as in Ingrid, the person. She also has some really great songs. But the last album never grabbed me – it was a bit too sugary sweet commercially sounding. From what I’ve heard of this one, it’s more of the same. Still, I’m sure there are good songs to be found.
• First Aid Kit – their album comes out next week. They opened for Lykke Li when she was in town. Though I wasn’t blown away by them, there was enough there to intrigue me. Their single has been getting play on The Current and I kind of like it. I might have to pick up the album.

And then there’s me. I will (hopefully) be releasing my 2^nd album this year. I only say hopefully as releasing an album can be spendy and I’m sort of taking it one thing at a time and not trying to put too many release date expectations on myself. But I will say that I’m hoping to have it out by end of June. I’m recording again tomorrow. At this point we have 9 songs started. Tomorrow we will start #10 and finish up the instrumentation on some of the other 9. We still have 4 other songs to start beyond that and I still haven’t decided how many of these songs are going to be on the album, but I think I will go ahead and record all of them anyway. If some of them don’t make the album, they can be released in other ways.

But, we are making good progress. I’d say I’m on track for that June release (fingers crossed). So very excited for this record.

And, maybe in my attempt to be more positive and not dwell on the bad stuff (I am really trying to do this, but sadly it’s really hard), I will post the 25 songs that are playing in my ear throughout the day...why only do this when I’m sick?

1.  “1234” – Feist
2. “Sleeping By Myself” – Eddie Vedder
3. “Hawaii” – Haley Bonar
4. “Broke”- Modest Mouse
5. “Next to Me” – Broken Bicycles
6. “Candy Machine Gun” –Haley Bonar
7. “Map of Tasmania” – Amanda Palmer
8. “Can’t Keep” – Eddie Vedder
9. “One Line” – PJ Harvey
10. “After It All” – Cat Power
11. “Folding Chair” – Regina Spektor
12. “Black Door” – Pink Mink
13. “Dogs” – Damien Rice
14. “Get Some” – Lykke Li
15. “Hero” – Regina Spektor
16. “All Through the Night” – Cyndi Lauper
17.  “Hope & You” French Films About Trains
18. “Good Fortune” – PJ Harvey
19. “Melt Your Heart” – Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins
20. “Islands” – Cat Power
21. “Palomino” – Mates of State
22. “Tonight You Belong to Me” – Eddie Vedder (feat. Cat Power)
23. “Here Before” – Lissie
24. “Intro” – The XX
25. “Cicadas and Gulls” – Feist

Another Weekend

I did stuff this weekend. Not sure it was a good idea, but I did stuff. You see, I caught this horrible chest cold the previous weekend and it is killing me. I seriously want to lock myself in my bedroom and never leave until it’s gone. I have not coughed like this in years. Years and years. It is THE WORST. No lie.

I had a lot of plans for this weekend and had to let most of them go as I dealt with this sickness. I was bummed.

But I did do some stuff. Like:

Turf Club on Friday night to see L’Assassins and Red Pens.

I love the Turf Club and cannot pass up a Friday night there when there are bands that I enjoy and people I enjoy hanging out with. So I went and had a nice time and heard great music…but I think I should have stayed home and gone to bed early. I was feeling better that night, but I think it did me in.

L'Assassins

Red Pens

Recording Day 4

Studio

I spent Saturday at the recording studio working on some songs for the new album. Unfortunately, I think my illness seeped through the tracks because I’m not too happy about how things sound – at least the new new stuff we started. We added stuff to some songs that are close to finished and that sounds great. But the stuff I just started on Saturday sounds a bit lackluster. I also think it has a lot to do with my guitar. My guitar sounds like shit. I really need a new one. A new new one. Not a used one. This one goes out of tune so easily. It buzzes everywhere all the time. It is completely unreliable. And it no longer sounds good on tape. The first couple of tracks we did with this guitar turned out really well. But now, I think its time has come. And it makes me sad.

Yesterday I pulled up all my guitars from the basement and played them all and they all sound like shit. Not sure what I’m going to do about this. Unfortunately, recording may have to be put on hold until I get my guitar situation figured out. This upsets me.

Watched All of Community Season 2

I’ve seen season 2 of Community. I watched it as it aired. I have certain episodes downloaded on my computer. But, being that I was unwell, I needed something to watch all day while I laid on the couch, drinking tea and sucking on cough drops. So I picked season 2 of Community because I love Community. The show is so ridiculously good. Season 2 in particular is awesome. WATCH IT!

I stayed home from work yesterday. I woke up feeling worse than I have all week. Actually, I woke up around 6am coughing. I couldn’t stop. It lasted all morning until I fell back asleep around 8:30.

So I have a doctor’s appointment on Friday to help me get rid of this – if it’s not gone by then – and to take care of some other more personal things. Awesome. I hate going to the doctor.

I’m also out of sick time at work which puts me in a bad spot.

And I have a hole in my favorite pair of boots.

And I realized I don’t really own any pants…and winter is coming.

Did I mention my dog is still dead?

Things kind of blow right now.

Oh, and since I’m sick at work, here’s another 25 songs that are getting me through my day:

1. “Highway 16” – Haley Bonar
2. “On the Radio” – Regina Spektor
3. “Desire” – Ryan Adams
4. “Jimmy Jazz” – The Clash
5. “Dogs Eyes” – Wye Oak
6. “Hanging on the Wire” – PJ Harvey
7. “Illuminine” – Thurston Moore
8. “Riverside” – Agnes Obel
9. “Wendybird” – Haley Bonar
10. “Minerva” – Ani Difranco
11. “Lived in Bars” – Cat Power
12. “Shot Down” – Pink Mink
13. “Lost in the Supermarket” – The Clash
14. “Goodbye” – Eddie Vedder
15. “Connect the Dots” – Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles
16. “Ashes of American Flags” – Wilco
17. “The Wind” – PJ Harvey
18. “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” – Bob Dylan
19. “Catherine” – PJ Harvey
20. “Them” – Mimicking Birds
21. “Elizabeth on the Bathroom Floor” – The Eels
22. “Dream a Little Dream” – Eddie Vedder
23. “Devilish Man” – Haley Bonar
24. “How Come You Never Go There” – Feist
25. “Wrong “Em Boyo” – The Clash

Dog Days

Ugh. It’s been a crazy few days.

Murray, my dog, is old. He’s been old for a while now but he’s always seemed very youthful still. So much so that my husband and I would joke about how the vet must have guessed his age wrong by a few years.

But over the past couple of weeks he’s become old. Really old. It was so sudden yet so gradual. One day he came stumbling down the hall like he was crazy drunk. He shook it off and seemed fine. A few days later it happened again. Then on Sunday it happened again and this time it didn’t go away.

We left him his Kong full of treats on Monday morning before we headed off to work, as we always do and which he always devours immediately, but when we came home, it was still full. We called his vet and brought him in and she said all signs point to a brain tumor.

We were thisclose to putting him down, he was in such bad shape.

But I didn’t want his last day to have been spent home alone, so I brought him home for the night to have one last goodbye. But, oddly, he started acting a little better. He ate some food. He tried to play.

So now, 2 days later, he’s still the same. He’ll eat sometimes. He’ll get a little playful sometimes. He walks, but crookedly. His balance is all off. I guess at this point we just wait and see.

But, of course, this all happens a week before my big Stone Arch Festival show. That’s just the way things seem to work. 2 weeks before we leave for London, the sewer pipe breaks. 1 day before my Turf Club show, my dad has to have emergency surgery. Now, Murray. Not that any time is a good time for any of those things to happen, but come on. As always before any show, I begin to panic at all possible signals that I might be getting sick. This stress only ends up causing me to feel like shit. My body finds really weird ways to manifest stress into some physical form. I’ll get muscle spasms, hives, chest pains, headaches, toothaches…just about anything. So today I woke up with a painful – what I think is – a cut in the back of my mouth on the back of my upper gum. It hurts when my tongue brushes against it and it seems to be making it slightly difficult to swallow. Obviously the cut is real and not some fearful delusion of mine, the difficulty swallowing is probably stress related.

I find myself counting down the days until the show - both out of excitement and out of impatience. I just want it to get here so I know that I’m well and will be able to perform at my fullest ability. It’s almost like I can’t fully enjoy the thought of the performance until the day of when I know that I’m not sick. It’s really no way to go about things.

We had band practice last night and I’m feeling pretty good about the songs. We’re going to try something new with one of them that I’m very excited about.

But since I’m stressed and being stressed to me equals being sick and it’s been a while, let’s take inventory of what’s playing on the iPod while I get some work done today with another 25 songs.

1. “Strange Loop” – Liz Phair
2. “Home and Somewhere Else” – Mimicking Birds
3. “My Love” – Lykke Li
4. “Billy” – Haley Bonar
5. “True Blue” – Madonna
6. “All & Everyone” – PJ Harvey
7. “Signing Up For This” – Erica Russo and the Good Sport
8. “X-Ray Man” – Liz Phair
9. “New Yorker Cartoon” – Jenny and Johnny
10. “Northern Lad” – Tori Amos
11. “Just Like the Movies” – Regina Spektor
12. “I Don’t Know” – Lisa Hannigan
13. “Pawn Amerkia” – Rank Strangers
14. “Isobel” – Bjork
15. “Past in Present” – Feist
16. “My Night with the Prostitute from Marseille” – Beirut
17. “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” – They Might Be Giants
18. “Goodnight Movies Goodnight Moon” – Rank Strangers
19. “Get Over It” – Solid Gold
20. “Wendybird” – Haley Bonar
21. “Just So” – Agnes Obel
22. “Cosmopolitans” – Erin McKeown
23. “Black Sand” – Jenny Lewis
24. “Ripchord” – Rilo Kiley
25. “I Didn’t See It Coming” – Belle and Sebastian

I’ll get back to the 30 Days of Music countdown tomorrow.

Supa Dupa Fly

The title of this post has absolutely nothing to do with what is being written. I was just listening to that song (by Missy Elliot) here at work this morning. It’s good stuff.

What is not good stuff is that this is another sick at work post. I’m feeling like crap, but the timing is almost perfect. Almost because I have band practice tonight – the first in a while and I was looking forward to it – and I have a hectic day at work tomorrow and plans tomorrow night. But after that I have nothing. Nothing until the end of February when I have everything. A show, a big work event, and, oh, yeah, I’m leaving the country. So it’s good to get this sickness here and over with now, but I just hope the really bad stuff holds off until Saturday. I want my Thursday and Friday night.

But, in honor of feeling like crap, I think it’s time for another 25 Songs That Play on my iPod (upgraded now to iPhone) While I’m Sick At Work. You’ve already seen Missy Elliot. Here are the rest:

1. “Ulysses” – Mason Jennings
2. “Margaret Vs. Pauline” – Neko Case
3. “Walk Off” – The National
4. “Old Fashioned Hat” – Anais Mitchell
5. “Talkin’ Alien Abduction Blues” – Dan Bern
6. “The Highs and Lows of Being #1” – Jenny and Johnny
7. “Baby, You’re a Rich Man” – The Beatles
8. “Ursa Minor” – Rogue Valley
9. “About Today” – The National
10. “You Know I’m No Good” – Amy Winehouse
11. “Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John” – Belle and Sebastian
12. “Leave Your Boyfriend Behind” – Leona Naess
13. “Can’t Hardly Wait” – The Replacements
14. “Nugget” – Cake
15. “Broke” – Modest Mouse
16. “Get Real, Get Right” – Sufjan Stevens
17. “Bad Communication” – Sufjan Stevens
18. “Castles Made of Sand” – Jimi Hendrix
19. “Glass” – Ingrid Michaelson
20. “Something About Your Love” – Mason Jennings
21. “Song to Bobby” – Cat Power
22. “Committed” – Jenny and Johnny
23. “(Put the Fun Back in the) Funeral” – Erin McKeown
24. “Pot Kettle Black” – Wilco
25. “Readabout!” – Grickle Grass

Another 25 Songs

I’ve been sick this week. But last night, I was feeling better. I went to bed happy with the thought that I might be fully recovered by Saturday.

And then it stormed.

Around 1:45am, the first rumble of thunder happened and then it never stopped. Thunder rumbled for the next 4 and a half hours. Constantly. There were no breaks. Lightening flashed non-stop. I’ve never witnessed a storm stay so constant for so long.

Of course, this upset the dog. So, I got up around 2am to sleep in the den (he calms down when the TV is on). I crammed myself onto the tiny Ikea couch and tried to sleep, but could not get comfortable. I moved to the floor. But the hard wood was no better. I tossed and turned until sometime after 4am when I thought the storm had passed and I decided to crawl back into bed. As soon as I did, it started up again. This time it was louder and there was a lot of rain. So I got up again and squeezed back onto the couch, determined to sleep. Eventually I did fall asleep. When I woke up, my ear was in terrible pain. I had been holding the pillow over my head so tight, that I was basically punching myself in the ear all night.

The alarm went off at 6:30 and the storm miraculously quit. How does it know to do that? How can it last all through the sleeping hours and quit as soon as the alarm goes off? It’s crazy.

So now I am super tired and not feeling very well again. I just want to go home and sleep. But since I am at work, here’s another installment of 25 Songs That Play on My iPod While I Am Sick At Work. It’s been a while.

“Postcard” – Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles
“Potion” – Morphine
“All the Wine” – The National
“Badlands” – Bruce Springsteen
“Lifeboat” – Ani Difranco (new - unreleased song)
“To Ramona” – Bob Dylan’
“Trickle Down” – Brenda Weiler
“Face Down in the Right Town” – Earlimart
“Open” – The Cure
“Brandy Alexander” – Feist
“Lit Up” – The National
“Love and Communication” – Cat Power
“Daisies” – Jentri Collelo
“6/8 Ballad” – Grickle Grass
“Hail to Whatever You Found in the Sunlight That Surrounds You” – Rilo Kiley
“Both Hands” – Ani Difranco
“Vitamin C” – Big Audio Dynamite
“A Certain Pleasure” – Erin McKeown
“Juicebox” – The Strokes
“Tonight, Tonight” – Smashing Pumpkins
“Desire” – Ryan Adams
“Field Below” – Regina Spektor
“For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti” – Sufjan Stevens
“Miss Independent” – Kelly Clarkson
“Float On” – Modest Mouse

Practice, Practice, Practice!

I'm super excited because I have some musical prospects on the horizon. I hoping to start playing shows in the next few months. But first I need to practice. But I can't. Because I'm sick. Again. This is getting so old. What is it? Once a month now? Goddamn. Make it stop.

I can't sing because 1.) my nose is stuffed up and 2.) my throat is super sore. I just want to start practicing!!! It's so frustrating.

It's also the night of 89.3 The Current's 5th birthday party at First Avenue. I've been looking forward to this for a couple of months now and I have to go. There's just no way I can't. I would have loved to have called in today and slept to gear up for it, but since it's technically a work function, it wouldn't have looked good to call in sick to work and then show up there tonight. So here I am. Sick at work again.

And, hey! We all know what happens when I'm sick at work. The iPod earbuds go in the ears and I zone out the day listening to music. I think it's time for another 25 Songs That Play On My iPod while I'm Sick At Work.

1. "Chelsea Hotel" - Dan Bern (not a Leonard Cohen cover. It's his own beautifully awesome song)
2. "Love Ridden" - Fiona Apple
3. "The Angels Hung Around" - Rilo Kiley
4. "Moving to Canada" - Cloud Cult
5. "Past in Present" - Feist
6. "The Geese of Beverly Road" - The National
7. "Little Bird on my Shoulder" - Haley Bonar
8. "Follow You Down" - Gin Blossoms (yes, the Gin Blossoms)
9. "In Order" - Halloween, Alaska (does every version of this song have a beep in it, or did I accidentally buy the edited version?)
10. "Little Plastic Castle" (live from official Hamburg, Germany boot) - Ani Difranco
11. "Don't Do Me Like That" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
12. "In the Way" (live) - Ani Difranco
13. "She Cries Your Name" - Beth Orton
14. "Alternative to Love" - Brendan Benson
15. "Who You Gonna Run To?" Solid Gold
16. "The Little Cowboy" - Erin McKeown
17. "Dogs" - Damien Rice
18. "Parachutes" - Coldplay
19. "Seashell Tale" (M. Ward cover) - Bright Eyes
20. "It's Over" - The Cure
21. "All the Wine" - The National
22. "All is Well" - Soul Asylum
23. "Painting" - Atmosphere
24. "Bartender" - Regina Spektor
25. "The Avalanche" - Sufjan Stevens

Keep It To Yourself

Why is it that sick people feel the need to tell the world how sick they are?

I just overheard a conversation between two co-workers. One just got over H1N1 and a myriad of other illnesses. She went into detail about all that ailed her over the past couple of weeks. The body aches, the cough, the fever. What is someone supposed to do with this information? Geez, sorry you were sick. Please stay away from me because you still sound terrible.

Maybe it's a psychological thing. Sick people need others to feel sympathy for them so they will be cared for and not abandoned by the pack. A means to survival. I don't know. It just bothers me.

In other news, I'm not feeling well ; ) But I'm not going to go into the details of my under-the-weatherness. Instead, I will continue on with the bi-monthly tradition I have started of playing the 25 songs that play on my iPod while I'm at work and not feeling well.
So here we go:

1. "Inspiration Information" Shuggie Otis
2. "Lucky Day" - Erin McKeown
3. "Un-Named" - Leona Naess
4. "Fools Gold" - Michael Johns
5. "Joan Jett of Arc" - Clem Snide
6. "Slide Away" - Oasis
7. "With Arms Outstretched" - Rilo Kiley
8. "Underground" - Ben Folds Five
9. "Up to the Mountain" - Patty Griffin
10. "The Opposite of Hallelujah" - Jens Lekman
11. "A Daily Anthem" - David Cook
12. "A Spade" - Ani Difranco
13. "Grey" (live from Hamburg, Germany - Offical Boot) - Ani Difranco
14. "Capturing Moods" - Rilo Kiley
15. "Talk Tonight" (live) - Noel Gallagher
16. "Sledgehammer" - Peter Gabriel
17. "Acid Tongue" - Jenny Lewis
18. "See Fernando" - Jenny Lewis
19. "Single Ladies" - Beyonce
20. "Runs in the Family" - Amanda Palmer
21. "Changer" - Anais Mitchell
22. "Breakin' Up" - Rilo Kiley
23. "Silver Lining" - Rilo Kiley
24. "I Did It For You" - David Cook
25. "Glendora" - Rilo Kiley

Hmmm...my iPod is looking a little lazy today. Lots of repeat artists. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Uh-Oh

I'm feeling a little under the weather again. My back is sore. I'm getting overly warm overly quickly.

But, I also have not been sleeping well. Murray, my dog, has taken to waking up multiple times throughout the night. He gets up, shakes, which then rattles his collar. This initially wakes up. Then he wanders around the bedroom for 10 minutes panting, his nails clicking on the wood floors. This happens about every couple of hours. And I wake up every time.

I'm trying to get some work done so I can take off a bit early from work today guilt free. I need to go home and get some sleep.

The last time I was sick at work, I posted the 25 songs playing on my iPod that helped me get through the day.

So here's another one. 25 songs as the iPod played them:

1 "Never Said" - Liz Phair
2 "Making Noise" - Damien Rice
3 "Cripple Creek Ferry" - Neil Young
4."Straight Ahead" - David Cook
5 "BYOS" - Regina Spektor
6 "54-46 That's My Number/Ball and Chain" - Sublime
7."A Sorta Fairytale" - Tori Amos
8."The Hardest Part" - Hayden
9."Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie" - Bob Dylan
10."Musicology" - Prince
11. "Slide Away" (live) - Noel Gallagher
12. "It's Margaret Cho" - Skankin' Pickle
13. "Lit Up" - The National
14. "Sea of Love" (cover) - Cat Power
15. "In Your Eyes" - Peter Gabriel
16. "Not For You" - Pearl Jam
17. "Sara" - Fleetwood Mac
18. "Displaced" - Azure Ray
19. "Jackie's Strength" - Tori Amos
20. "Round a Pole" (live) - Ani Difranco
21. "The Desperate Kingdom of Love" - PJ Harvey
22. "Valerie" - Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse
23. "How?" - John Lennon
24. "Pop Queen" - Ben Lee
25. "Delia" - Johnny Cash

Back To Work

Back at work with surprisingly little to catch up on. I guess I did a little too well in my desk clean up before last week's three day weekend and I did some work at home while I was sick.

I had to go to urgent care last night for an earache. Hopefully this is the last of my illness. As soon as the earache kicked in, the lump in my throat went away. The earache has been subdued by meds and, for now, I just have a cough.

Someone posted a "challenge" on Facebook. Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 25 songs that come up. No editing/skipping songs. So, I am going to do that throughout the day today while I work and listen. Here we go:

1. "Bruise Violet" - Babes In Toyland
2. "The Leading Guy" - Micah P. Hinson
3. "You Only Live Once" - The Strokes
4. "Setting Sun" - Chemical Brothers
5. "Shatter" - Liz Phair
6. "Winter" - Tori Amos
7. "Tonight" - Lykke Li
8. "Secret Meeting" - The National
9. "Masochist" - Ingrid Michaelson
10. "Seashell Tale" - M. Ward
11. "Somedays" - Regina Spektor
12. "Onyonghasayo" - Skankin' Pickle
13. "Porcelain" - David Cook
14. "O'Brien Nocturne" - M. Ward
15. "Let It Be Me" - Social Distortion
16. "Carousel" - Iron and Wine
17. "Displaced" - Azure Ray
18. "32 Flavors" (live from Hamburg, Germany) - Ani Difranco
19. "Cheated Hearts" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
20. "Virtue" - Ani Difranco
21. "Look Inside America" - Blur
22. "Silver Lining" - Rilo Kiley
23. "A Postcard to Nina" - Jens Lekman
24. "Love Reign O'er Me" - Pearl Jam
25. "You and I Both" (live version) - Jason Mraz

Not nearly as embarrassing as I thought it would be.