margaritas and mad hatters

I was working on a mix cd for an exchange when I was thinking about starting this site. I have always identified with that poor rabbit, late for a very important date. Overdue. In a rabbit stew. One of the songs for the mix was supposed to be about lyrics that you always get wrong. And although Elton John doesn’t have ennunciation troubles or anything when he sings Mona Lisa’s and Mad Hatters, every single time the line comes up, I think it should be “margaritas”. Possibly this is because I’m generally always in the mood for margaritas.

So, anyway, that’s the song I chose, although I used Mandy Moore’s version. What? I’m just trying to broaden the pop culture experience. I’m helpful!

The entire list, complete with liner notes, is as follows:

a song from your home town/state/county : Jesus – LAPD
As probably only die-hard KORN fans are aware, KORN was LAPD before it was KORN. And it’s probably only that set of fans that know that the guys from KORN are from Bakersfield, CA. Yep, the depressing place the Okies went when they fled the dust bowl. One of the guys went to my high school and so I knew them in a tenuous “I was friends with their friends so we ended up at the same parties” kind of way. They moved off to LA to make their fortune, but my senior year of high school, we’d go see them at really scary divey places when they’d come back to town. One night, a friend and I decided to drive down to LA and see them. They were playing at this funky place called Spanky’s Cafe in Riverside. I mean, talk about cool. Riverside, people! (By the way, we told our parents that we were going on a college tour and were staying the night in a dorm as part of a college invitation. We did actually visit a couple of colleges that day as I recall, so we’d have actual answers when our parents asked questions: USC, which we were surprised to learn is in the middle of the scariest neighborhood either of us had ever seen and thus we refused to even slow down, much less stop and walk around; and Pomona college at Clarement, which I actually later got a scholarship to and almost attended, but I digress).

However, the evening was not spent in a dorm. Rather, it was spent at a crack house. That’s right. I went to a crack house with the guys from KORN. Aren’t you so jealous? After the show, the guys in the band invited us out to party with them. Two of them crawled into the back of my friend’s dad’s truck (it was one of those mini trucks with the little shell over the back) and we followed the rest to the “party”. Which just so happened to be our first (and only) crack house visit. Needless to say, we were reluctant to even drink the beer there and risked our lives by standing around trying not to touch anything until we figured we wouldn’t look completely uncool if we left and then we snuck out as quickly as possible. We then drove straight back to Bakersfield and got back just in time for my friend to drop me off at work. A couple of days later, my friend borrowed her dad’s truck again and realized that one of the guys had left a bong in the truck bed. Oh those silly guys from KORN.

Anyway, this song is from they were still LAPD. It sounds just like it did then. That’s not necessarily an endorsement.

a song for when you’re feeling blue : Things Have Changed – Bob Dylan
At a particularly low period in my life, I was in a taxi with my luggage, crying harder than I thought possible. The taxi driver was playing Wonder Boys soundtrack. He saw me crying and asked if I wanted him to turn it off. I shook my head and he turned it up and I listened to it the whole way.

shagging music : Love – Paula Cole
This was tough, as I recently put together a CD of all shagging music. I originally was going to use John Mayer’s Your Body is a Wonderland, but I decided this was a little sexier.

the song you are most likely to sing/most tempted to sing at a karaoke bar : Dream On – Aerosmith
Right. So, I’m not likely to sing karaoke ever. Instead, I offer a song about singing.

why hasn’t everyone heard of _______? : Dreams I Left Behind Maybe LaterLowen & Navarro
Some mixes may have Broken Moon on them. Actually, everyone has heard of these guys, or at least the songs they’ve written (for instance, “We Belong”. Also, Dan Navarro taught his cousin Dave guitar). (Ahem: Made a little song change when I actually started burning.)

music you’ve loved the longest, and still love : Rainy Days and Mondays – The Carpenters
I remember listening to The Carpenters and John Denver on eight-track with my mom when I was maybe three years old. At Christmas, when we looked at Christmas lights, we always drove by their house. It was known for being all decked out. You all are lucky I didn’t pick a John Denver song instead. I still like his stuff too.

a TV show theme song : My Life – Billy Joel
I never really liked Bosom Buddies, but I love just about everything Billy Joel. I’ve seen him in concert five times. I’ve even seen Movin’ Out, the musical.

song that keeps you awake while driving late at night : Pour Some Sugar On Me – Def Leppard
I was trying to think back to actual songs that have kept me awake when I used to drive late at night. I mostly remember drinking Diet Pepsi and rolling all the windows down. The only song I remember listening to on repeat was Just Like Jesse James, by Cher. An ex-boyfriend and I used to sing it really loud when I was in college. I would have included that song instead if I could have only found the CD. It’s around here somewhere.

a song that you like to sing the musical parts (e.g. the bass line or the guitar solo) instead of the lyrics : Moon River – Henry Mancini
Sometimes I feel just like Holly Golightly, with the phone in the suitcase and the one shoe under the bed and the trying to learn Portuguese. I didn’t marry Buddy Hacket when I was 14 or climb out bathroom windows after borrowing $50 for the powder room though. But when I hear this song, I always want to hum the parts that Holly did while she was sitting out on her balcony with that kerchief in her hair.

a song from the first album you bought with your own money : Like I Love You – Amy Grant
Yet another example of how the mix receivees got off easy. I think my first actual album was Amy Grant’s first album. She was also my first concert (at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, OK). I was originally going to include Grape, Grape Joy from that album, which includes the following lyrics:

I am a small and lonely grape
Clutching to the vine
Waiting for the day when I’ll become my Savior’s wine
Oh wouldn’t French cusisine just yearn it
I’ve eternity to ferment
But knowing me I’d end up rippled
In a cellar of chablis

However, I seem to have misplaced that album, so I’m including something from one of her later albums (Behind the Eyes) instead.

a song that you never get the lyrics right : Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters – Mandy Moore
Why Mandy Moore? Why not? She’s so cute!

a song with lyrics about history or folklore : Crow on the Cradle – Ceili’s Muse
This is a Celtic band from Texas. Well, was. They’ve broken up, and the singer started the Maggie Drennon Band. Other people have sung this one, including Jackson Browne.

favorite song by a one hit wonder : Cheap and Evil Girl – Bree Sharp
This isn’t her one hit, but I like it just as much.

a song that you’re ashamed to admit that you like : Making Love Out Of Nothing At All – Air Supply
I had so many to choose from for this. I was really close to including Milkshake by Kelis or Yesterday by Hillary Duff. But after looking over my NSYNC, Nick Carter, Britney, and sundry other CDs, I decided that it was just too tough to choose. So, I went with the song about knowing how to whisper and cry and shit.

a song to bust the car speakers : Time – DC Talk
I know, Christian Rap.

an old song, perhaps a song from before 1940 : Stuff Like That There – Kelly Clarkson
Betty Hutton recorded this song in 1944, so it misses the date cutoff a bit. Also, I’m including Kelly Clarkson’s version from American Idol, so it not only misses the date, but really belongs in the “ashamed” category.

a song that calms your nerves or reduces anxiety : Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
I almost included the Ramones version instead, but it’s not quite so calming.

a song that makes you want to punch someone in the face : Stairway to Heaven – Led Zepplin
See, my boyfriend likes to listen to the classic rock station when we’re driving. They like to play Zepplin. But the only song they ever seem to play is Stairway to Heaven. Every time we get in the car, Stairway to Heaven! (They sometimes mix it up with Pink Floyd’s The Wall and a selection of songs by The Eagles.) The boyfriend claims that the station plays lots of other Zepplin songs, I just don’t know any of them. I say that he just randomly picks other songs that happen to be playing and tells me they’re by Led Zepplin. I looked through his box set last night (Me: “See? The song is so damn long that they need a box set for it!” Him: “You know, that song does make me want to punch someone in the face.”) to see if I could find a shorter version, but apparently not so much. In fact, it’s too long to even fit on the CD. Instead, I’ll offer a short bonus track.

a song that best describes this moment in time for you. Or the song you find yourself wanting to listening the most right now. : Walk On – U2
This was tough. I was thinking of going with the Indigo Girl’s Deconstruction, just for the line, “we’re sculpted from youth, the chipping away makes me weary”. But Walk On really resonates with me right now, for the idea that sometimes you keep walking, even if you don’t know exactly where the path will lead.

a been done wrong song : Song for the Dumped – Ben Folds Five
And since I couldn’t fit on Stairway to Heaven, I’m also including Fuck You And Your Cat by Goldfinger. It’s a want to punch someone who’s done you wrong song. And it’s only 1:19 long.

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