Songs about... Ourselves (the authors of this website)

Introduce Yourself… Right On
First playlist, twenty songs that describe you. Overall theme songs. The musical equivalent of the self-portrait art project your 6th grade art teacher made you do in watercolors. The songs that would play over the opening credits of the sitcom that is your life. Your, “I‘m No Superman,” or “I’ll Be There For You.”.

Chuck

1. Electric Eel Shock “Bastard”: I always picture myself riding down Broadway in a glamorous float when I hear this song, and I picture the throngs of my adoring fans shouting this out with glee as my float passes by.

2. Anthrax “Madhouse (Greater of Two Evils Version)”: This song always reminds me of growing up at my parents house. Hiding in my room, trying to avoid their insanity and random bizarre urges. My mom’s homicidal urge to kill our animals for the slightest infraction, her religious fanaticism, my father’s hopeless drinking, ah, tones of home. I also chose the Greater of Two Evils version because it’s just so much more metal.

3. Dewey Cox “Walk Hard”: For a long time I was without any means of transportation at all, save for my own two feet. So I walked, everywhere. It eventually turned into a form of meditation, and could be a nice escape from the madness that was my life, especially in my adolescent years. Though it has made me lazy in a strange sort of way. I still don’t have a car, really because I am just to lazy to get one, while I have absolutely no problem walking ten miles. Weird.

4. G. Love & the Special Sauce “Kick Drum”: When I was in 9th grade my family was very involved with church, and like any good Christians they woke their unwilling child up bright and fucking early every Sunday morning and dragged me along. I however managed to get something good out of the bargain, I got the then youth pastor, who is still a close friend of mine and very standup guy to teach me how to play drums. Which led me even further into my musical addiction, as well as gifting me with the inability to sit still and not fidget for more than a minute.

5. Arthur Conley “Sweet Soul Music”: “Do you like good music?” If I had it my way, most of my conversations would begin, and more times than not, end with that question. “No? You don’t? I have lost all interest in what you have to say.” And of all types of music, soul is probably my absolute preferred genre, so this song gains even more points there in my world.

6. Tool “Hush”: I love this song, because I get into trouble very often for saying exactly what is on my mind. However, unlike the narrator of this song, I am probably kidding much less than people actually think I am. And kids, do take note, if you really want to insult someone, just say it with a smile and people normally think you are merely joking. Or they get pissed off and stab you.

7. Adam and the Ants “Goody Two Shoes”: For a very long time I did not drink at all, and I still never smoke. I don’t smoke because it has just never appealed to me, aside from a cigar on rare occasions. I didn’t drink because I saw it completely end some people I really care about, and only do these days in moderation, and really just to be social. This only changed because I dated an alcoholic for a short period of time. And while I think few people would label me as a goody two shoes, this song has such a great beat!

8. John Mayer “Gravity”: While I sincerely do pride myself on how big of a dick I can be at times, I am not always, a complete douche. And since every decent playlist needs a sweet sensitive song, that slows everything down and shows how human the list maker is, this is it. This song always comes to mind when something happens that brings me and all of my tremendous ego back to the beginning and reminds me that I and more often than not, the people around me, are not immortal. It’s a very humbling song, and sometimes even the best of us need to be humbled.
9. Radiohead “Everything in It’s Right Place”: A song about obsessive compulsive disorder and neurosis, how perfect! I am not the biggest Radiohead fan, I like some of their stuff, but for the most part think they are overrated. Which isn’t as terrible as it sounds, I love the Doors, but think they are the most overrated band ever. Regardless, I found this song when I was working on a playlist of songs about psychological disorders, and find it fits pretty well for myself as well. I have had OCD for a long time, and personally think it is getting much better, (though my roommates may disagree,) but still it is part of my life and therefore part of my soundtrack.

10. Johnny Cash “Man in Black”: I wear a lot of black, plain and simple. Not really. I made this list a while ago, and Aaron and I were listening to it on the way up to Albany as we were moving from Florida. On the trip Aaron looked at me and said, so you wear black for all the same reasons Cash says he does in the song? And I jokingly replied something about it being more metal than pink or some shit. But he wasn’t actually far from the truth. I have lost two of my best friends in my time, and started dressing in black far more often after the first passed away. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t miss them just a little, and in some stupid way it helps me remember them and how great they were. Also, it’s more metal than pink.

11. Scott H. Biram “Graveyard Shift”: I firmly believe that people are biologically programmed to either be morning birds or night owls. I am of the latter. I woke up at five AM for four years straight, high school, and I never got used to it. No matter if I had all weekend off or what time I went to bed, still like pulling teeth, every morning. So now I work from 11pm to 7am and couldn’t be happier.

12. Collin Hay “My Brilliant Feat”: Sometimes I hear this song and think he’s actually talking about being the world’s best tap dancer. Really, this is a song about doing something amazing and the rush that comes with it. You can look at it as an egotistical song, or just how you feel after doing something amazing. And it’s a feeling I know quite well. Whether it’s affecting someone’s life in a positive way by listening to them when no one else takes the time, or finding new and inventive ways of pissing of fat, obnoxious bull dykes in a bar.

13. My Morning Jacket “Evil Urges”: Everyday is a struggle for me. My psyche is a never ending dichotomy. Am I a saint or a cunt? Do I do something dickish to someone, because I’m pretty sure they really deserve it, or do I turn the other cheek? Which shoulder do I turn to for advice?

14. Mofro “Dirfloorcracker”: I get strange looks a lot of the time because I am proud to admit I am a cracker. To me cracker does not mean white, or racist, it means Floridian (though it can actually be applied to people from Georgia as well,) which to some people is a thing to be ashamed of in itself. The term comes from the cracking sound made by the whips of the cattle (one of Florida’s biggest exports,) ranchers, (and in the Georgian sense the cracking of the corn stalks.) So yes, I am southern and a cracker, but if someone calls me a redneck I will fucking eviscerate them.
15. Massacration “Metal is the Law”: This song is great because it details exactly what you need to do in order to be “metal”. It is also perfect because it exemplifies the type of metal that I really love, the kind that does not take it self seriously at all. Since I am perhaps the most metal person writing for this blog, I felt it was only appropriate to include this.

16. World Inferno Friendship Society “Addicted to Bad Ideas”: If this song would only just play anytime I have one of my “brilliant ideas” perhaps fewer of them would actually come to fruition. Let’s move to New York City in the middle of an economic crisis! Sure your girlfriend can move in with us Aaron, she seems nice! Hey, let’s start a website! I will surely “fail to live long.”

17. Men Without Hats “The Safety Dance”: “We can dance if you want to, we can leave your friends behind, cause your friends don’t dance and if they don’t dance then they’re no friends of mine.” If you ever see me walking down the road with my headphones on, I will probably be dancing. Whether head banging to Megadeth or dancing like the chick from Flashdance to the Darkness, I loves me some dancin’. Of course I am not good at it, but that is merely a technicality. There is a passage from the bible I have always found incredibly beautiful, where David dances out of sheer joy. He dances like a complete fool and everybody mocks him, but he is happy. He is also naked for some odd reason, but that’s beside the point. In my world it’s always safe to dance.

18. The Beatles “Paperback Writer”: I have always wanted to write professionally. That is mainly why I started this website, (Jann Wenner, if you’re reading this, I work cheap.) Aaron and I also started a rule that all playlists must include a Beatles’ song, so requirement met.

19. The Pixies “Wave of Mutilation”: We all went to a bar the other night for Aaron’s girlfriend’s birthday. While there, I got into a music war with a fat, obnoxious bull dyke at the end of the bar. She wanted to listen to “angry white music” and I wanted to listen to Wham! It ended with me making her look like a fool and us all leaving the bar in a hurry so she didn’t try to kill me. A lot of situations with me end like that. For some time Aaron and Brittny had a saying, “everything is more difficult with Chuck.” I just have a way about me, where I can sweep through a place and leave chaos in my wake. Hell there was a time when I almost started a riot at my high school just because I wanted to make fun of some preppy kids.

20. Todd Snider “Alright Guy”: You have to end a playlist almost as strong, if not more so, than you begin it. All things considered, I think I’m an alright guy. I’m a bastard, an asshole, I have my problems, my issues, but all in all, I’m okay. At least I think so. What do you think? Leave comments, suggestions, songs you think work for you, or me, or any of us.


Glen


1. Green Day “Longview” – I have to open the list with this because it’s definitely the song that I’ve called my “theme song” more than any other. Granted it was in high school that I said that, but I said it quite often. In short, it’s about being bored, horny and lazy, which I most definitely was. There’s a beautiful simplicity in its notions of sitting around, complaining of boredom but refusing to do anything productive and masturbating way too much. Accompanied by a raucous punk rock backdrop it describes my high school days with almost creepy familiarity. Maybe it describes today a little more than I’d care to admit as well.

2. The White Stripes “Jolene” – It’s a cover of a Dolly Parton song, but I like the White Stripes version better, so I’m choosing it. On the surface it’s about a woman who is terrified that the man she loves will leave her for Jolene. Convinced that Jolene is far more desirable than herself, she goes to basically beg Jolene to let her keep her own man. The underlying theme is one of insecurity and a fear of someone else being better, things I struggle with. I tend to let minor failures bring me down more than I let minor successes lift me up, and it’s hard for me to be proud of the things I’m good at because I always know there’s someone out there who is better. And, like the narrator, I’m also paranoid about people stealing my shit.

3. Black Sabbath “Megalomania” – I chose the last song because it relates to a streak of insecurity that I struggle with, but I also have an ego big enough to float down Broadway on Thanksgiving. What can I say; I’m an enigma (an egotistical statement if ever there was one). Take, for instance, the mind-blowing narcissism it takes to ramble on for several pages about the twenty songs you think best describe you. All in all I love myself, a lot.

4. The Beatles “Nowhere Man”- Apparently there’s a rule in which every playlist must include a Beatles song, so here’s mine. “Doesn’t have a point of view, knows not where he’s going to.” While the first part of that line couldn’t be further from the truth about me (I have strong points of view on everything from politics and religion to where the Miracle Whip should be spread on a sandwich [on top of the cheese underneath the lettuce]), the second part describes my current station in life perfectly. I keep changing my mind about what I want to be when I grow up every couple of months, I have no idea where I’m going and at the moment I really do feel as though I’m nowhere.

5. Blue Oyster Cult “This Ain’t The Summer Of Love” – “Things ain’t what they used to be and this ain’t the summer of love.” I frequently sit around wishing I had come of age in the late sixties and negatively comparing the world today to the world then. Whenever I think of things I’d like to do, like travel around aimlessly, live off the grid, or start a cult, I’m always haunted by how difficult they are to do today but how easy they would have been back then. One of my great regrets in life is not having been born forty years earlier. I’m plagued by overwhelming nostalgia for a time that I wasn’t even alive to see.

6. No Cash “Gasoline” – This song is raw youth anger filled with violent imagery and a general fuck-it-all attitude, a state of mind which was especially prevalent for me in high school and college, and which I still find myself returning to occasionally.

7. Sid Vicious “I Did It My Way” – He covered the Frank Sinatra classic and he really did do it his way, adding such lyrics as “to think, I killed a cat, and may I say not in the gay way.” There’s something about butchering a masterpiece that really tickles the destructive, anarchic part of me. And the sheer violent insanity of Vicious himself speaks to the monster inside that likes to get blackout drunk and kick in a car window just for the hell of it. I could actually add any version of this song to this playlist because whatever I do in life I want to do my own way for my own reasons. My biggest fear is to let myself become a slave or a puppet. But the profanity laced Sid Vicious version is definitely most appropriate for me. I once made my ex-girlfriend promise that if anything were to ever happen to me, despite my mother’s certain protests, she would make sure this song got played at my funeral.

8. Tupac “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” – I’ve had anywhere from a minor to a major falling-out with about half of my really good friends throughout life, and I’ve settled it and become friends again every time. I’m not one to hold a grudge and I’ll apologize when I know I’m wrong. My friends are too important to me to lose over bullshit, so when it’s possible to salvage a friendship, I will.

9. 311 “Creatures (For A While)” – Creature Face is a term coined by a gentleman named Jorge solely for me, to describe the way my eyes get all squinty, my face gets pale and my mouth sort of gapes open on the (rare, I assure you) occasions where I’m completely, beyond-all-hope obliterated. Creature Face usually only happens after getting sick, which rarely happens. Yet my giggly troglodyte of a friend Stratton decided to adopt the term as a sort of nickname for me. When I made the regrettable mistake of facilitating the meeting of the troglodytes, Stratton told Chuck about it and Chuck has now also adopted it. I say it’s humbling and good for the soul to occasionally be a creature for a while.

10. Dead Kennedys “MTV Get Off The Air” – This one pretty accurately represents my feelings toward MTV and today’s television and mainstream pop culture in general. Don’t get me wrong, I love TV and pop culture. I would even go so far as to say they are passions of mine. I did go to school for film and television production, and I watch a lot of TV. I watch the news, the Daily Show/Colbert Report and television shows with plots, characters and dialogue. But these insipid, mind numbing “reality” shows that showcase and glamorize the filth that should be getting scraped out of the filter of the gene pool make me sick, and MTV is largely to blame. I don’t see how anybody can follow these cheap, phony, shitty homages to everything we should have evolved beyond by now and still take their self even remotely seriously. If that offends you than I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you’re one of the idiots I’m talking about and should probably kill yourself.

11. Gary Jules “Mad World” – Sadness is a part of life. I try to make it as small of a part as possible, but I’ve lost some important people, been cheated on by who I once thought was the most important person, and occasionally have those same out-of-the-blue moments of crippling depression that anybody does. So the playlist needs a sad song. I’m not normally a fan of overtly sad and depressing music, but this song I love. The original by Tears for Fears was depressing enough, but this slow-tempo, piano-only cover takes it to another level.

12. AC/DC “Have A Drink On Me” – I’m not going to lie, one of my favorite things to do is to just go out with friends and get “blinded out of [my] mind.” It’s simple, it’s relatively cheap and it’s a hell of a good time. This song conjures up powerful images of good old fashioned drunken fun with the gang.

13. Spoon “Something to Look Forward To” – One of the great feelings in life for me is having something to look forward to. Whether it be a date, a trip, an awesome party, a simple day off or the broad, fuzzy specter of the future, it’s a truly comforting reassurance during the dull or miserable moments of life to know that something, anything, good is coming.

14. Operation Ivy “Caution” – “Caution is a word that I can’t understand.” A few weeks ago I was standing out the sun roof of my friend’s car as he drove sixty through the suburbs with my arms spread wide screaming “I am the angel of death come down upon thee!” Sometimes I do stupid, dangerous shit for no discernable reason. Sometimes caution is a word that I can’t understand.

15. Statler Brothers “Flowers On The Wall” – There have been major advances in home entertainment technology since this song was released in the 60’s. Instead of “playing solitaire till dawn,” I might play GTA IV till dawn. Instead of “smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo,” I might smoke cigarettes and watch the entire first season of Flight of the Conchords. Instead of “counting flowers on the wall,” I might spend some quality time on one of my favorite adult oriented websites. But the gist is the same; I stay up late, I smoke like a freight train and I’m easily amused.

16. War “Why Can’t We Be Friends” – I don’t really like confrontation. Well sometimes I do, but only when I’m in a really pissy mood, which isn’t all that often. It’s not that I won’t stand up and tell you you’re an asshole if you are one, it’s just that I’d much rather surround myself with people I get along with and I tend to let occasional minor offences slide in the interest of keeping the peace.

17. Flogging Molly “Irish Drinking Song (Drink and Fight)” – That thing I said in the last entry, “it’s not that I won’t stand up and tell you you’re an asshole if you are one…” well that can be especially true in the midst of a night of heavy libations when the tongue starts to loosen and the adrenaline glands want to let off some steam. Sometimes that leads to a fight and sometimes I’m totally ok with that. To me, the song tells the story of a man who hangs out in the same pub with the same people, drinking and occasionally getting into a fight. My friends Justin and Stratton, the lovable staff of the Four Faced Liar and a guy who was there dressed as Pee Wee Herman one Halloween can attest that it’s a warmly familiar situation.

18. The Offspring “Bad Habit” – “Hey man you know I’m really ok…but when I’m in my car don’t give me no crap ‘cause the slightest thing and I just might snap.” I’ve got a pretty long fuse. It takes a lot to really piss me off, unless I’m driving. The song’s violent fantasies of picking off fellow motorists on the freeway starts running through my head like the screen at a drive-in theater the second somebody leaves their turn signal on a little too long. The highlight of the song, a loud, disjointed string of profanity, is pretty similar to what you might hear me screaming at any given moment on any given road. If any potential employers are reading this, I assure you I’m fine by the time I walk through the parking lot.

19. Pennywise “Still Can Be Great” – This song is all about how hard it is to change, but how it is possible. I actually feel like I’ve matured a lot in the past few years, become more productive and responsible. But it’s been a slow process and one that is still ongoing. I find myself taking steps backward from time to time and I still have a lot of work to do, but I know there’s time and I believe that I still can be great.

20. Ice Cube “It Was A Good Day” – Many of the happenings in the warrior-poet Cube’s self described good day have never happened to me. I’ve never “fucked around and got a triple-double” or been declared a pimp by any form of aviation craft, and the absence of the need for an AK on any particular day in my life is actually pretty average. The reason I relate to the song so much is because of its appreciation of the little things. For Ice Cube, like me, it doesn’t take much to have a good day. He eats some good food, hangs out with his friends, makes a little money, gets some ass, gets drunk and nobody he knows dies. Sounds like a pretty damn good day to me.

Aaron

Aaron Hufty ( An American Sweetheart: The Anthology)
1. Born Bored (by The Rumble Strips) - This song is an homage to the quicksand which was Bradenton, Florida. My emancipation from that region of Florida that my folks drug me to was a huge part of my life. I never wanted to be one of those poor folks that had to live in one place their whole life. So, before I had a wife, kids and was tied down, I escaped. The Rumble Strips currently are one of my favorite bands because of there awesome brass section and vocals.

2. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (by Weezer) - We all have to feed our egos, and this song is how I feed mine. Yes, I like to exaggerate my own self worth. But it's not my fault that when I look in the mirror the reflection is pure manliness. I love the fact that the lyrics are silly, the music style of the song changes frequently and the vocal harmonies make a ridiculous song sound like they made a serious effort. Go Weezer!

3. Ain't Wastin' Time No More (by The Allman Brothers Band) - Almost ever day I wake up late. After I rise to my feet, look at the clock and see that I wasted all of my day, I say this to myself, "Tomorrow I'm going to wake up early and feel accomplished. Tomorrow is going to be the start of a new me." I'm still waiting for that to happen. This song always makes me feel inspired. It strikes a blow in my existential bone.

4. Give It Away (by The Red Hot Chili Peppers) - I am a big supporter of Karma. I don't really believe in a huge cosmic force that regulates the universe, but I do think that if people treat others with respect, it spreads. People that are surrounded by dicks start to act like dicks. So, not to sound like a hippie, but spread the love and stop being a dick.

5. Schadenfreude (by The Avenue Q Soundtrack) - I know this kind of contradicts the previous song on my list but I can't help laugh at this song. Chuck and I play a game called "Your Team". In which we add sad-sacks and other poor souls on the other's team in order to make fun of them in a very discrete way. And don't judge me. America's Funniest Home Videos made a fortune off the concept of schadenfreude.

6. Dance Tonight (by Paul McCartney) - I can't help but dance to every song that hear that has an upbeat rhythm. In the grocery store, in my house, at the mall or at the bowling alley. I don't even need a sound system. All I need is to make my mind roam astray for a moment and think about a song that is appropriate for the current situation. I start to feel my feet move to the rhythm and I'm off. It's an unstoppable force.

7. The Wanderer (by Dion) - I think most men can appreciate this song. I find it hard to keep interest in one woman for a long period of time. I don't know if it's me or if I just seem to date boring women. Who knows. I love the hunt and the mystery of a new woman in my life. But longevity doesn't seem to be my strong suit. I have drawn out relationships that I was no longer interested in to save the emotional rollercoaster which is a break-up.

8. I’m Finding It Harder To Be A Gentlemen (by The White Stripes) - This explains my never-ending effort to muster the will to be chivalrous in a world that won't say thank you for a kind act, but will shun someone for the absence of it.

9. If Tomorrow Never Comes (by Todd Snider) - I had to add a song about my religious beliefs. I’m more agnostic than anything. I have no problem with religion in general. I do believe that just being a good person should be enough. And not a life long devotion to a belief. "Judge the judgmental and what am I?"-Todd Snider

10. Til' I Get It Right (by Fast Ball) - We can knock out two of my favorite things in this song. My ability to forget my worries by getting lost in a song and spending too much money on vinyl records. It doesn't matter what is going wrong in my life, the process of picking out a record and listening to it can always clear my emotional slate.

11. Fat Bottomed Girls (by Queen) - So....? Are you a breast or ass man? I think you can guess my preference. I am a sucker for a beautiful woman with a big round butt. It may sound like a disrespectful thing to say about women, and maybe it is. but everyone has a preference when it comes to whom they are attracted. So......."get on your bikes and ride!"

12. Should I Stay Or Should I Go? (by The Clash) - I am one of the most indecisive people that I know. If someone asks me the question, "Where should we eat tonight?", my answer is usually, "I don't know? It's up to you." It's mostly because I don't really care for the most part. And if we go somewhere new that is awful, it won't be my fault.

13. Crazy (by Barenaked Ladies) - Even though the title of this song says it all, I think that I should explain further. Sometimes I like to ignore my conscience and better judgment. I find myself doing things that in the short run will be dangerous or embarrassing. But after all the smoke has cleared I know I'll have a great story and a great experience to remember.

14. It's The Little Things We Do (by The Zutons) - I have had my crazy youth years just like every one else. I have had too many bad hangovers to never want to ever drink again. But we all know that will never happen. So this song is a tribute to all the awesome times I've had while drinking and subsequently all the horrible days that have followed. Nothing good ever comes without its consequences.

15. I'll Do Anything (by Jason Mraz) - I like to think that I am very spontaneous. I pretty much just go with the flow. I'll try any food at least once and I am always up for a new adventure. I Do a lot of traveling and plan to see every inch of the United States before I die. Or at least try to.

16. New Shoes (by Paolo Nutini) - I like fresh starts. I'm the opposite of a pack rat. Sometimes I will throw away about half of my belongings and just get new things. A new suit or a new pair of jeans just make me feel like a new man. I think we all need fresh starts once in a while. We all need to stop and reexamine what’s going on around us from time to time.

17. An Idea For A Movie (by The Vandals) - I would be a millionaire by now if all the movies that I had thought up were filmed. There would also be so many more zombie movies than there are now. Most of these gems were the love children of off the wall ridiculous conversations that just wouldn't die. We passed the time waiting in line at Universal Studios by thinking up plausible causes for a zombie Armageddon.

18. Come Together (by The Beatles) - This was a hard choice to make. I had to pick a Beatles song that best resembles me as a person. And after some deep thought, I have picked “Come Together”. I like this song because it's just all nonsense. People tried to decode this song for a long time and it really has no meaning. It's a perplexing piece of work, filled with confusing lyrics and so much mystery. And you want it to make sense, but it never will. I like to make the illusion that I have everything in order and that I am just as powerful as this song seems to be. But in the end...........I'm just all nonsense.

19 Sharp Dressed Man (by ZZ Top) - I pride myself on looking good. I think it's because I'm O.C.D. and not so much of an impressive sense of style. But, you know, whatever works.

20. Fuck Her Gently (by Tenacious D) - This song resembles my love for having a nice laugh over completely vulgar and inappropriate content. Some people may not share my enthusiasm for foul language and dick and fart jokes but that’s there loss.

Matt

1."Always Someone Cooler Than You"- Ben Folds
This Song is the epitome of the transition from School to real life. Listening to it was a revelation, because it's reassuring to know that no matter what I do, someone's always gonna be better, faster, stronger, etc.

2."Sunday Morning" - Maroon 5
Unlike someone else on this site, I'm definitely a morning person. Sunday mornings are best, as one of the local stations in my area plays a 3 hour block of old school and alternative country and that's a bonus. Mornings are my time to get my mind together, and Sundays I usually try to wake up early, watch the sun come up, and alternate between some real down home gospel and easygoing bluegrass or country.

3."Florida" - Mofro
The lyrics to this could have come out of something I'd write if I had an iota of talent. It's exactly how I feel about the sad deterioration of my home state. "Now skyscrapers and superhighways cut right the heart of Florida"--yea sums it just about right.

4."Last DJ" - Tom Petty
Yea I know it's ridiculously cheesy to pick, but I was a DJ in a long ago world and I loved every second of it. I said (pretty much) what I wanted and played every and any type of music possible with only a little bit of blowback. Somehow playing a song called "Fuckin In The Butt" raised come eyebrows, who knew?

5."Running out of Ink" - Barenaked Ladies
The lyrics to this where pretty dead on for me during HS. Writing things and showing them to people, or just performing covers for people I knew, were so nerve-wracking. Didn't drive me to drinkin’, but probably should have.

6."She has a Girlfriend Now" - Reel Big Fish
I had a span in life where a few gals I dated also decided they wanted to date gals and not tell me. That's not nearly as exciting as you'd think.

7."Sell Out" - Reel Big Fish
As a buddy of mine once said, he'd sell out and play music he didn't particularly like to be able to play music for a living only. I think that’s about right. Plus the job I work now ain’t exactly anti-establishment.

8."Eulogy" - Tool
I'm not gonna get on a soapbox here (though that would make me average height if I did) but the words to this intrigue me and I think are a good mirror to show how everyone (including myself) act at times. Saying a lot and not saying a thing simultaneously.

9."Call and Answer" - Barenaked Ladies
This one's self explanatory. I work a phone intensive job. Someone calls and I have to answer. May regret it, but still gotta do it.

10."Till I Get It Right" - Fastball
With the exception of the drinkin’, that’s how I spend a fair amount of my time. Buying music and getting excited about finding all the artists I like, writing e-mails and things I never send because they aren't perfect. It’s annoying, I tell ya.

11."Power of Equality" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
I’m a big believer of everyone being equal. People are all struggling with the same things to different degrees, just trying to get along and enjoy life.

12."Hook" - Blues Traveler
It's true, the damn hook of the song is what brings me back and causes those earworms that eat through my skull. Damn you Blues Traveler!!

13."Tell the Girl" - Cowboy Mouth
Something I end up doing all the time. Sorry for this, sorry for that, but I do make a lot of mistakes, so it ain't their fault.

14."Superstition" - Stevie Wonder
I'm surrounded by people who "believe in things they don't understand" and treat everything like it's a superstition- from sports to daily life.

15."Me Neither" - Brad Paisley
Whenever I walk up to someone and go over a lists of interests, “so do you like this? No?, well me neither. How bout this? Oh of course not, how could I?” It's cyclical I tells ya.

16."Wish I Could Say That I was Drinkin’” - Cadillac Sky
Since I don't drink, this goes through my mind every time I say or do something boneheaded and wish I could take it back.

17."Shake Your Hips" - Legendary Shack Shakers
Yeah, that one really IS self explanatory.

18."Where's the Devil When You Need Him?" - Legendary Shack Shakers
Every now and again, when I’m feeling particularly spiteful or evil, I do wish the devil could do the things the law says I shouldn't. Plus I think he'd be fun to talk to, I’m sure he'd have some kickass stories.

19."Going In The Right Direction" - Robert Randolph and the Family Band
Everyday I gotta make sure I'm going where I want to get where I'll be the happiest. Pretty simple.

20."Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again" - Sly and the Family Stone
That’s my mantra. You be you, and let me be me, and we'll always be good.