I seem to be writing and thinking about music quite a bit lately, thanks in part to my Friday Evening Videos feature, but also because I’ve recently experienced a genuine reawakening of interest in the subject. Blame it on the iPod I got for my birthday a few months back. I’m still not entirely sold on the iPod/digital music concept; I find I’m not inclined to carry the thing around with me the way many people seem to, and I’m still uncomfortable with the thought of my music existing as intangible data that could vanish in the wink of an eye if something goes wrong… and let’s not even get started on the OCD-fueled dilemmas I’m having over the choice of what, exactly, to rip into my iTunes library! (No, I’m not ripping everything in my collection, for various reasons.) But having a new toy has inspired me to start seeking out new songs and albums again after years of honestly not caring much about music at all, so that’s something.
Given all that, I’d say this is the perfect time to do the lengthy music meme I spotted over at Byzantium’s Shores yesterday morning. And one… two… one-two-three-four!

1. What are you listening to right now?
   Uh… I’m actually not listening to music right now. Sigh. One item into the meme and I’m already at FAIL.

2. What song(s) make(s) you sad?
   I’m sure there are many, but the first one that comes to mind is Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” It’s a heartbreaking piece of work on its own terms, and it doesn’t help that it came out around the time I was trying (and mostly failing) to get over somebody who’d left me.
   Bob Seger’s “The Ring” is pretty brutal, too.

3. What is the most annoying song in the world?
   “Beep Beep” by The Playmates. Also known as “The Little Nash Rambler” because of its lyrical references to that particular car, this is a novelty tune from 1958; it’s pretty damn irritating even by the standards of an era that gave us Alvin and the Chipmunks and “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini.” I think it’s the reaaaallly slow pacing through the first half. Or maybe that damn bicycle horn. Either way, this one makes me incredibly impatient… and because of the social scene my parents inhabit, and the fact that I and The Girlfriend often find ourselves lurking on the fringes of that scene during the summer, I’m guaranteed to hear the damn thing at least once in the next few months…

4. Your all-time favorite band?
   Hm. Weirdly enough, my all-time favorite acts tend to be solo artists, and there’s no one group I like so much that I’d call them a “favorite.” When it comes to bands, I mostly have a lot of greatest-hits compilations. That said, I do really enjoy the greatest hits of ZZ Top, Queen, Journey, Night Ranger, Loverboy, The Eagles, Boston, Van Halen, The Who, and Led Zeppelin.

5. Your newly discovered band is?
   The Runaways. Honestly, I can’t explain why I’ve been so hung up on them lately. Their music is simplistic to the point of stupid, and their playing — no offense, ladies, but you were just kids at the time — is merely adequate at best. Most of the time, they sound like they’re just aping KISS out in the garage. Nevertheless, there’s something about them I find appealing, and sometimes even haunting, especially on the more ballad-y songs (yes, they did record a few). There’s a plaintive kind of vulnerability beneath the bad-girl punk-wannabe surface that calls to me on several conflicting levels. Probably my inner Humbert Humbert coming out, if I were honest about it. But regardless, I’ve been listening to them a lot. And I liked the movie, too…

6. Best female voice?
   I think Pat Benatar has a pretty amazing voice. Trivia note: she trained as an opera singer and was accepted to Julliard before detouring into her true love, rock and roll.
   I also love the warm-honey tones of Mary Chapin Carpenter’s voice. Benatar is great for blasting when the car windows are down; Chapin is what you want to hear when you’re sitting out on the deck in the wee hours of a summer night.

7. Best male voice?
   Freddie Mercury. Hands down. The man’s range and power were incredible.

8. Music type you find yourself listening to most?
   I fear I’m going to lose all kinds of cool points and/or intellectual respect from my Loyal Readers for admitting this, but you all probably have guessed by now anyway: My default “comfort food” genres are power-pop from the early ’80s and pop-metal from the late ’80s, as well as the country-influenced crossover tunes from the ’70s. Yeah, I like pap, and I probably like it for the same reason I still like the original Battlestar Galactica: it’s escapist, it’s fun, and for just a brief moment, it makes me feel the way I felt when I didn’t have any worries about my life. Bottom line: It makes me happy.

9. What do you listen to, to hype you up?
   Something with fuzzy guitars, an insistent beat, and a catchy hook, like Def Leppard’s “Photograph,” Great White’s “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” or Poison’s “Nothin’ but a Good Time.” If I’m in the mood to feel really mean, though, nothing has quite the effect of AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds” or “Thunderstruck.” Those just make you want to put on some leather, find a stretch of empty road, and put the hammer down.

10. What do you listen to when you want to calm down?
    I find Jimmy Buffett’s early ballads like “He Went to Paris” or “The Captain and the Kid” very soothing.

11. Last gig/concert you went to?
    I saw a lot of concerts last year, especially in the fall/early winter timeframe, and I can’t remember who played on which dates now. Probably Rick Springfield, although it may have been Bryan Adams or Fountains of Wayne.

12. Band you find yourself listening to the most right now?
    The Runaways.

13. Most hated band?
    Hate is probably too strong a word, but I’ve got little use for Pink Floyd. Their music depresses the crap out of me, and given how often I grapple with depression anyhow, I just can’t listen to them. It’s too damn hard to fight the undertow.

14. Song that makes you think?
    Geez, they all make me think about something. But if we’re talking about thinking “deep thoughts” or whatever, “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding and Willie Nelson’s “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” tend to put me into contemplative moods.

15. Band that you think the world should love as much as you do?
    I know I sound like a total fanboy, but I honest-to-god think that Rick Springfield is a highly underappreciated guitarist and songwriter.

16. Coolest music video?
    Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Duh. Closely followed by a-ha’s “Take on Me.”

17. Music video with the most babe watch?
    “Most babe watch?” Does that mean the one with the hottest babes? Geez, I don’t know… probably anything from ZZ Top’s prime MTV years, when the long-legged lovelies would emerge from the Eliminator to teach some pour doofus how to stand up to The Man and get himself laid.

18. What do you play/would you play in the bedroom to spice things up?
    Can’t go wrong with classic late ’60s/early ’70s R&B, notably Al Green and/or Marvin Gaye. Some folks swear by Barry White, of course, and he is very, very slick, but he’s also a little too obvious at this point. You could lose valuable energy to unintentional laughter by playing Barry. Sad to say.

19. Can you play a musical instrument?
    Not really. I took guitar lessons for six months as a kid, and I have an electric guitar I dabble with now, but I don’t actually know how to play it. Mostly I just like the feel of it in my hands. Yeah, I’m a poseur.

20. Ever been in a mosh pit?
    Um, no. I always thought that scene was lame.

21. Are you in a band?
    You’d kinda have to play an instrument to be in a band, wouldn’t you?

22. Ever dated a musician?
    The Girlfriend’s not a musician per se, but she does play the piano and occasionally the flute.

23. Do you wish yourself that you were a musician?
    Not a musician, necessarily, but I used to dream about being a rock star. They’re not quite the same thing.

24. Best chick band you know of?
    The Bangles.

25. Last song that you heard on the radio/CD/etc.?
    I heard Foghat’s “Slow Ride” on the drive to the train station this morning.

26. What do you think of classical music?
    I enjoy classical pieces that I’ve heard in films or elsewhere out in the world, but I know little about the genre, so I couldn’t tell you what what most of them are. I am strictly a neophyte in this area. I certainly have nothing against classical, though.

27. What do you think of country music?
    I’ve got little use for modern country, which is infused with a nasty streak of right-wing jingoism and is too often sung in this drawling, rednecky vocal style that sounds like an affectation to me, and frankly makes me want to strangle something. I do like a lot of country from the ’70s and early ’80s, though: Waylon and Willie, Kenny Rogers, Alabama, Eddie Rabbitt, that sort of country. And Johnny Cash, of course, although I think he’s transcended genre at this point and can only be classed as “American music.”

28. What do you think of death metal?
    It irritates me on a cellular, if not a molecular, level. Total garbage. I’d rather stick my ear up against an air compressor motor than listen to that “Cookie Monster” shit.

29. Last BIG band that you saw live?
    Considering that Glenn Miller died 25 years before I was born… oh, you mean “big” as in “popular.” Well, that’s an interesting question, since most of the acts I see these days are older folks playing the nostalgia circuit. They used to be big, but I doubt anyone would call them that these days. I guess The Police got quite a bit of attention for their recent tour, though… yes, let’s say The Police.

30. Are you a groupie?
    Hm, let’s see… I’ve seen Rick Springfield seven times in the past ten years. And I’ve traveled out of state to do it, too. Does that qualify?

31. Do you listen to music in foreign languages?
    No, afraid not. I hate to admit to having such a narrow perspective, but I’ve never heard any foreign-language music that grabbed my socks. I start obsessing over the fact that I don’t know what they’re singing, and I stop enjoying the overall music.

32. What famous musician would you like to [enjoy carnal relations with]?
    I can only choose one? Oy… that’s tough, because there’re probably dozens. But if you’re going to put limits on me, I’ll go with the most obvious choice, Stevie Nicks. Bella Donna vintage Nicks, to be specific.
    Yeah, I know, I’ve got to line up behind every other 40- and 50-something rock fan on the planet. Maybe ’70s-vintage Linda Ronstadt can keep me company while I wait…

33. Worst concert moment?
    Probably the time at the Journey show when the drunken buffoon in front of me kept trying to pick a fight with the stranger in the KISS shirt, because apparently the drunk doesn’t like KISS and it’s vitally important that KISS fans be corporally punished for their unfortunate taste in non-Journey music and t-shirts.

34. Funny concert moment?
    Hm. I can’t think of anything funny that’s happened at a concert, aside from the act’s usual banter with the audience.

35. Sad concert moment?
    When The Girlfriend and I got into a fight at a Jimmy Buffett show. Surrounded by 10,000 happy drunks, and we’re steamed at each other and feeling awful. That was a bad night.

36. Best local act you can think of?
    Blues on First. I know the guitarist, Paul Blandford, and I’m not too shy to say so in hopes that some smidgeon of his awesomeness might reflect back at me.

37. If you were a musical instrument, what would you be?
    Scottish bagpipes… mournful and not to everyone’s liking.

38. Do you listen to the radio?
    Sure. Mostly just in the car, and then mostly to NPR, but also some music. Sadly, most of the music stations in this area no longer cater to my tastes, though. I briefly had a good classic-rock station that actually played some deep tracks I haven’t heard a million times already, but it switched formats this week to some kind of “alternative” stuff that I don’t recognize and don’t really like.

39. Do you watch music TV?
    Define “music TV.” I haven’t watched music videos on television in years, although I occasionally catch a recorded concert performance on PBS.

40. Do you follow the music charts, like the top 40?
    Nah. There was a time, about 25 years ago, when I faithfully listened to Casey Kasem every week and thought the top 40 was important enough that I had to write everything down as he went through the list. These days, however, I have no idea what’s selling and/or popular, and I find I don’t really care either. Is there even still such a thing as a mass-culture top 40, or has the market atomized into a hundred little niches?

41. Have you met any famous musicians?
    I’ve stood alongside my mom and taken her picture as she’s gotten the autographs of Naomi Judd and Crystal Gayle. Oh, and I’ve personally shaken the hand of a young man named Lukas Nelson. He’s not exactly famous himself, at least not yet, but he is a musician, and his father happens to be none other than Willie Nelson.

42. Are any of your friends/family/etc. musicians?
    I am friendly with Paul Blandford of Blues on First, and my cousin Todd Bennion has recorded an album of piano music (available here). Oh, and my friend Mike Gillilan used to be in a New Age-y band. That‘s a long story.

43. Song that best describes your feelings right now?
    “Working for the Weekend.”

44. Song that describes your life?
    I see my life in a lot of songs. “It’s Always Something” by Rick Springfield. Jimmy Buffett’s “A Pirate Looks at Forty.” Bob Seger’s “Beautiful Loser.” Several Bob Seger songs, actually.

45. Do you know the names of all the band members that you listen to?
    All the members of all the bands I listen to? Hardly. That said, I do know the members of quite a few… ZZ Top, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and The Eagles all come to mind.

46. Does a musician’s physical attractiveness play a role in the music that you listen to?
    I enjoy the music of Tom Petty. Does that answer your question?

47. What famous musician do you want to marry?
    None of them. I really don’t need the drama.

48. Favorite movie soundtrack?
    Given my well-established movie fetishes, it probably won’t surprise anyone that I adore John Williams’ score for the original Star Wars. Very close runners-up include his soundtracks for The Empire Strikes Back, Superman: The Movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (which was, for the record, the first CD I ever bought!). I also think Williams’ score for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, like the movie itself, is underrated.
    I also like Jerry Goldsmith’s work for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (the only one of the Trek movie scores that really had the same sense so often conveyed in the original TV series that space is really, really weird ) and James Horner’s Rocketeer is by turns beautiful, fun, and inspiring.

49. Any musician pet hates?
    I get really annoyed with pop stars who develop artistic and/or humanitarian pretensions. Which isn’t to say that popular music can’t be art or that musicians can’t be sincere humanitarians, but so often the folks who think what they’re doing is Really Important tend to be arrogant asses. Remember what Mick and Keith taught us: it’s only rock and roll, but we like it.

50. What do your parents listen to?
    My dad’s never really listened to anything — a running car engine is his favorite music — and Mom has listened to a lot of different stuff over the years. Most recently, she’s really been into the doo-wop groups of the 1950s, a little healthy nostalgia brought on by those PBS fundraising videos.

51. What are you listening to right NOW?
    Didn’t we cover this back at question one?

52. Do you wear band T-shirts?
    Yes, yes I do. I have an extensive collection of them, actually. I sometimes think I’m getting too old to pull off the concert-T look with any dignity, but damn, I just love them, especially when they have a really cool design…

53. Do you cook to music?
    I don’t really cook, but I sometimes turn something on while I’m nuking a Hot Pocket.

54. Do you sing in the toilet?
    No, I don’t want to get my beard wet.

And there you have it, a peek into my twisted musical tastes…