OCD Bits, Scot Bits, Holy Bits

I’ve spent the last two mornings crammed into a tiny cubicle with the world’s most obsessive-compulsive woman (and believe me, I know obsessive-compulsive) while she trains me to do her job. I’m supposed to cover for her while she’s on vacation next week and if she ever drops dead without remembering to call in first. Mostly I've been listening to her explain things like why she organizes her paper clips according to size, color, composition, tactile sensation, etc. I can’t believe these people where I work actually expect me to work sometimes. Sheesh. The next couple of posts will probably be brief.

Keeper: KT Tunstall – Suddenly I See –I’m kind of liking this jaunty little tune. It’s nothing deep (I don’t think) and chugs along nicely. KT is from Scotland and she has toured with Joss Stone. You can listen to clips of some of her other material and read her diary (how thrilling!) when you visit her website.



Keeper: Plain White T’s – All That We Needed – Why do I like the chorus on this song? I don’t know. I just do. What are you going to do about it? The band is from Chicago and their website has lots of pictures of them performing live. Looking at the pictures, I get the impression going to one of their shows means lots of moshing and other acts of wild abandonment that could hurt me.


Keeper: Stephen Fretwell – Emily – I can’t believe this guy (from England) is only 23 years old. I wasn’t sure about this song at first but it’s beginning to grow on me. After downloading it yesterday, I listened to it a few times while driving home from work. I had to go a few miles out of my way because the main road leading to my street was blocked off (thanks to a car accident). Whenever there’s an accident on that damn hill I wonder if my Significant Other is involved. It was raining like crazy (thanks to remnants of Katrina) and this song was the perfect melancholy accompaniment. Significant Other is fine and we can all visit Stephen’s nifty website. Life is good.


Chin Stroker: Pat Boone – Holy Diver – Pat Boone woke up one morning and decided we needed him to make an album of heavy metal songs using big band arrangements. One of the songs Pat covered was “Holy Diver” by Ronnie James Dio (I’ll let you figure out which picture is Pat and which picture is Ronnie). I don’t think you have to be familiar with the original version of “Holy Diver” to appreciate the absurdity of Pat’s version. I suppose some people will think this belongs in the Painful category but I think the horn section rocks on this baby – especially starting at about the 2:35 mark. Everything else about this song, however, sucks.


Painful: Cocorosie – Noah’s Ark – People have been raving about this song all over the internet lately. I don’t get it. What am I missing? It’s almost tolerable (in that polite “I-lived-through-that-root-canal-so-I-can-live-through-this-too” kind of way) until that one woman starts warbling in her strangled-child voice about Noah’s ark and all his animals. Then the song just bogs down in mindless repetition and I start to whimper. And I think if Noah had heard this tune coming down the pike toward him, he would have built his ark a lot faster, loaded it up with whatever he could get his hands on, and gotten the heck out of Dodge long before the first raindrop fell.


Backlog: David Francey – Nearly Midnight – Is this not a beautiful song? Doesn’t it make you want to take a long drive just so you can listen to it on the way back home? David was born in Scotland but has spent most of his life in Canada (not that you’d ever guess that from his accent). He has a friendly website where you can hear more of his tunes.


Backlog: Halloween, Alaska – Call It Clear – I get this song stuck in my head for days at a time. I find it delightfully hypnotic. Listen to it once or twice and see if you don’t catch yourself singing “my delicate slip of sunshine” at some odd moment later in the day. Weird name for a band, I know, but visit Halloween, Alaska’s website anyway, won't you?


Backlog: Imogen Heap – Hide & Seek – Seems like everyone in the universe knew about Imogen (formerly of the band Frou Frou) except me – until I stumbled across “Hide & Seek” recently. I was stunned when I first heard it and it continues to amaze me each time it comes up on my player. My favorite phrase is “crop circles in the carpet.” I immediately picture the marks left by furniture when someone moves out and I think that phrase speaks volumes. Imogen has a rather cluttered website but it sports some cool stuff to play with.


So much for being brief. Next post should be Friday - assuming my head doesn’t explode from spending a few more mornings with the obsessive-compulsive woman. I think tomorrow she'll be lecturing on why she organizes her pens and pencils according to length, color (outer), color (inner), age, chew marks, etc.