Mix ear-tapeworms.

So, it was a lovely evening, northwest light staying longer, trying to do something, somewhere.

Love Led Zeppelin = but no Stairway: Party on, Wayne. Party on, Guarf.

And...guildmate had music on...


And...it was...


Journey.


I grab my nearest knitting needle and kill the horror that is Steve Perry out of my brain.


And...


I don't think it's too hyperbolic to state that late 70s/80s music, the vanilla, visionless rock can drive a nice shaman to eat ground glass, no milk. Perhaps I am doing a disservice to vanilla.


Everyone likes what they like, and music is incredibly personal. And I am not quite as elitist as perhaps the protagonist in High Fidelity by Nick Hornby may be: I can sing along to a Go-Gos song or Romantics, because what I like about you, you know how to dance, when you go up down jump around think I found true romance (you're welcome).


But the art and courage of a mix tape should not be lost. I realize crude metallic tape to pound out grooves, and petroleum based materials are no longer used but shiny shiny shiny circles are, which are replaced by even smaller and more powerful etched space, but the song remains the same: our personal soundtracks rock. (And if given a choice, Danny Elfman would write the score for mine.)


Preferring Pretenders and Police to Motley Crew and Scorpions, I like my music a bit more - something else. Cowboy Junkies and Cocteau Twins, kd lang, INXS, Roxy Music, Peter Gabriel, RHCP, carried me to Nirvana*, Garbage, Beck, Weezer, Radiohead (though I usually can't finish a whole song- don't know why), James Brown, Pink Floyd - not so much anymore --and Rich F., wherever you are--thank you for learning the first hook of Wish You Were Here...and everything is frosted with Crowded House/Neil Finn.  Beatles, naturally. Love me some Los Lunaticos--Los de Abajo, Desert Fish by Oojami, Presidents of the United States, millions of peaches, peaches for me, millions of peaches...peaches for free...






And those barely cover it, but those may be my go-to's. Belly dancing and Latino music when I need to dance, Neil Finn when I need to sing along, and turn it up to 11 because, it goes to 11.


Now every time I see my friend Lolan I sing the Kinks' "Lola" to myself...she walked up to me and I asked her her name and in her dark brown voice she said LOLA...L O L A lola...l...l...Lola...

And the music in WoW can be beautiful and haunting, too. And annoying. But every time I fly around Howling Fjord I feel like I'm in a Ken Burn's Civil War documentary. The tavern music is especially festive and fun. So, here I am with open arms, asking you to never, ever play Journey again. Or I may have to counter-attack with my rendition of "Since I've Been Loving You." Off pitch.

*However, I find Pearl Jam self-indulgent. 


Godspeed, Les Paul. Godspeed.