I know all about chemistry.
Mood:  special
Now Playing: CSI rerun
Topic: songs from Kate's youth
You know what I loved when I was ten or eleven? Generic Mid-Tempo Pop-Rock Songs.
And not surprisingly, at the tender age of sixteen, I still can't get enough of them.
I went on a downloading spree a while ago, looking for songs for a theme mix CD I'm making, and these are the songs that I just had to download, even though they don't fit. God, I love generic pop songs!

Chemistry by Semisonic

You have to remember Semisonic. Since it came out, their ubiquitous single "Closing Time" has graced the jukeboxes of second-rate bars packed with the kind of guys who got into college on lacrosse scholarships and started balding around the same time graduation began. Yes, it's a song for the pre-mature middle-agers who are asking life's questions and they want to drink some cheap liquor while they do it, damn it! "Closing Time" is the kind of generic piffle that those guys find slightly profound after they've chugged a few beers and smacked their buddies on the back to show camaraderie. It's kind of boring.

But somehow, Semisonic managed to throw out one single that didn't try to be deep, was catchy and fun, and that was completely forgotten by the rest of the world five weeks after. I'm talking about Chemistry. CSI is playing in the background, and I don't think it's a coincidence that Warrick is currently smacking his head against some lockers.
So download this forgotten gem, and wonder why the hell Semisonic wasn't cooler.




Let's keep it going with a song I'm pretty sure you're all probably acquainted with: Everything You Want by Vertical Horizon

You remember them, right? They had a bald lead singer (see photo at right) who just happened to sound a bit like the genetic horror that would occur if Michael Stipe mated with a glass of milk (Did that make sense? That didn't really make sense in the way I had intended it to make sense.), a music video that featured the aforementioned bald guy walking around and singing to fat, extremely tattooed people, and a really "clever" name. Hell, you probably heard this song yesterday when you were standing in line at the DMV, wishing the guy in front of you would quit humming along, cut that ridiculous rattail off the back of his head, and possibly quit dousing himself with Eau d'garlic.

Of course, I don't generally listen to lite-rock radio. It's possible that this song rocks a little too hard for it.

I know that Leaving Town by Dexter Freebish does.

Oh, just check out the menacing strum some guy in the band plays as the lead singer growls the first verse,

Oh, your reputation's so golden
You're never lonely and you're never home
I know you've been talking about leaving
You've lost all your feelings for this town.
Paint your nails and put on your lipstick
You don't want to miss your ticket out.
Just because you graduate from school
So high in the gene pool, that's your point of view.

When I was ten, I thought this song was "badass," and I totally commiserated with the chick he was singing about. In 5th grade, I hated where I lived (which isn't that hard to believe - a small town in Iowa? Seriously, people.) and I figured the only person who understood mah payne oh noez was the chick in that song. And I hated the lead singer for trying to call her back. I wanted to say to him,

"Hey, man. I am a free spirit. I go where the wind blowblowblows me. I don't need you hanging
AROUND
and pulling me
DOWN,
because I'm totally running away and joining the circus!!!"
I should mention I also wanted to be a beat poet, or what I thought beat poets were like when I was in 5th grade.

This song doesn't really say much to me anymore, but maybe it will inspire some of you to run away and become beat poets under the big top.

Before I leave, I should mention: for technical reasons, I'm afraid that the songs posted here tonight will be hosted on Megaupload, which means they will expire eventually. So if it's important to you, just leave a comment and if I don't hate you too much, I'll reupload them. Free of charge.