A musical interlude

I've been tagged by Jessica with this music quiz...Very different from another entry, then, but I hope you enjoy it anyhow. Also, I'm heavily procrastination. The idea is to tag three more people, so here they are: Sylvia, Sabrine and Joost.

What is the total amount of music files on your computer?
4.19 Gb. I used to have much more, but I have gotten rid of many embarrassing remnants from my musical past before I left for the US.

What was the last CD you bought?
"Attagirl" - Bettie Serveert

What was the last song you listened to before reading this message?
I can't remember before I read the post first, but I can say which song I listened to before starting to write this post: Kings of Convenience - singing softly to me. Seriously, check the kings of convenience out. They rule.

Write down five songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you:
Just five? This is a challenge. Well, ok, but with the disclaimer that this is a random selection and many fantastic songs have been left out.

Ryan Adams - Wonderwall: exactly what covers should be like: respectful of the original, but doing something new with it, so that it's not one of those pointless just-like-the-original-but-with-another-person-singing things. I actually think this version is better than the original, more layered. And, of course, Ryan Adams is a god. Other songs of his worth checking out: "La Cienega Just Smiled", "Monsters", "Wish you were here", "Dear Chicago", "Damn, Sam, I love a woman that rains" and well, I could go on, but you get the point. For another nice (but not as fantastic) reinterpretation of Oasis' anthem, look for Cat Power's "the covers record".

Tori Amos - Mr. Zebra: my friend Anna told me about this song long ago, and I fell in love with it. Short, sweet, funny, it's the perfect little song. Another song she introduced me to and that I still listen to is Marcy Playground - Sex and Candy. Yeah. I know it's cheating. But hey, you get to know about one more great song.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch Soundtrack - The Origin of Love: and to clarify, no, I don't just love the musical because the main character shares my name, I also think the mythology of it is wonderful, and this can be seen most clearly in this song. Just for a taste, here are the lyrics of the first verse:

When the earth was still flat
And clouds made of fire
And mountains stretched up to the sky
Sometimes higher
Folks roamed the earth like big rolling kegs
They had two sets of arms
They had two sets of legs
They had two faces peering
Out of one giant head
So they could watch all around them
As they talked; while they read
And they never knew nothing of love
It was before the origin of love

Elliott Smith - I didn't understand: Ok, so first off, picking one Elliott Smith was really, really hard, since they're all so wonderful. I ended up choosing this one because the singing on it reminds me of "Because" by the Beatles, especially the a cappela version, which allows me to sneak another fantastic song in here. Also, it shows Elliott Smith's charm perfectly: intricate melodies, harmonious, all while singing "what a fucking joke". Other great songs include "Somebody that I used to know", "Oh well, okay", and "Waltz #2" (and this is really restricting myself).

Gabriel Mann - Artichoke: I think the only thing you need to understand why I love this song is the following excerpt from the lyrics.

My, my, you're just like pie
When I call you on the phone
You say hello and that's the crust
But the filling is yet to come

My, my, you're just like eggs
You're all slimy on the outside but yolky in the middle
Wait a second
That's not right, what I really meant
Is that Iove you in the morning

I actually don't know any other songs by Gabriell Mann, I should go look. Other songs with interesting lyrics are Dresden Dolls - Coin Operated Boy, Smog - Dress sexy at my funeral.

Honorable Mentions: David Byrne - Civilisation ; Badly Drawn Boy - A minor incident ; Beatles - Across the Universe ; Belle & Sebastian - If you find yourself caught in love (or anything else, really) ; Bright Eyes - Nothing gets crossed out (for all Bright Eyes songs: for the patient only, but worth the effort) ; Cat Power - Love to be silly ; Daryll-Ann - Everybody's cool ; Goo goo dolls - acoustic # 3 ; Hooverphonic - Mad about you ; Matthieu Boogaerts - Sens ; Nellie McKay - Toto dies ; Raemonn - Supergirl; Rufus Wainwright: "Instant Pleasure" or "Cigarettes and Chocolate milk" (also did good covers of "the origin of love" and "across the universe") ; Sondre Lerche - On and off again ; The Sheer - Strangelove ; The Thrills - Til' the tide creeps in ; Tal Bachman - she's so high.

Ok, ok, I know, I know, 5 songs, not 30...Well, sorry, I just love music too much, and I can promise you, each and every one of the songs listed above is worth a listen. Definitely. And I could have listed twice as many easily.

On a final note, I would like to link to aurgasm, a blog that introduced me to many wondeful musicians and songs.

Well, Sylvia, Sabrine, Joost: tag, you're it!