Friday Random Ten (Oil Change version)

1. Jackson Cannery -- Ben Folds Five.  The first time I saw Ben Folds live, he played all these songs I didn't know, and I realized it was because I didn't have the self-titled Ben Folds Five album.  So I went out and bought it, but I realized later that it wasn't THAT good, save for a few really good songs.  This isn't one of them.
2. Sour Times -- Portishead.  You can put everything I know about Portishead into the tip of a thimble.  Nothing.  But I really like them.  It's not a band I feel compelled to tell people that I love, in general.  They never come up on a list of favorite bands.  I've never bought one of their albums.  But Sam's really into them, and slowly, I've come to really appreciate them.  They make some good music.  Their live album is the best.
3. On the Table -- AC Newman.  I'm not ashamed to say that I own all the OC soundtracks.  They're chock full o' good music.  That said, this song, from the fourth (and weakest) soundtrack, doesn't do it for me.  I don't think I've ever really listened to it.
4. Devil in Her Heart -- The Beatles.  Okay, this is one of the crappiest Beatles songs ever.  I didn't realize it until George started singing (and I didn't even know it was George until I looked it up), which is either down to my dumbness, or the complete lack of anything good about this song.  Whew.  This one sucks.
5. Body Movin' -- Beastie Boys.  I've never gotten the Beastie Boys.  I've always thought some of their songs were catchy--Brass Monkey, anyone?--but on the whole, I can hardly listen to them, no matter how catchy the song.  I do have a little soft spot in my heart for "Sabotage" because I remember watching copious amounts of MTV when the video was popular (and you know, when MTV played lots of videos, in the olden days, when I was young and MTV was the shit), and then when I was a senior, some guys did this thing in the variety show...oh never mind.  High school nostalgia. 
6. Song 2 -- Blur.  In general, I do NOT enjoy Blur.  But this is another of those high school songs.  The nostalgia packed ones.  The in heavy rotation on Q101 ones.  Furthermore, who doesn't think the first line of this song is great and weird at the same time?  "I got my head checked by a jumbo jet."  Isn't that what he's saying?  What the hell does that mean?  I don't know, but that's followed by some more lyrics and then the extremely catchy "Woooo-Hoooo".  If you're my age and you listened to any music at all, ever, you probably know this song.
7. I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You -- Colin Hay.  This is from the "Garden State" soundtrack, a movie and album that had a huge influence over a certain portion of my life.  I think I've talked here about "Garden State" and being of a certain age and predisposition when it came out, and how it affected so many of us in this huge way, and the music is DEFINITELY part of that.  Even though the soundtrack is mostly full of bands I've heard of, bands whose albums are in my collection already, the precise collection of these songs together is nearly perfect.  I still listen to the soundtrack, long after the point that I usually lose interest in soundtracks.
8. So. Central Rain -- REM.  Oooh, weird.  When I was writing the first annotation, I actually looked up the term "eponymous" because I wasn't sure if it was the correct way to describe an album called after a band.  If you read the first annotation, it should become clear that I still don't know the answer to that question.  However, REM's first collection of music is called "Eponymous" and this is the version from that album.  I've always really loved this song.  REM makes some superb melancholy 80's rock, and this song is exceptional, I've always thought.
9. Look Around -- Blues Traveler.  I have a love/hate relationship with this band.  I think they've made some lovely music, but most of their albums are filled with a whole bunch of...well...filler.  I had the self-titled album in high school, which I bought because my cousin J told me it was great.  It was...okay.  "But Anyway" is a good song.  Then I bought "Four" because everyone liked "Run-Around" (a video I also remember vividly), and was pleasantly surprised, because the ballads on this album are spectacular.  And for the most part, I do still really like them.  Put it this way:  the whole albums of this band rarely make it onto my iPod.  But these few ballad-y songs still do.
10. Remind Us -- Over the Rhine.  I've heard so many good things about this band.  And I've tried to like them.  They've got a chick singer with an incredible voice.  The songs sound kind of nice.  But they just don't move me, at all.  Sometimes you just know, and I didn't have that with Over the Rhine, which makes me reluctant to work at liking them.  I don't like to have to work at liking music.

That was a good random ten.  Btw, it's called the Oil Change Edition because I'm doing that this afternoon.  It's pretty strange to go from a car that needed an oil change every 9 months or so to one that needs one every 3-4 months.  Anyway, a window into my Friday.