Guilty Pleasures

Don't worry, I'm in a better mood today. Actually, I was in a better mood by the end of the day, even though the Cubs really pissed me off by absolutely KILLING the Cardinals. Yes, I was pissed about that. Because WHY COULDN'T THEY HAVE WON WHEN I WAS THERE??? Two home runs from D Lee and some awesome offense AND defense - they SUCK. My brother just laughs at me because of this, but seriously - what the f***? I guess there is no happy medium when it comes to the Cubs, either. But I digress.

Another reason I found myself in a better mood was because I listened to some perfect music yesterday as I was driving home. I LOVE music. Music has a way of really putting things into perspective, you know? If you play the right music at any given time, it can validate your current feelings and make you feel better about them, or it can change your mood entirely. It can bring you back to days you miss, or it can slam you with memories of days you wish you could forget. There are actually some songs I absolutely CANNOT listen to, for several reasons. Songs that make my stomach knot up and put me right back where I NEVER want to be again. But then there are songs that make me smile, or laugh, or just sing along with while I relive my glory days.

My taste in music is somewhat eclectic, if you will, I pretty much can listen to anything. Although I am hooked on a lot of 80's music for sentimental reasons, even my taste in 80's is pretty open. I know most all the words to the big hair bands' songs, the psychedelic funk songs, the dance songs on the 12" singles, the pop songs... And nowadays, I am STILL expanding my horizons by listening to the Top 40 that Roxy likes (some is pretty good, a LOT is stolen from my era(!), and some is unbelievably erotic - which I find a bit too much for a ten year old) and even listening when my brother makes some suggestions. But yesterday when I was in my BAD MOOD, I popped in a CD that made me feel WAYYYY better, and as a respectable single mother, I probably shouldn't be telling you what CD it was. But I will.

It was Eminem.

More specifically, it was his song "Puke." Yes, I know, I know, it is a HORRIBLE song (to be honest, I could do without the intro, but I can scan past that), but it pretty much vocalized my feelings at the time. And it makes me laugh. I mean, come on - how many other songs out there say it like it is?? He just has the perfect way of articulating what I am sure MILLIONS of people are feeling at any given moment. For those of you unfamiliar with his lyrics, allow me to enlighten you: "You don't know how sick you make me/You make me f****** sick to my stomach/Every time I think of you I puke" et al. For some reason, singing those lines makes me feel better. Not that I would ever allow ROXY to listen to it, at least not at 10, but hell, I am an adult and can listen to what I want. Ok, to placate the parents out there who really do not like Eminem, I will admit that he OCCASIONALLY crosses a line as far as violence goes, but come on! He is freakin HILARIOUS! For adults. How cool would it be to be able to sing what he does and make gagillions of dollars doing it? VERY. I also like "Ass Like That." FUNNY, Funny, funny. The guy has a sense of humor. But he also has a sweet side: look at "Mockingbird." Just because he swears and talks about sex a lot doesn't mean he is a bad dad. Anyway.

Is it so wrong for a suburbanite mom like me to secretly enjoy listening to this kind of music? Good thing I am not on the PTA, I'd probably get burned at the stake or something. I guess my horrible attraction to music that is not "Tipper Gore friendly" began way back with Prince in the 80's. "Darling Nikki" was a favorite, as well as "Let's Pretend We're Married." And then I also loved listening to Axl Rose singing "I used to love her, but I had to kill her." Lately, I have been half-assed censoring some songs my Roxy listens to, but secretly I really enjoy them myself. It's kind of fun getting ready to go out while listening to "Don'tcha" by the Pussycat Dolls. (Never mind that I'm probably not "a freak" anyway, it amuses me to sing along and pretend...) Bottom line - music is a pretty important part of my life. And had it not been for Eminem yesterday, I would probably still be in a BAD MOOD. But I'm not.

So yay Eminem.