interpret history in every line and scar

From the lovely and talented AgentLulu

1. Total amount of music files on your computer
3,290. Because loading in my CD collection is a task I am not ready for.

2. The last CD you bought
The Dears - No Cities Left. U.S. release finally.

3. The last song you listened to before reading this message
"The Bucket" - Kings of Leon

4. Name 5 songs you listen to often or that mean a lot to you
This is hard, because there are about 12,000 of these. I will have to randomly choose the first five that pop into my head.

1. "Andy" - Mike O'Neill - Though it is a longstanding favorite, I hadn't listened to this one since September (Andy, the summer's over"), but I just came upon it again on Friday, and remembered how much I missed it. On the right day, it will make me cry. And as a lady who is always waiting for the great leap forward, lines like "It helped me through spring just to dream of what it might become/ Woke up to find it'd been here and gone" are just the right kind of deadly.

2. "Kissing the Lipless" - The Shins - This is dorkily obvious, but I don't care, because whatever it means to everyone else, it means more to me. Or not. But maybe. Anyway, I love how it changes, how it goes, "You TOOOOOOLLLD! us of your new life..." etc. That whole line is also amazing. "You've got someone coming round/ Gluing tinsel to your crown/ He's got you talking pretty loud." Oh my God, and the beginning! "You've got too much to wear on your sleeve/ It's too much to do with me/ And secretly I want to bury in the yard the gray remains of a friendship scarred." Stop it. It makes me wonder if it is about me (and if I could be both the singer and the sung of, even) though it couldn't possibly be, and also sad that I didn't write it.

3. "Slow Graffiti" - Belle & Sebastian - Wow, I am having a bad day, hmm? This also has a crazy build and unbelievable lyrics and makes me totally jealous. Because Stuart Murdoch has that voice/way of singing where you think he might lose it at any second, it doesn't matter that the song seems to be about 10 different sad stories, all you know is it feels like one and it feels like your heart is being ripped out. Highly recommended.

4. "As You Are" - Travis - There is something about this song that is amazingly extra special. It might be because I know from experience how foxy and delightful Fran Healy really is or it might just be the shrugging coolness of the beat, but when he sings "Every day I wake up alone because I'm not like all the other boys" and "It's OK to lead me on" it doesn't sound whiny or pathetic at all. It sounds hot. It sounds like a dare. Which really makes you look at those potentially whiny and pathetic boys in a new light. And at the same time, when he says "I must admit it's not much fun to be [led on by/alone with] such a one as you are," every bit of me relates and says, "Amen, sir." Oh yes.

5. "Laying Blame" - Sloan - The perfect match of form and function. Oh wait, that's not it. A perfect pop song, with the most romantic "my boyfriend is a rock star" lyrics since Journey's "Faithfully" -- until the end, when it all falls apart in a mess of alcohol and shame. Just like real life! I still think Sloan should play it at my wedding and write a new last verse that is more optimistic. And don't ask "What wedding?"

5. Who will you pass this stick to (3 people) and why?
El Fano, Rubytrax and Fairlywell.
Because they are beautiful people whose musical opinions interest me greatly.