• Pavement. That was/is a fast-moving obsession. One day, one of the few tracks of theirs I owned came up on shuffle, and I immediately was moved to go out and buy their two greatest albums, CRCR and S&E. A couple months later, I jumped on the chance to see SM & Jicks at First Ave., Minneapolis. Still the best $15 I've spent in 2008!
• Guided By Voices. Thank you, John Sellers, for writing an obsessive music memoir that got me hooked on all things Pollard. I don't know how I got by without Alien Lanes and Bee Thousand before this!
• Pixies. Hello! Don't even know where to begin with this, except they've been blasting from my car windows for the last couple months. It's glorious. Nothing better than getting out of class after a long day and putting on "Debaser" at full volume. (This has also sparked an ivestiga...

• Dinosaur Jr.
• Love. Arthur Lee is genius, and I can't get enough of the song "Alone Again Or"
• Pulp. Again, why hadn't I discovered these guys sooner?! Also Jarvis Cocker's solo album
• Grateful Dead, or at least the American Beauty album...even more specifically, "Box of Rain"
• Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I saw a them in concert back in October and wasn't a huge fan at the time, but seeing them live turned me into a believer. I've got to be in a weird mood, though, to really enjoy it.
• Elvis Perkins, who opened for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at that same concert. It was love at first listen.
• erm, pretty much anything Mike Patton has ever done. Faith No More, Tomahawk (and I wouldn't usually call myself a metal f...

• why anyone in their right mind named Richard would ever want to go by the name 'Dick'...
• fake nails...attractive?
• when people drive 10 mph under the limit in the left lane
• people making such a big deal about diamonds
• braking your car on a freeway entrance ramp. I don't care if you can't hear me, I will shout things at you anyway

I'm sure I'll be adding more to this list.

• Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen - not really my genre, but it's the B&N recommendation of the season. I've had several people ask about it, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
• Dead Souls, Gogol. surprisingly humorous. where else do you start with the Russians? :)
• Pattie Boyd's autobiography, Wonderful Tonight - I'm finding her writing a bit tedious (she likes to name drop), but it's not all bad if you can get past those bits. I'm too curious about her perspective on the Harrison/Boyd/Clapton triangle to resist.
• Salt: A World History, Mark Kurlansky - highly recommended for any foodie. very entertaining!

• Smells Like Teen Spirit - Patti Smith (Nirvana)
• This Boy - Rufus Wainwright and Sean Lennon (The Beatles)
• (what list is complete without) All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix (Bob Dylan)
• Don't Think Twice, It's Alright - Nick Drake (Bob Dylan)
• Starman - Golden Smog (David Bowie)
• Ladytron - The Venus In Furs (Roxy Music)
• Wild Is the Wind - Cat Power (Johnny Mathis, originally, though everyone knows the Nina Simone)
• Lithium - The Polyphonic Spree (Nirvana)
• Harvest Moon, live recording - Elliott Smith (Neil Young)
• Irreplaceable - Gregory and the Hawk (Beyonce)
• Little Wing - Joanna Newsom (Jimi Hendrix...

• Songs of Love and Hate, Leonard Cohen - 5/5. Thoroughly depressing, but the lyrics are stunning. Perfect for rainy days.
• Easter, Patti Smith - 4/5. My first experience with Patti Smith. She's terrific, and now I finally know where "Because the Night" comes from.
• Roxy Music, Roxy Music - 5/5. From Bryan Ferry's quivering voice to the bizarre songwriting on tracks like Ladytron, it's an all around wonderful album.
• Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, Neko Case - 5/5. When Neko Case first came on the scene years ago, she was placed in the "alternative" genre by critics. However, she's definitely country. But this is not your "hell yes I ran over my boyfriend with a ford pickup" twangy country. I wouldn't even call myself a country fan, but this album is so different. Such a huge voice from such a small woman!

• The Lark Ascending - Vaughan Williams
• Moldau, or Vltava, from Ma Vlast - Smetana.
• Pavane - Faure
• "Una furtiva lagrima", aria from Donizetti's 'L'Elisir d'Amore' (Pavarotti's version will make you weep)
• "Che gelida manina", aria from Puccini's La Boheme. I don't think I'll ever get over this one, no matter how many times I hear it.
• Ballade No. 1 in G minor - Chopin
• Gymnopedie No. 3 - Satie

• I'm seeing Of Montreal in a couple of weeks. I might pee my pants if they do a Prince cover. They seemed to do a lot of those while touring in 2007!
• I'm seeing Bob Dylan play at University of Minnesota on election night! I still can't believe he'll be here at such a perfect time. Maybe this is proof that miracles do happen...
• I renewed my emusic subscription lately. I'm still rather disappointed at what they lack, though. No Curtis Mayfield? Booerns. Bought the new Jeremy Messersmith and wasn't too impressed. Maybe it'll be a grower. Somehow the novelty of his songs about Minnesota just isn't enough to make me like it. Also! Got the Thurston Moore solo album that came out last year (Trees Outside the Academy). I know, I'm behind. It's an astounding album. Not that I don't enjoy the Sonic Youth soun...

• Steve: "Where'd you come from? You look pregnant.

Jane: "I AM pregnant. I'm not even going to ask what you men are doing out here in your matching pajamas, by the way."

• "Steve, we think you got crazy eye."
• "Well, we call them pirates out here, Ned."
• "I like her hairdo."
• "Son of a bitch, I'm sick of these dolphins."
• "You left your dog, idiots!"
• "Don't point that gun at him, he's an unpaid intern."

• Christmas already seems to be sneaking into the retail world. It's awful. I'm already ordering a huge stock of holiday giftcards and shopping bags at Barnes and Noble. Ugh...I think I feel a huge stomachache of anxiety coming on.
• James Blunt
• A Fine Frenzy. She's too sweet, saccharine almost, and I hear her entire album once a day. Every time I hear her wail about sirens I want to pull my hair out. As dramatic as that sounds, it's not much of an exaggeration. You know what? Totally the female James Blunt. yeesssh.

• Bjork, Debut: I can't believe I didn't have this one. "Human Behavior", "Venus As A Boy", and "Anchor Song" are some of my absolute favorites of hers.
• Nirvana, In Utero: hah. isn't everyone in the mood for this every now and then? it was such a deal that I couldn't resist.
• Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, Doc At the Radar Station: :). Such bizarre imagery, but as strange as it is it makes sense. He's talking about being used by a lover in the song "Ashtray Heart" and he uses this image: "I feel like a glass shrimp in a pink panty." Honestly, it makes me chuckle and shake my head every time. That's the greatest image of embarrassment I think I have ever heard.
• The Klezmatics, Possessed: Honestly, whoever put this on sale for $2.99 is freaking off their rocker! What a steal! These...

• Don't Let It Bring You Down - Annie Lennox (Neil Young)
• Mother Nature's Song - Sheryl Crow (The Beatles)
• The First Cut Is the Deepest - Sheryl Crow (Cat Stevens)
• Norwegian Wood - The Fiery Furnaces (The Beatles)
• American Pie - Madonna (Don McLean)
• Johnny B. Goode - Judas Priest (Chuck Berry)
• I Will Survive - Cake (Gloria Gaynor)
• American Woman - Lenny Kravitz (The Guess Who)
• Big Yellow Taxi - Counting Crows (Joni Mitchell)
• (Sittin' on the) Dock of the Bay - Michael Bolton (Otis Redding)
• Satisfaction - Britney Spears (The Rolling Stones)
• (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman -...

• I always shave my left leg first in the shower.
• I hate leaving the house with wet hair.
• I don't eat ketchup. I find it nauseating. I think it's all that sugar. Actually, I just don't eat condiments in general. I never put dressing on my salads, either, and I can only take syrup on my pancakes every once in a great while.
• I can't get ready in the morning without listening to music. (that's not really all that unusual, is it now?)
• I really dislike shopping, unless it's for new books or music. Or food. Food I like.
• I never wear sunglasses. In fact, I don't think I've ever owned a pair. I think they make me look aggressive. and I'm not.
• I get really depressed when I get into routines.

• Burn - Ray LaMontagne
• Harvest Moon - Neil Young
• Corrina, Corrina - Bob Dylan
• Have a Little Faith In Me - John Hiatt
• Flying Shoes - Townes Van Zandt
• A Case of You - Joni Mitchell
• For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti - Sufjan Stevens
• The Very Thought of You - Al Bowlly, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole - honestly, gets me every time, no matter who sings it.
• Catch the Wind - Donovan
• I Live For You - George Harrison
• Prelude from Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major - Yo-Yo Ma (Bach)- typical, I know. darn that cello.
• Always See Your Face - Love. I can't hear it without thinking of my recently deceased golden retriever, of all things.
• Purple Rain- Prince. It's so epic, how can you not be affected?

• 1. Yatzee Dice:

I can hardly begin to describe, but this sparks so many memories of being a child, especially being a child who lives with and is often perplexed by grandparents until one realizes that they really are quite wise and understand more of you than you think. I mean, the answer is in the lyrics: - "you seem so content, buttering your saltine" - "and grandma you're smiling though you've heard no word I've said; I recognize that smile means your hearing aid's gone dead" On top of all of this, Diane puts in her own two cents on that mystery of mysteries: why DO men fall asleep after sex?

• 2. Wild Deer at Dawn

A simple observation of a song, but somehow, this is the most soothing thing you could ever listen to when stressed out. "...

• Karen Dalton
• Nick Drake
• Neil Young, especially his live acoustic performances.
• Vashti Bunyan
• Bert Jansch (also Pentangle)
• Fairport Convention
• Joseph Arthur
• Judee Sill
• Joni Mitchell
• Devendra Banhart, in the right mood. Maybe a little Nino Rojo or Rejoicing in the Hands.
• James Taylor. I don't care how cheesy anyone thinks it is. It's very much a reminiscing thing.

• Zelary
• The Knack, and How to Get It
• Harold and Maude
• Rushmore
• Leon/ The Professional
• Grand Hotel
• Benny and Joon
• Howl's Moving Castle
• Dummy
• My Sassy Girl (I can't for the life of me remember the Korean name)
• Love and Death
• I Heart Huckabees
• The Tenant
• The Graduate
• Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

• the old man (who reminds me of a sleepy owl) with suspenders that buys a New York Times at exactly 11:15 every morning. He always wants to know what's happening, and if you give him a bland answer he will coax a genuine response out of you. never ever fails to make my day, no matter how horribly it's going.
• standing outside the store at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m., buzzing the doorbell and waiting grumpily for a book shelver to come and let me in. then I walk in to hear my manager annette blasting her grunge music over the speakers...and all of that surliness melts into a huge grin. by far my favorite way to start the morning.
• the elderly folk that call me "dear" and "hon". Some people hate being called those things by strangers, but I love it. It makes me feel more warmth than I can say.

• quit wearing so many frumpy cardigans! so unflattering, yet so comfortable that I can't seem to shake the habit
• get a haircut!
• stop leaving wet towels on the floor, they only attract spiders
• get over my dislike of the mall to go shopping for suitable work clothing
• get rid of things that I'm never ever going to wear again (the packrat in me wants to save everything...)

• Blackout ("Heroes")
• Kooks (Hunky Dory)
• Life on Mars? (Hunky Dory)
• Oh! You Pretty Things (Hunky Dory)
• Queen Bitch (Hunky Dory)
• Breaking Glass (Low)
• What in the World (Low)
• Golden Years (Station to Station)
• Five Years (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust)
• Moonage Daydream (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust)

and for some reason, if there has to be a number one, it's gotta be "Five Years". He just...he just gets me. Especially with "I never thought I'd need so many people" and "your face, your race, the way that you talk, I kiss you, you're beautiful, I want you to walk." not only the lyrics, but the escalation in the music. okay, okay. I'll stop obsessing. ;)

• the creepy dudes who buy their playboys and penthouses from me.
• the fact that management judges the quality of your work by how many memberships you can sell in a day. (that's retail, i guess. but it still sucks. and it turns customers, people, into numbers.)
• our in-store plays for each month (music). honestly, I would like to know who chooses this stuff. if it's not Maria Callas wailing an aria (don't get me wrong, she not all bad), it's girly, stereotypical pop love songs with unoriginal lyrics. it all sounds the same and gets old reallll quick.
• ..to be continued...