Hope You Like This, If You Don't You Still Can't Comment On It, And Don't Go Looking For Archives Either Because They're Not There, And My CD Mix Exchange Track Listing (A Catching-Up Blog)

Welcome to Friday, the day I don't normally blog.

Well, I still have a blog, and I can still upload to it, I'm assuming here since I haven't tried to upload this one yet, since it's only a title and two sentences old. I just realized I didn't tell you the sad and sorry tale that is my blogger experience this past week.

See, it all happened Sunday, when I was told I must convert to the new version of blogger. I did so, and for one brief, shining moment, it worked. Oh, but it was brief indeed, friends, and it's been nothing but a quagmire of unhappiness ever since. On my second foray into the new blogger, I had - no blogs. I had a dashboard (which to the uninitiated is a screen with links to all your blogs), but on that dashboard it had me as owning a grand total of zero blogs. So I couldn't publish to a blog because, well, because I didn't have one to publish to. I could, however, still log in to the old blogger, which looked just the same as before and let me go to my "blog body" screen, write my heart out, and push "publish" - after which I would get an error telling me that I was in some deep shit. It actually said that! "Error eos.k14: Elizabeth, you are in some deep shit." Well, truth be told it said something else, about a file path and directory, but it was all the same to me.

So I started looking around on the "issues" pages, sorry Mr M, but that's what they call them, and read screens totaling approximately the quantity of two "War and Peace"s, and nothing fit my situation. Which is sad, because I knew that meant I had to write the blogger people a letter which would not get a reply (and I was right, I never did), but I also found a blogger troubleshooting page on google where I left a message. I liked that page. It made me realize that I was not alone in the blogger hell I'd found myself in, for there were approximately two zillion posts from people in their own little corners of blogger hell.

Monday morning I got up and came online to see what was going on, and here's what I found. Nothing. I had no blog, just a "page not found" screen when I tried to access Betland. Things were not looking good, and though Stennie bet me an entire dime that the problem would be fixed on its own shortly, I envisioned spending the next year writing blogs in longhand and mailing them around the world.

Tuesday afternoon, my blog returned. And I lost a dime. However, the excitement of the returning blog was dampened by the fact that I have archive links which take a viewer nowhere in particular (actually, to another "page not found" screen), and broken comments. So, if you love me, if you hate me, or if you want to read what I was doing in 2004, you yourselves are in some deep shit as well, and welcome to the shithole. It's not particularly pleasant, but I'll make you a cup of coffee, and if you're really nice, I'll tell you what I was doing in 2004, if I can remember. Or if you're so bursting with pent-up excitement you can't stand it anymore, you can always drop me a line at agnes_g@hotmail.com, and I'll tell you what I was doing in 2004.

So that's about it. I left a second message on that troubleshooting page about having no archives nor comments, and someone tried to give some pointers, which I'd already tried anyway and they don't work. I'm just kind of broken here, trying to live with it, and hoping it will fix itself or else I'll have to write another letter to blogger which never gets a reply.

I worked all week, got my Christmas tree up and decorated (that was a two-stage, two-night process), went to a high school band concert, and just now finished cleaning my kitchen floor. It's an exciting life here at the Poderosa. If you'd like to experience it, well, you can't leave me a comment to tell me so, but we'll work out something.

That all said, the 3d Great CD Mix Exchange is complete, and I have a lot of music to listen to this weekend. I now have almost all my CDs, and can't wait to stay up late tonight and let the tunes blast. And without further ado, here are my song choices for the latest exchange.

1. The first song on the first side of the first album you ever bought. "You Told Me," by the Monkees. I had to have a little think on this one. I was going to use something else, then I realized that I didn't buy the early Beatles albums, my parents did. But I distinctly remember my sister and I pooling "gift money" to buy "The Monkees: Headquarters." The album where they supposedly decided to play their own instruments. I love that album to this very day.
2. A holiday song. "Christmas Wrapping," by the Waitresses. You know, I have my big four, what I call The Mighty Quadumvirate Of Christmas Songs. I knew I'd pick one of those four for this track, and I went with this one because it's just so damn fun. And is the most fun song-singing experience since "Trouble," from "The Music Man."
3. A geographical song. "Chicago," by Sufjan Stevens. I'm just discovering Mr Stevens. A snippet of this song appears in the movie "Little Miss Sunshine." His voice is absolutely heartbreaking to me. I love the lyrics, and the refrain, "I made a lot of mistakes."
4. A medley. "Moons of Jupiter," by Scruffy the Cat. Oh, boy. Ohhhh, boy. This is the one I want back. I was having a miserable time trying to find a medley, apparently they're out there, but I was missing them. I had it boiled down to this song and one other, which was quite long. And yes, don't chide me here, I know that this song isn't so much a medley as sticking a refrain from one song into another. I cheated, and I paid the price, because after the CDs were mailed out, I found no fewer than four great medleys I could have used. My weakest CD Exchange moment, for which I apologize.
5. A song about a dance. "The Walk," by the Inmates. I had a few blase choices picked out for this one, but remembered this song when I found the single in my 45s box looking for a b-side. It's cool beyond belief, and I'm glad I found it.
6. A song with a girl's name in the title. "Sweet Petunia," by the Hackensaw Boys. Yes, here they are making their umpteenth appearance in my CD mixes. It's a certainty, you know, I was torn between this one and another girl song by the 'Boys, and I went with this one because, well, because if this one doesn't get you up and moving, you're dead.
7. A song you'd like played at your funeral. "Blackbird," by the Beatles. I had a hard time coming up with any songs for this category. I personally would just as soon not think about my funeral, if you don't mind. I finally came up with three songs, and this one about broken wings and sunken eyes and waiting for this moment to arise just seemed to fit.
8. A song by your friend's band. "Burn," by the Stetsons. This was a given, and if there's anyone who wasn't expecting the Stetsons, well, they don't know me so well. The Stetsons of course feature the cutest drummer in the Free World, or the Locked-Up World, for that matter, my nephew. The boys were 16 and 17 when they recorded it, a mean feat, I say, and it's probably my favorite of the band's original numbers. I love their choice in cover songs, but they never record any of those.
9. A drinking song. "Liquored Up and Lacquered Down," by Southern Culture on the Skids. Finally! Finally, my lifelong dream of using SCOTS on an exchange is fulfilled. They've come so close so many times, but here's the perfect example of a song about drinking. Not as in, "Boy, has the drink ruined my life," but, "Boy, look at my baby guzzlin' it down - ain't she great?"
10. Cover song with a twist - the original version of a song someone covered and had a bigger hit with. "Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me," by Warren Zevon. At the time, Linda Ronstadt had a massive hit with this song, but in the long run, I think people remember Warren's version. Good thing, because his original crushes her cover like a grape. A couple of years ago a country singer (was it Terri Clark?) also had a hit with this, proving a good song never goes out of style. I love Warren. May he rest in peace.
11. A song with a boy's name in the title. "Johnny Come Lately," by Steve Earle and the Pogues. Isn't it odd how there are less great boy songs than girl songs? I guess that's because more boys sing, and sing about girls. Anyway, here's a boy song sung by a boy. I love this song for a lot of reasons, but mainly how the first couple of lines suck you in to thinking, "Hey, this is a patriotic pro-America ditty," then it turns itself around without getting ugly. Tells a great story.
12. A b-side - do you remember them? "Funtime," by REM. Yes, I do! In fact, I not only remember them, but it may be my favorite thing about the poor extinct 45 record. So, here's how it goes, for my money, anyway. REM, Elvis Costello, and Squeeze. The greatest b-side artists in the world. So I knew I'd use something from one of them, and somehow this one kept going back to me. However, I cheated a little bit again, because although this was a b-side, it was the b-side of "Get Up," the version I downloaded from iTunes to put on the CD is not the same version. Same song, though - I tried!
13. A song about the weather. "The Wind and the Rain," by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Two elements for the price of one! Also an accapella number, a category from the first Mix Exchange. I love the story this song tells, and the vocals (which is good, since vocals are all that's there). Boy, it gets kind of hinky when that "fiddler fair" comes along, though, doesn't it?
14. A musical question song. "What'll We Do With the Baby-O?" by Kristen Hersh. Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? If you participated in the exchange and didn't immediately think of that, I admonish you! Anyway, this fiddle tune is approximately a million years old, but the first time I heard it is when the Hackensaw Boys did it in concert. I've since discovered countless versions, with verses aplenty. Lord have mercy, the things that can be done with that baby-o, you wouldn't even believe. This version takes the song out of the bluegrass world, though, and gives it a very nice touch.
15. A cheating song. "Little Girl," by Syndicate of Sound. Lots of cheating songs out there, I'm gonna cheat, you cheated on me, you cheated on me with him, you cheated on me and now you're gonna pay, but this song was fresh in my mind because I almost used it on the last exchange for a one-hit wonder song. And what a one-hit wonder it is.
16. A song about death or violence. "Pretty Polly," by Ralph Stanley and Patty Loveless. It was pretty much a sure thing I'd use a bluegrass number - the catalog of bluegrass death songs is almost as long as the blogger issue page. I chose this one because it's not slow. There's another song that tells basically the same story, "Little Omie Wise," I call it the sister song to "Pretty Polly," but it's very slow and methodical. I like happy-sounding death songs, they pack more of a punch.
17. A song you like by an artist you normally can't stand. "People Are Strange," by the Doors. I had a little trouble with this one too. But geez, I hate the Doors - pouty, pretentious, and completely overrated. I just don't get it. However, this song is nice, and I like it.
18. A song you like to play air guitar to. "Cigarette State," by Robbie Fulks. Now, I have to say this right up front. I never, and by this I mean never ever ever, play air guitar. I honestly can say I never remember doing this in the whole of my life. Drums, sure, saxophone, piano, maybe even air fiddle. But never air guitar. There are, though, times I catch myself playing "steering wheel guitar" when I'm driving, but I haven't done that in over a year, because I'm afraid to touch my steering wheel lest it fall off like the one in my last car did. "Cigarette State" features a blistering guitar solo, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out it was this song that caused my steering wheel to come off. (By the way, this song is laugh-out-loud funny.)
19. An amnesty song - a song you've wanted to use before but didn't. "El Paso," by the Gourds. Wow, did I love this category. There have been songs on exchanges I've actually mourned over not getting to use. For some reason I didn't use any of them in my amnesty song category. I chose the Gourds because had "Chicago" not come along it would have probably been my geographical song, and also because Mike the blogless helped me discover the song, which was a category in the first exchange, "A song a friend turned you on to."
20. The last song on your favorite album of all time. "Her Majesty," by the Beatles. My favorite album of all time is like my favorite movie of all time or my favorite song of all time. It changes. "Abbey Road" is a constant though, and if someone asks me the question, it'll generally show up as favorite or in the top three. And wouldn't it have been wonderful to use the entire side two of this album as your medley? Anyway, after a long list of songs, this one's the perfect one to end with - 23 seconds and a cloud of dust.

And that's the CD Mix Exchange listing.

And that's my blog. Thank you.

Betland's Olympic Update:
* And for those of you who listen to the podcast, guess what's coming - alternate track listing discussions! I'm telling you now, so you can either get excited or unsubscribe yourself.
* I've got my pajamas, I've got my movie, I've got a half a bottle of wine, I've got a clean kitchen floor - time for Friday Chill.