Da Buzz "Let Me Love You Tonight" OK this is an annoying song, but they played it a lot for some reason this past week--average about four plays per hour or something obscene like that--well that's what happens when you listen to the radio for an extended period of time. This is only slightly less annoying than the dance version of I Want You to Need Me by Celine Dion

Olivia "Bizounce" I think it's funny how they edited "shit" into "ish." Is this just a Chicago thang?

Destiny's Child "Survivor" Was this a reaction to that monument of the decay of Western Civilization broadcast on CBS? We were realizing how ugly this song would sound if it were sung a capella. Favorite Line: I thought that I'd be stressed, but now I'm chillin'. Independent Woman, my ass....

Andrea Boccelli "Con Te Partiro" Well, they weren't really playing this song on the radio, but there was this English translation of it by a woman, set up to a dance beat. It's really ugly, particularly the part that goes "forever and ever." Bad music is just like a traffic accident, I guess. You have to gawk even though you know it's pretty gruesome.

Janet Jackson "Doesn't Really Matter (Jonathan Peters mix)" We heard this at the Cheesecake Factory on Michigan Avenue. It's kind of interesting, what with the salsa beat.

Jagged Edge "I Promise" I made the mistake of listening to the remix first (which is awful), but the original is nice. For some reason it makes me think of driving around the Bay Area, but it probably just means that some of the wires connecting my hippocampus to my cochlear nucleus are crossed or something.

Deborah Morgan "I Remember" Woke me up this morning. A pretty, cheerful song. Also in the background as I roamed the aisles of CompUSA in Highland Park, looking for a memory card and setting off alarms.

U2 "Walk On" I like the line: "All that you can't leave behind." I really, really ought to buy that album....

Lionel Ritchie "You Are" Strange that I recognize this song.... for some reason I thought this was on Can't Slow Down, which was a defining part of my childhood.... <g> Scary, huh? But it made me think of going to Milpitas from L.A., long before I ever got into Berkeley....

Mystikal "Shake Your Ass" My roommate was randomly humming this as he stepped out the door. This reminds me of the time I drove around O'Hare repeatedly for nearly an hour.

Pink, Li'l Kim, Mya, and Christina Aguilera "Lady Marmalade" Mocha-chocolata-ya-ya.... Is there really anything to explain? :)

Eve featuring Gwen Stefani "Blow Your Mind" Ah, versatility. One of the very few reasons why Orange County shouldn't be carpet bombed.

The Beatles "Blackbird" An interesting song to hear at the airport on the way out....

Janet Jackson "Someone to Call My Lover" For the longest time I thought that this was by one of those all-girl pop bands that have been springing up like dandelions as of late. At least it shows that Ms. Jackson ain't obsolete yet.... although I'm not sure if that's a good thing....

Fatboy Slim "Weapon of Choice" (L.A., NYC) During my brief interlude in L.A., I finally saw the video of Christopher Walken dancing around a hotel, making me think of the Bonaventure in Downtown L.A. and that movie Nick of Time. Then in New York, Bram played his "Gangsta Rap" CD with the song This or That by Black Sheep from which this song is derived.

Beastie Boys "Alive" (NYC) Well, Brooklyn, specifically. Bram has the Beastie Boys DVD and it is quite a trip to watch.

A Tribe Called Quest "Can I Kick It" (NYC) Another of Bram's "Gangsta Rap" excerpts, as well as the song which I danced to while out of my mind at some Mexican restaurant somewhere in Manhattan.

Notoriouis B.I.G. "N.O.T.O.R.I.O.U.S." (NYC) Gotta give it up to the late Biggy Smallz. So was it Puffy (err, P. Diddy) or the Rampart Division?

Snoop Doggy Dog "Lay Low" (L.A.) Some Westside flavor. I did find it highly amusing listening to this as I drove through the streets of Lake Forest, IL, and as I walked down Broadway towards Soho. (Someone was blasting it out of their car)

Janet Jackson "All For You (DJ Quik Remix)" (Chi, NYC) Yeah, I mentioned this before, so other day, but since this was labeled as a DJ Quik remix, I thought it had a tenuous connection to New York. Oh, and I remember this song as we rode in cab, leaving Kush

Missy Elliot "Get Your Freak On" (S.F., NYC) Not much to say. It just reminds me of hanging out in S.F. and in New York.

Eve featuring Gwen Stephani "Let Me Blow Your Mind" (S.F., L.A.) First time I heard it was driving on the I-80 in the city towards the bridge, with Ben and Jen. Later on I found out from my sister that they filmed it in the building which she did her internship last summer and which I had to drop her off and pick her up from.

Daft Punk "One More Time" (Chi, NYC) This mostly reminds me of when my brother and sister came to visit me in Chicago in March, but it also came up in a conversation with Ben and Jane. Or maybe I was hallucinating. Whatever, I put it on the CD.

Modjo "Lady" (Chi, NYC) See above. It also came back this last time out in Chicago with Ben, when I heard it at Banana Republic sung acapella.

All-4-One "I Turn to You" (S.F., Chi) I think Ben noticed how this song sounds a lot like For You I Will by Monica while I was out there in S.F. I guess there's a good reason, since they were written by the same people for the Space Jam soundtrack (which is why it makes me think of Chicago).

Christina Aguilera "Come On Over" (S.F., NYC) This has to do with Lady Marmalade and how me and Ben watched the making of it in S.F. (Daly City to be precise) and how me, Ben, and Jane watched the MTV Karaoke version in Brooklyn. Note the tie in to the previous song, since it was really Christina who popularized it.

L'il Kim "How Many Licks" (S.F., NYC) See above.

Mya "Free" (S.F., NYC) Same as the last song.

Pink "There You Go" (S.F., NYC) Same as the last song.

Mya, L'il Kim, Pink, and Christina Aguilera "Lady Marmalade" (S.F., NYC) This is the payoff. Although I think Patti Labelle's version is still better.

O-Town "All or Nothing" (S.D., L.A.) Heard this cheesy little ditty on the way up from San Diego during my brief stint in Southern California (which through an act of Chance became a brief stint in Northern California as well).

S Club 7 "Never Had a Dream Come True" (S.D., L.A., Chi) Yes, I've mentioned this before (hence the reference to Chicago), but this is another song I heard on the way back to L.A. from San Diego, specifically as I transitioned from the Pasadena Freeway to the Golden State Freeway.

BBMak "The Ghost of You and Me" My sister has the most ridiculous explanations for song lyrics... (See the line: "But baby there's a name for what you put me through/it isn't love, it's robbery.") Ask her about It's Gonna Be Me by NSync. In any case, my line of the moment is "Watching the candle flicker out / In the evening glow / I can't let go / When will the night be over?" [complete lyrics]

Jason Wade "You Belong To Me" From the Shrek Soundtrack

Dana Glover "It Is You (I Have Loved)" Another song from the Shrek Soundtrack. Ah. Maybe someday, somewhere I will have reason to sing such a song. But that's really another song entirely.

Kid Capri featuring Allure, AZ, Case, Common "Life Goes On" [ Lyrics]

Groove Theory "Never Enough" Amel Larrieux! [lyrics]

Letters to Cleo "Cruel to Be Kind" I meant to put on "I Want You to Want Me" but I missed somehow. Ah well. Kay Hanley reminds me of my trip to NYC (in May)

NSync "Somewhere, Someday" Yes kill me now. An NSync song. From the Pokemon soundtrack, no less. At first, it makes me think of taking the Surfliner from San Diego, gazing at the tide pools, the grey sand, and the gulls in the air. And then, just because Jen bought Celebrity at the Tower Records at the Trump Tower, it makes me think of my trip to NYC (in July).

Ben Folds Five "Evaporated" I wrote something about this in January. I don't want to make a link 'cause then I'll have to update it when I move everything around next January...

Case "Missing You" Yes, this song does make me think of the ocean, though I'm cruising in a train, not a car. This song therefore also reminds me of my Fear-and-Loathing style drive from L.A. to S.F. for the Radiohead concert with my sister and her friend Theresa and the stupid mp3 player I had foolish bought at Fry's and the crushing depression that had inexplicably come down on me when I was forced to drive back down the day after playing Starcraft for half a day with Steve and Jason.

Coldplay "Yellow" I wrote something about this earlier as well, but there are now more memories attached to it: the failed attempt on April 29 to get tickets for their concert in S.F. and the bad timing when Todd had an extra ticket for their concert in L.A. "Look how at stars, look how they shine for you."

India Arie "(Not the Average Girl from Your) Video" They loved this song in San Diego that one mad day I was there. I love it. An antidote to the poison of the American Dream. [Lyrics]

Morcheeba "Big Calm" And now I think I understand (though I'm sure I don't....) [Lyrics]

Morcheeba "Friction"

Mint Condition "Pretty Brown Eyes" I have no idea. No explanation. The only memory I have about this song is way back in high school. Mint Condition opened for Janet Jackson.

Lifehouse "Hanging by a Moment" This became my theme song for my trip to New York (in July). I suppose it's not a bad way to live, for now. (Hehe. Now is a gift. That's why they call it the Present. Or something like that.)