Can you stand the sweetness?

Sick Day

I'm home sick today. Not the kind of "sick day" that involves a yoga class, an oil change, and some outlet shopping. Rather, the kind of sick day that involves a vague, total-body ache and staring at the clock, willing it to be time for my next dose of Pseudo-Quil. Also the kind of sick day when I think I'll get a jump on all my holiday correspondence, but instead wind up racked out on the futon watching seven consecutive episodes of Flight of the Conchords, Season 2. Hilarious show, by the way, though in my current state any laughter leads to a crackling coughing fit. On the upside, I also get to spend several hours observing the birds on a wire outside my window as they puff themselves up and generally torment Mattie the cat. If only I'd been more organized about my Netflix delivery schedule, I would have Twilight on hand to watch! I just recently read the book and will withhold commentary until I see how Edward the Sparkly Vampire, he of changing eye color and cold skin, is portrayed in the movie. The book absolutely slayed me, and not in a fabulous Buffy-esque way at all. Oops, does that count as commentary?

I laughed, I cried, I listened to the podcast: It's a Rosanne Cash lovefest!

I left work a little late on Monday, so I only caught the last few minutes of Terry Gross' interview with Rosanne Cash on Fresh Air. Oh, but what a wonderful few minutes they were! I don't usually advertise my profound affection for country music; I prefer to save it for awkward moments at parties and/or lulls in any conversation. I then fill these lulls with comments such as: "Hey, have we talked about how much I love Dwight Yoakam?" So anyway, Rosanne Cash has a fabulous new album called The List. This album includes twelve songs from a list of one hundred essential country songs that her father, Johnny Cash, created for her when she was eighteen. The newest of these songs, Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country," is from the early 1960s. In other words, Carrie Underwood won't be keying anyone's Ford Dually in these songs. It's a collection of classic American songs that tiptoe over the border between country, folk, protest music, blues, and mountain music. Plus, I love Rosanne's style on the album cover: And when I listened to the whole interview via podcast, I came away with even more respect for Rosanne as a singer and a person. The List is not to be missed!