I'd Never Touch Another Drink As Long As I live...

I've been running out of good music to listen to lately. If only I worked for some sort of hip company that sat at the fusion of music and technology.

My music has always depended largely on the tastes of others. When I grew up in Boston, it was all classic rock, all the time. Clapton, sure. Aerosmith? Hell yeah. Mistakes were made.

In college, I had a roommate who, despite being utterly tone deaf, could identify most popular songs on the first note. That guy was all about the music. He did all the reasearch for me, sought out shows, combed through the Voice and left clippings on my desk when he found something I would like. I was a spoon-fed, babe-in-the-woods type.

Afterwards, I lived with The Music Natzi. He controlled the stereo system, the MP3s, the TV and all other forms of media coming in and out of the house. He signed us all up for Columbia House and BMG and came home from the used CD store every Saturday with a stack a foot high. We were signed up for all the magizines: Blender, Rolling Stone, you name it. The work that went into his catalogue seemed exhausting. I couldn't do it myself. Luckily he had excellent and eccelctic taste. Since we both worked from home, I was exposed, without choice and at great length, to all sorts of music. When I moved from to San Diego, I took with me only a few burned CDs from his collection, but I also had a small seed of MP3s that he'd left on my computer hard drive, which he used for spillover storage. Sure, they were mixed in with my awful choices of Sting's "Desert Rain" and Golden Earring's "Radar Love" (no, wait, "Radar Love" rocks), but I listened to them and I began to get an idea.

It was Mimi, oddly enough, that pushed me over the edge to true music fandom. She was so passionate about her favorite bands, so emphatic in her praise, and inescapable in her reach into my life. So it wasn't all bad with her. I have Wilco now and Fountains of Wayne, Eagles of Death Metal and Ryan Adams. Some of these I may have found on my own, but what she helped me discover was my taste. This has improved my life. Immensely. Mimi (not actually your name), it is the one thing for which I should thank you.

And on that note, a new feature here at Nine Extra Floors. Coming to you all the way from beautiful Sorrento Valley, one-hundred and ten south of LA and forty from the border, on this sun drenched 8th of February, the first ever "Eight on The Eighth":

1. Cold War Kids "We Used To Vacation" from Robbers & Cowards
2. The Gossip "Standing In The Way Of Control" from Standing In The Way of Control
3. Rhett Miller "Our Love" from The Instigator
4. Silversun Pickups "Well Thought Out Twinkles" from Carnavas
5. Ramsay Midwood "Chicago" from Shoot Out At The Ok Chinese
6. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness "According To Plan" from Fear Is On Our Side
7. The Good, The Bad and The Queen "Northern Whale" from self titled album
8. Eagles of Death Metal "I Like To Move In The Night" from Death By Sexy