Two days ago I discussed Justin Bieber with Cornel West. (For the record, I do not like Justin Bieber, but I do like Cornel West.) We were in the car on the way to the prison where I tutor, where Dr. West was going to give a speech to 250-some inmates. The morning was an amazing experience from beginning to end: the car ride--when we (he and I and three other students and our awesome driver F) talked about the Grammys--the meeting with the superintendent and other officials, the speech itself to an awestruck, silent room of men, and the ride back, when we asked follow-up questions. Dr. West started by talking about music, segued into Black History Month, and then moved deeper and deeper into his chosen subject: how to be a better, authentic, human being. I had heard a lot of it in the last lecture of the class I took with him last semester (the lecture that made me cry in class), but of course he had tinkered it a bit to suit his audience and it was all the more powerful because of that. The moment that struck me the most was hardly the most original, but it came when he stopped mid-sentence and asked, "How many of you would take a bullet for your mama? In the heart." Almost everyone raised their hands.
I was reminded of something my grandmother likes to say (in a very different context of very different people): "Say what you will; they really love their mothers."

So perhaps now I've got music on the brain. And perhaps I am doing everything I can to get myself writing and thinking a little each day, in this time of thesis insanity. I am still keeping up on my 211 words a day in 2011 challenge, but for the next 30 days I would like to add this:

• Day 01 – Your favorite song
• Day 02 – Your least favorite song
• Day 03 – A song that makes you happy
• Day 04 – A song that makes you sad
• Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone
• Day 06 – A song that reminds you of somewhere
• Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event
• Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to
• Day 09 – A song that you can dance to
• Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep
• Day 11 – A song from your favorite band
• Day 12 – A song from a band you hate
• Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure
• Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love
• Day 15 – A song that describes you
• Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate
• Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio
• Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio
• Day 19 – A song from your favorite album
• Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry
• Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy
• Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad
• Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding
• Day 24 – A song that you want to play at your funeral
• Day 25 – A song that makes you laugh
• Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument
• Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play
• Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty
• Day 29 – A song from your childhood
• Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year

Day 01 – Your favorite song

Right off the bat, this is incredibly difficult. I don't know if you heard, but my family compiled a list of our top 500 songs of all time and made it public this summer. There are a lot of songs I like--there are a lot of songs that move me to act or think--but there is only one song that has been on my top 25 list longer than the others, and there is only one song my dad had a piano player play for me while I had tea at the Savoy.


Night and Day