I've listened to a lot of music. I mean
a lot. I've heard good songs. I've heard bad songs. I've heard
a lot of songs. Most of them are awful, to tell you the truth. Millions of artists performing millions of songs... you do the math. What tiny percentage can really be any good? This is not to say that I don't like music. I do like music. I'm just giving you some background concerning the odds that I'll like a given song.
So... the Tigers played two games today. They won one and they lost one. Par for the course when you're a .500 team, I suppose. The second game wrapped up just as I was arriving at my last store of the day - Kroger #578 in Monroe. In poetic fashion, David Ortiz was the batter and Jose Valverde was the pitcher. The two had tangled during the first game of the day. On that earlier occasion, Ortiz hit a homer and the Tigers lost. This time around, Valverde came out on top and the Tigers won. Good deal. Time to deliver some milk...
After a relatively uneventful half hour of doing what I do, it was time to get back in the truck and drive home. Since the ballgame was over and the stereos in our trucks basically suck ass, I did what I always do - hit 'scan' and see what happens. Per usual, the only thing that sounded recognizable was the local NPR station. Their (NPR's) signal strength is truly uncanny, given that their non-taxpayer-subsidized competitors don't produce nearly as strong an output. What are they buying with all that tax money? Super transmitters or something? Anyhow, I wasn't in the mood for that station tonight. We get the BBC World Service at night on our NPR stations in Michigan. Normally this is a good thing, as the style of reporting and variety of topics tend to be enjoyable for me. Not lately though. There's only so much discussion of the upcoming FIFA election that one can endure. Soccer bores the hell out of me. By extension, a few corrupt Europeans vying for the chance to control soccer's major governing body... ZZZzzzzzzz
I continued to scan the stations in search of something better. Somewhere around the time I got onto I-275 from Telegraph Road, I heard a distinctive sound that I tend to enjoy. I'm not a music expert so I won't pretend to know the instruments involved, but I usually like a good Mexican ballad. I can't understand the words but I don't really care. I dig the sound. So I stopped the radio and began listening.
Much to my surprise, the words began in English. We have various French, Spanish, and Arabic radio stations around here. I had assumed that I was listening to a Spanish station. Not this time though. It was some sort of local folk radio outfit. Even more to my surprise, the lyrics were riveting. I guess I never really took the time to think about whether or not the songs on those Spanish stations were interesting. They're pleasant to hear and I can't understand the words, so who gives a shit, right? Sing about whatever you like, Pablo. Just keep layering the horns over that high-pitched guitar thing that you guys play. I'm on board.
Tonight's song started out with the story of a Mexican guy who stole a rooster and snuck into the U.S. That's something you don't hear in the usual loop of crap on your local Top 40 station, eh? As I listened intently to the tale (paying attention to the road, of course), I couldn't wait to hear what came next. Emotion, family loyalty, poverty, success, elation, pain, dismay, deep-seated resentment of a famed socialist, shame, fond memories of the past - it was all there. What a song. I wanted to buy this thing when I got home, but the only specific that I could recall was the name of the rooster.
Enter the internet. With a few clicks I was able to ascertain the exact song that I sought. It helped that the name of the rooster was also the name of the song. 99 cents to Amazon.com and there we have it. But
wait a second. Why did I never hear this song before? It's right up my alley and I listen to
a lot of music. How did it take some podunk radio station in Hicksville, USA to bring it to my attention? What gives?
And
wait a second. They classify it as country? I've
dated (to use the term liberally) plenty of broads who were into country music. That horseshit couldn't compare to this song. What gives?
I don't know man. We'll see if I can embed it though. It's a great song. Here goes nothing...
I have no financial interest in the matter, but if you care to throw a buck toward our national GDP -
have at it. I don't assume that anyone will actually share my taste in music, but there it is anyway. I'm mainly just annoyed that this one escaped my attention until tonight. That's life, I guess.
