Jimmy Murray's Infinite Playlist...of nary 100 songs.

One of the biggest aspects of my life that seems to be universal amongst every citizen in a developed country is my lack of media player.  Growing up, I really only listened to what my mom listened to on the radio and when she lost her car, I pretty much lost my gateway to the world of popular music.  Granted, I took a modicum of music classes, learning some theory and history along the way.  I can break down whatever I listen to into its constituent parts: key, meter, genre, instrumentation, post-production after-effects, etc..  Since I never had any access to the world of pop culture, much less the world of elitist indie music, my playlist consists mostly of show tunes and sound tracks.

I love video game music.  I can and do listen to it all day.  Some of my top picks, in no particular order, and in no way complete, would be "Frog's Theme" (Chrono Trigger), "Stickerbrush Symphony" (Diddy's Kong Quest), "Song of Storms" (Ocarina of Time), "Flying Battery Zone" (Sonic and Knuckles), "Still More Fighting" Final Fantasy VII, "Kid Icarus" Kid Icarus, "Rainbow Road" (Any Mario Kart, however Double Dash has the best one).  Video games were, for a time, my escape and a huge part of my childhood, probably main contributors to my desire to hear them again and again.  Penny Arcade has a comic called "The Mega Man 9 Effect" that visually describes what I'm writing here.

Due to these unfortunate circumstances, this is just another way I can't relate to people.  I know nothing of music trivia, save for the slumdog stuff I picked up when I visited a friend.  And it's hurtful.  It sucks only knowing either the facts that everyone knows, like pop culture trivia or the facts that no one cares about, like anything about classical music.  I guess the only qualm I have is the fear of being described as lame, which I guess I am, and, apparently, I have come to terms with it.  The other good news is that I do know just enough to get by and everyone seems to like Miley Cyrus.  Better brush up on my Hannah Montana.
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I'm a really boring writer.  I used to be good at this stuff, never the creative fantasy stuff, but definitely the entertaining expository stuff.  I hope this is just a result of stress and exhaustion and not anything chronic, terminal, or epidemic.  The cathartic effect is good for me, though.

***Didn't really have a place for this, but I feel it belongs here***
/*When I was a kid, I wanted to be an actor.  I loved singing and dancing to any music I could get my hands on, even if it was just catching a spare note on the night air.  Disney musicals rocked the 90s.  The first musical I ever saw was Grease, I believe when it was released for its 20th anniversary, and mostly in response to some girls asking me to sing "Greased Lightning" in middle school.  I portrayed Vince Fontaine in college and I had a small role in "The Music Man" in high school.  I've watched a number of them and there is nothing like the vigorous energy emitted by the performers who deliver these tuneful poems.  I still want to be an entertainer.  I think I'd be good at it.*/