With A Little Help From My Friends - Joe Cocker

My one job has XM Satellite Radio (which is rumored to be merging with Sirius and if that's the case I may have to subscribe). If I'm lucky they'll leave it on the '50s on 5 for the better part of my four hour shift. I don't think I've gone an entire shift rockin' with the likes of Bill Haley and Frank Sinatra because it always changes to the fucking Blend (channel 25). Somebody up there doesn't like me (and this bad pun works because I work in the basement). At least, thank goodness, they stopped changing it to the Heart.

Yesterday was different. Someone thought it would be a great idea to leave it on Escape (channel 78) which can be described in two words: elevator music.

Now, I'm fan of almost all genres of music. Elevator music is tolerable when that's all you've got to listen to, but for four straight hours is does get to you a bit. You haven't lived until you've heard "My Generation" done by an orchestra. I jest about that last bit, but I will say that one in ten songs was either a Beatles song or a Simon & Garfunkel song. I actually liked the version of "With a Little Help from My Friends" as it was light, peppy and very swingin' sixties-ish. The part that most disturbed me was that I knew 95% of the songs the various string ensembles played. "Strawberry Fields Forever" followed by "Bali Ha'i" followed by "Volare". Had they all been done by the original artists I would have been in heaven.

I tried to escape from Escape when I hit the large room that holds two Fender speakers. On the days I work alone I pop on whatever cd or cassettes that they have in their collection because it's there and I like good music (yeah, yeah). Having heard most of the good tapes/cds I was elated to find a Bobby Darin greatest hits album. I put it in the cd player and turned on the speakers and....nothing. No sound was coming out and I didn't want to bother with the speaker controls as I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be playing their music on their equipment in the first place. I'm the just the housekeeper. What? I put everything back, where I found it, when I'm finished.

And that's it. No funny ending, moment of insanity or salvation. A bit anti-climatic, eh?

I think next time I'll bring along Rachel Fuller's album (Cigarettes & Housework) as I've still to hear the entire thing.