Some Musical Questions for this Afternoon

Have you been sitting, waiting, wishing...that SOMEBODY could answer the immortal question:

What are the 52 most depressing songs ever recorded?

Well, this guy has the answer:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author-exact=Tom%20Reynolds&rank=-relevance%2C%2Bavailability%2C-daterank/102-2601063-4467364

I read a review of this book this morning over my morning coffee and cereal, and about snarfed my breakfast all over the paper. I have to say I am in 100% agreement with him on what the number one most depressing song EVER is: The Christmas Shoes, which the reviewer described as "more depressing than the Cure's entire career." I have to agree that this song puts me in a DEEP BLUE FUNK at any point it comes on the radio and it will CRUSH ALL CHRISTMAS CHEER for hours at a time, and what is worse is that we are destined to be subjected to it every 12 months for the rest of our lives.

Other musical questions I am pondering:

1. Why did James Taylor include the song "Steamroller" on his greatest hits CD? This defies logic. Who would even begin to suggest that this bizarre song belongs with the rest of this greatest hits collection? Come on, what was he thinking?

2. Why did Eminem include the song "Fack" on his greatest hits CD, Curtain Call? Okay, as a closet Eminem fan, I am well aware that Mr. Mathers has, to say the least, a certain tendancy to use foul language with relish (and yes, I know this is an understatement), but, really, this song is so unbelievably, incredibly, indescribably dirty that I cannot listen to the song, alone in my car, without blushing, gagging and hitting the "skip" button on my cd player. It seriously makes me want to throw up a little bit, and I have only ever managed to listen to the first 45 seconds before having to dive for that skip button.

3. Is "Fack," in fact, the dirtiest song ever recorded? I thought so until this morning when I was putting gasoline in my car, when the patron next to me was blasting a song even dirtier. If I knew the name of it, I would share, so that you could share in my shock that such a song could exist. Instead, I was just glad that I decided to get gas AFTER I dropped off my six year old at kindergarten.

4. How is it possible that the granddaughter* of a blue grass musician could have Eminem's Curtain Call and James Taylor's Greatest Hits, both in her record collection, next to her Alison Kraus and Greg Trooper cds?...yeah...I don't so much have the answer to that question...

TTFN,
LM

*that would be me