Yeah, yeah according to the new year’s resolution i should have done this yesterday, but i was much much too tired.

i started off the new year listening to the 10,000 maniacs. they are first in the alphabetically arranged cd-case. while the whole point of this challenge is to weed out some of the cds, i must admit these three are staying. my collection includes: “In My Tribe,” Blind Man’s Zoo” and “Unplugged.”

i can’t get rid of any of them. mostly because two people that i adore more than anything else love natalie merchant with a passion i reserve only for paul westerberg and the replacements. listening to 10,000 Maniacs makes me think of those two people and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

also, the maniacs makes me think of college– specifically my color photography class. in that class we had to do a slide show to music. my friend rob, took pictures of this little kid riding his bigwheel over the lake street bridge in eau claire. it’s a busier bridge and the little kid had no parental company whatsoever. rob ended up doing his whole slide show to the tune, “what’s a matter here.”

that song always gives me goosebumps. when natalie sings, “if you don’t sit in your chair straight, i’ll take this belt from around my waste, and don’t think that i won’t use it.” chills!

plus there’s the song, “hey jack kerouac.” and songs about books and/or authors generally rock.