we cannot know ourselves or what we'd really do

This week's song was an easy selection, owing mostly to the one productive thing I do in the mornings: listen to NPR while getting ready. This morning, still wiping the sleep out of my eyes, I could hardly believe my ears when their This I Believe segment aired. The lead singer of The Flaming Lips put in his two cents and I almost want to force feed his words to some of the people in my life.

I wish I could crystallize what I believe into such gems as the series captures. But in the meanwhile, there are people like Wayne Coyne who do much better than I ever could. The simplicity of his happiness is exactly what I find so compelling.

"I believe that normal life is extraordinary."

And that, after all, is what you find from this community of blogging. Yes, much of the time, there is the b*tching about ordinary life, the banalities of existence, and even the sadness of heartbreaks and defeats. But also, sometimes, you find extraordinary posts. Extraordinary posts that are sometimes about normal life, or sometimes written by those you would otherwise think normal if you met them in real life.

Moreso, even those posts about heartbreak, defeat, depression, guilt, envy- all of those are beautiful. There is something in the commonality of it that is breathtakingly beautiful. Probably the only thing that rankles me in writing is when writers seem convinced that they have had a wholly unique experience that only could have happened to them. The truth of the matter is that none of us are that special, in our happiness or our suffering. And the truth of the matter is that the universality is ultimately a beautiful, golden thread.

The Flaming Lips are one of those bands that I feel I should listen to more. Every song of theirs that I have managed to hear has always done me right. At some point, I will have to go back and catch up with them in their entirety. In the meanwhile, the song Yeah Yeah Yeah is a prime example of why they are great. There are great layers in the music and chorus. But despite the seemingly absurd chorus that opens the song, the lyrics are actually quite interesting without taking themselves too seriously.

It was particularly easy to pick this song because it has a second tie-in. If you've never heard the song from start to finish, it will still likely sound familiar to you. If you have seen commercials for Little Miss Sunshine, the song was featured prominently. Amusingly, the song was not on the soundtrack or really incorporated into the film. I guess DeVotchKa was not peppy enough for the marketing folks.

And Little Miss Sunshine brings us to the Oscars, and my Sunday evening. This year, in an unprecedented move, I watched all of the Oscars, even the pre-show nonsense on the red carpet, because I was invited to hang out with the G's. People, let me tell you what I have learned: the gays and I do not agree on fashion. We only reached consensus that Reese Witherspoon looked amazing, and that the entire Will Smith clan grates on our last nerve. Beyond that, they repeatedly schooled me on my lack of fashion savvy. I pointed out that Nicole Kidman was wearing a Charlize Theron Memorial Giftwrap Dress, and they stared at me with open-mouthed horror. They thought Jodie Foster looked great, I thought she was wearing an ill-fitting dress. I kept swooning over Clive Owen; they think Hugh Jackman looked hotter (I'm sorry, but they're just wrong about that one). Oh well. It was definitely more entertaining watching with the G's. I especially love them because, as soon as the Oscars were over, CGBF turned to us and said, "Thank you guys SO much for coming. (beat) Now get the hell out of here."

p.s. Y'all, I bought boxes this weekend. Boxes. I cannot believe it's already time for that.