Tuesday, 9/15

 I wonder if working by myself has driven me over the edge?

I'm now coming up on six months of being the only person working at the station, and there are times when I have to wonder if I'm slowly being turned into Jack Nicholson in “The Shining”. I mean, I haven't axed open a door yet, nor have I run out into the snow to slowly die, but the signs are there.

How, you ask? Well, I answer, I keep listening to the same three songs over & over.

It's true. As I've written in here before, I will often get into these little jags where I'll listen to a song over & over again until my brain explodes. But in the past couple of weeks it's been the same three songs, in a loop, over & over again. In fact, according to my iTunes counter, it may have been (ahem) 127 times over and over.

I know. I'm not well at all.

The three songs are, in order, Saint Motel's new “Preach”, Boz Scaggs' classic “Lowdown”, and Nick Heyward's long-forgotten “Whistle Down The Wind”. I have no idea why I started listening to them, I have no idea why I put them together in that order in a playlist, and I have no idea why I've listened to them (ahem) 127 times (and counting).

Like I said. I'm turning into Jack Nicholson's character in “The Shining”. It's the only answer.

Normally, my co-workers might mention something about my listening to a song over and over again, or normally, my co-workers might distract me from listening to the songs with their questions, gripes, or gossip. But for almost six months now I haven't had any co-workers. I'm here all alone. There's nothing to distract me. There are only those three songs, played in that order and on repeat, to keep me company.

Whether or not they're keeping me sane...well, I'll leave that up to you.

So if in the next few months you notice my writing gets a little strange, or I start using words like “preach” or “lowdown” way too often, know that there's a reason for it. And, just to be safe, you might wanna keep any & all axes away from me.

Just a thought.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Those three songs, if you're curious and/or looking to be driven insane?