Gwen Ihnat

“A long, long time ago/I can still remember/how that music used to make me zzzzzzzz.” I’m sure it’s not Don Mclean’s fault that this song was horrendously overplayed on the radio during my formative years, but it’s just way too long and way too boring for me to ever have to hear again. I won’t… [...]

Oh, is it my turn for “Champagne Supernova”? I kid, my fellow 30-Day chroniclers. Actually, since I’m behind (surprise!), I’m combining Day 7 (song that reminds you of an event) with Day 8 (song you know all the words to): “The Way You Look Tonight”.

As my husband likes to say, “You’d never know you used [...]

In the mid-90s, I was fortunate enough to have a very fun but low-paying job as a music critic of the local rag the Illinois Entertainer. The “Chicago” “music” “scene” being what it was in those days, I was out several nights a week (nowadays, just the thought of staying out past midnight can make [...]

Rufus Wainwright: “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk”
When Brian McNally and I were courting, we would listen to this album (Poses). A lot. Pretty much every Sunday I would buy a Tribune and we would sit on the couch and pass sections back and forth and listen to this. I love the whole album, but the first… [...]

In October, I got a call from my mother’s oncologist that she didn’t want any further chemotherapy. As her cancer had metastasized and chemotherapy was the only available option from her doctors, even the homeopathic ones, I knew that this meant that she would die soon. It was the very first time my mind had [...]

I defy you to be unmoved by the most infectious song ever, “Wig Wam Bam” by The Sweet: the glitter, the glamor, the florescent headdress! Just try keeping on with your cranky self when faced with this undeniable pop riff – it even has a slide whistle. See also: “Little Willy,” “Fox on the Run.” [...]

Me: “What’s that horrible Blind Melon song? “No Faith”?

Husband: “No Rain”

Me: “Gah! I hate it even more now!”

Let me start off by saying, although I am extremely liberal, I hate hippies. The “South Park” hippie extermination episode exceeds even the Tom Cruise Scientology episode in my opinion. Which is certainly saying something. But in the [...]

Joel Reese tagged me for this, but please feel free to chime in, I would be really interested in others’ choices. I also don’t plan on writing lengthy essays every time (promise!), but the first one really gets to me (obviously):

day 01 – your favorite song – “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” by Elton John

Many [...]