Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The Fundamental Difference

Juggling Freak and I have very differing tastes, especially when it comes to music. As you all know, I'm fond of the 80's music and British "New Wave" of the same era. Juggling Freak is into Heavy Metal. And never the twain shall meet.

A few years ago, we got a Sirius satellite radio system as a Christmas gift, and we keep it in my car, although we have a home dock for it as well. The system has a number of buttons along the front, where you can preset your favorite stations. Offspring immediately claimed preset number one in the name of Radio Disney. The next two are my favorites -- First Wave (which plays the New Wave and alternative songs, mostly from the 80s era) and the Big 80s (which is pretty self-explanatory). Juggling Freak set all the other presets up with a mixture of other stations, mainly the ones that he likes, but some that we both tolerate fairly well.

As we headed for dinner the other day, Juggling Freak was surfing through the selections, much the same way that he channel surfs on TV. (May I point out here that stopping on each station for approximately 3 seconds does not really give you a good grasp as to whether what's on that channel is really worth watching/listening to? Are all men like this?) It's slightly better with the satellite radio because at least the display screen lets us know the song title and the artist's name. JF usually makes unilateral decisions based on artist: "Tears For Fears: Hell, no!" Or, "Ugh -- not more U2!"

As he blazed through the channels, he was finding nothing that he really wanted to listen to. He finally settled on a station, but the song that was listed was going off, and a Madonna song came on next. Now, I'm no big Madonna fan, but neither do my eyeballs bleed upon mere mentions of her name. JF starts mock-gagging, and blindly punches buttons as if his life depended on it. I try to tell him that some of Madonna's early stuff isn't bad -- it's much less objectionable than her later, I-believe-in-my-own-hype, self-absorbed work, but he's not buying.

Me: "Now, her early work isn't all that bad."

Him: "Says you. I say it sucks ass."

Me: "Sure, it was pure bubblegum, but at least it wasn't as bad as some of her later stuff."

Him: "Maybe ass-flavored bubblegum."

Needless to say, the radio didn't remain long on Madonna, early hit or no.

8 comments:

Gary said...

I can't speak for all males, but 3 seconds is plenty of time for me to figure out whether a TV show is worth watching or whether a song is worth listening to. As for Madonna, I'm like you, neither a fan nor a hater, except for "Like a Prayer" which I love.

I'm no marketing genius, but I think the target group for ass-flavored bubblegum is a pretty small one. But my brother and I once thought we'd get rich selling butt mints, so I may not be the most impartial observer.

Coffeypot said...

Why does he take so long watching one station? I have it down to a second and a half. As for the music - country and/or bluegrass only. I mostly prefer talk radio.

ccw said...

We are married to the same man.

ccw said...

Need to add a note to Gary: I love you, please update your blog. I am deficient in my laughter induced from reading your blog.

KLee said...

Dr Dog: I dunno -- butt mints might still make you a rich, rich man. I know my husband could most assuredly benefit from them. Anne Glamore might cry tears of joy over such a product. You have the chemistry background and the charisma and intelligence to make those hotter than ebola. I'd patent that before someone else swipes it!

I hazard a guess that the only creatures that would care for ass-flavored bubblegum are dogs. They stick their noses there and are licking there often enough anyway.

Coffeypot -- I suspect JF "lingers" on those stations just to torture me. I hear just enough of a song I like to get me in the mood to hear it before he switches stations. I think he's really testing my limits on how many times he can change the station before I crack. Or go postal.

CCW -- more proof that we are each other's doppelgangers. You must have the brain this week, because I sure don't feel like I have it. It's the only rational explanation.

And, I agree that more Dr. Dog posts would be an official good thing, but no pressure. We just know quality when we read it.

Liz Miller said...

I'm with Dr. Dog about "Like A Prayer". Love that song. "Lucky Star" played every 20 minutes on the local radio station during The Worst Summer Of My Life. So I'm predisposed to hate her for life.

ccw said...

I need to add that in elementary school I was desperate to wear a hat and spray paint things while "Borderline" played in the background.

Karyn said...

Ass. Flavored. Bubblegum.

Sweet merciful crap, that was funny.