Some Weasel Took The Cork Out Of My Lunch

Welcome to week two of the Prohibition-busting Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs list. We'll be counting down from 50 to 1 over the next five days, a veritable bender. If you don't like what you see here, crawl over to Barstool Mountain for a list of all the tunes that got votes but didn't make the Top 100. Maybe you'll find your favorite song over there. You can tell us how we must've been drunk not to include it. Every song will eventually get it's own personal post over at the Barstool.

I'll keep the exposition short today, 'cuz nobody's here for my befuddled rantings. You're here for the tunes.

This post is lovingly dedicated to The Puritans and weekend Zima and wine spritzer sippers.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, Part 6


50. "Who Threw the Whiskey In The Well" - Wynonie Harris

49. "Wine Women and Whiskey" - Papa Lightfoot

48. "Whiskey Do Your Stuff" - Louis Jordan

47. "I Like Beer" - Tom T. Hall

46. "I Got Juiced" - Jimmy McCracklin

45. "Sally MacLennane" - The Pogues

44. "Sloppy Drunk" - Jimmy Rogers

43. "Fifteen Beers" - Johnny Paycheck

42. "One Mint Julep" - Traditional/Sarah Vaughan

41. "If Drinking Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will)" - George Jones

Swinging Doors

Today we're proud to present you with the Merle Haggard portion of The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs.

In my very humble estimation, Haggard, the working man's poet, may be one of the most important artists of the last 50 years. Hag could veer with ease from a hard "fuck you" persona to a troubadour of heartbreak, often in the same song. Beloved by punks and honkytonk purists alike, his massive body of recorded work reads like a travelogue through the American landscape, the fears and hopes, loves and losses, trials and tribulations of the common man. A proud and often contradictory performer, Haggard mapped the template of great Country music, great American music, and is owed a large debt by any and all "alt" Country performers slogging the misery and gin circuit today. And that voice. Haggard's voice, a perfectly twanged baritone, has cracked over the years, but, like Tom Waits, in the ageing has found a deeper resonance. I've often committed the heresy in public of placing Haggard in the same importance as Johnny Cash (let the flogging and howling begin).

Of all the artists in the Top 100 Drinking Songs, Haggard received the most individual votes. Only one artist placed as many songs on the list as Haggard. It's a testament to Merle's skills as songwriter, the laureate of barstool philosophy. Haggard knows where a man needs to be, what helps him through the lonely nights, or eases the aches of a long working day, where all his friends are strangers and they're the best friends he's got.

We're not done with Haggard, of course. There's a good chance he'll pop up next week as we finish the final 50. So come on back, we'll have a shot and a bracer waiting for you, and some keen surprises. And don't forget to visit Barstool Mountain for a continuing look at all songs drinking. It's a testament to the world's second greatest pastime.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, Part 5

60. "Misery And Gin" - Merle Haggard

59. "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink" - Merle Haggard

58. "Bad Bad Whiskey" - Amos Wilburn

57. "Mountain Dew" - Traditional

56. "Whiskey River" - Willie Nelson

55. "Two Six Packs Away" - Dave Dudley

54. "Wine Wine Wine" - Floyd Dixon (mp3)

53. "On Tap, In The Can, Or In The Bottle" - Hank Thompson

52. "Let's Go Get Stoned" - Ray Charles

51. "Swinging Doors" - Merle Haggard

Smelling Like A Brewery, Looking Like A Tramp

Thanks for returning to the Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs. We're reeling along here, and I hope we're not dragging this out too long. Nah, a little anticipation is a good thing. It builds up a powerful thirst.

For those concerned, and for your convenience, once we're done here we're gonna have an easy reference page with the whole list listed in one lump sum. You can print the page up and share it with friends and family. Something for the kids to look forward too. Of course, the official home for this list will move to Barstool Mountain, which is currently gathering up the stray dogs. You should check it out. It's a fun place to visit, and will really pick up steam once we're all finished here.

I'll keep this short today.

Recommended reading: A while back Locust Street featured a massive project called The Seven Drinks of Mankind. It's some of the best writing and research I've ever read on the world wide interwebs. For your edification, The Mountain highly recommends you check out his brilliant posts on beer, wine, and spirits.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, Part 4

70. "Day Drinking" - Tom T. Hall and Dave Dudley

69. "The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter" - Laura Cantrell

68. "Give Me A Red Hot Mama And An Ice Cold Beer" - Smiley Maxedon

67. "Booze Party" - 3 Aces and a Joker

66. "Whiskey Heaven" - Fats Domino

65. "She Said" - Hasil Adkins

64. "Six Pack" - Black Flag

63. "Roadhouse Blues" - The Doors

62. "Pabst Blue Ribbon" - Untamed Youth

61. "Pop A Top" - Jim Ed Brown

Here At Home 'Til Closing Time

Howdy, cowpokes. Belly on up to the bar, and we'll serve you up some fine cocktails. It's Day 3 of The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs List.

As we move on up the list, you'll start to notice a pattern of sorts. Or, more accurately, you'll see certain genres asserting their dominance over the world of drinking songs. I'm not entirely surprised, but it could lend the list a certain "cry foul" factor from the peanut gallery. It should be disclosed, to those who may be new here, that my primary focus at this here blog is on Country music, with the occasional Blues, pre-rock R&B, and Trash/Garage entries popping up from time to time. I also think Tom Waits and the Pogues are the cat's meow. My personal focus on these genres is preciseley the reason I enlisted a panel of judges, to help keep the list from being only my long gone lonesome voice. They did a bang up job, and kept the list much more honest in breadth than I could have accomplished left to my own devices.

That said, Country and Blues still managed a pretty sizable smackdown over the rest of the field. I'm not surprised. Punk made a decent showing, as did a couple of classic lounge songs. And Ireland did itself proud, naturally. Indie/Alternative music was the big loser, with Hard Rock/Heavy Metal struggling to get enough votes to save face. Hip Hop managed only one entry, but it's a corker, and you're gonna be happy to see it (a twangy cover version of the song has certainly helped it out amongst the flannel and boots crowd).

I have some observations about why I think Country, Blues, and Punk made such a strong showing, and why others did not. I'm not writing a thesis paper here, so bear with me. If you've got a 100-page paper sitting around on the sociological aspects of the drinking song, and are dying to get it out there, we'd be more than happy to find a way to accomodate you.

I think the strength of the drinking song lies in it's "jukebox factor". What songs can achieve the maximum amount of folks singing along or toasting their friends when played on the jukebox of your local tavern? Some of this is based on familiarity, which favors Country and Blues, as they are some of the older genres of popular American music, jumping on the burgeoning radio and singles market of the early 20th century. Country and Blues, in the American tradition, have existed as long as porches, as long as barn raisings, as long as folks returned from a long day in the fields and had to entertain themselves. Having both come from a rural tradition, this was music that aimed for the most populist of themes, speaking directly to the "common man", whoever that is. They aimed at a reflection of daily life, and then danced your cares away. Barn Dances and Juke Joints. Back yards and tiny cold water apartments. But back to the original point. If you walked into a random bar with a random selection of individuals, and played a Crooked Fingers song followed by a Merle Haggard song, which song would have a bigger effect, if at all?

Indie rock has a kind of insular, misanthropic take on drinking. When Johnny Paycheck or Champion Jack Dupree sing about drinking alone, they're inviting you to drink alone with them, no matter what separation by years or distance. Indie rock wants you to fuck right off and leave them alone, cuz you don't understand their pain, man. Hank and Wynonie understand, and they want you to understand too.

I could be wrong about all this, of course. What do you think? Make a case for your favorite song.

Of course, the rest of the list is not all Blues and Country. Far from it. So don't be afraid. I think most of you will be pretty happy with the range we've got coming up. As ever, hop on over to Barstool Mountain for a continuing countdown of all the songs that didn't make the Top 100, with random mp3's included. It'll be the permanent home for The Top 100, and a continuing forum for all songs drinking.

Thanks for visiting.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, Part 3

80. "Last Night" - The Mar-Keys

79. "Gonna Drink Milwaukee Dry" - Charlie Walker

78. "Jack Daniels If You Please" - David Allen Coe

77. "I'm At Home Getting Hammered (While She's Out Getting Nailed)" - Banjo And Sullivan

76. "Whiskey Bottle" - Uncle Tupelo

75. "She's Acting Single, I'm Drinking Doubles" - Gary Stewart

74. "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)" - various

73. "When I'm Drinkin" - Champion Jack Dupree

72. "Rum and Coke" - Professor Longhair

71. "Margaritaville" - Jimmy Buffet

I'll Drink A Great Big Whiskey To Ya Anyway

Tra la la...

Sorry, I was practicing my imitation of Morrissey imitating Kermit the Frog. Erm...

Welcome back to day 2 of the Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs. We hope your enjoy our little attempt at presenting only the finest vintages of boozers, weepers, and winos.

And remember, if you don't like the list, if you're outraged that your favorite song didn't make the cut, you can make your case over at our new site, Barstool Mountain, the future home to The Top 100 and current home to all the songs that received votes but didn't make the final list. Leave a comment or shoot me an email (barstoolmountain@gmail.com), and you can write your very own post. How fun is that?

I promised a sneak peek today at the artists who placed the most songs on the Top 100. Here you go:

W.H.-4
M.H.-4
W.N.-3
G.J.-3
H.T.-3
A.M.-3

Come back tomorrow for part 3, and some thoughts on why certain genres fared better than others.

And, as always, the drinks are on the house here at The Mountain.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, Part 2

90. "It Was The Whiskey Talking (Not Me) - Jerry Lee Lewis

89. "What A Way To Die" - The Pleasure Seekers

88. "I Got Loaded" - Peppermint Harris
(Ah, yes. A muted jump blues number.)

87. "The King Is Gone" - George Jones

86. "One Shot" - The Mono Men

85. "Hangover Tavern" - Hank Thompson
(Hank's one of our favorites here at the Mountain. Herein lies a tale. The hair of the dog, the morning after, the cure for regret.)


84. "Let's Get Drunk Again" - Bo Carter

83. "Good Old Mountain Dew" - Grandpa Jones

82. "My Baby Got Drunk" - Paul "Wine" Jones
(I was pleased to see this song rank in the top 100. A recent(ish) recording from a feller who should have enjoyed more popularity before his untimely demise. Proof that the "drunk call" can occur across genres. Greasy, nasty Blues at it's finest)

81. "Looped" - Calvin Bose

A Thirst That Would Make The Ocean Proud

Well. At long last.

Presented here for your amusement, befuddlement, irritation, or resentment: the first installment in The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs. The list was voted on by myself and a jury of your peers, and they did a damn fine job. Please extend a hearty toast to Kip, Kyle, Sean, Andy, and the Right Reverend Frost.

Whenever some magazine or another put out some defining "Best of" list, I would eagerly snatch up a copy, and then proceed to bitch and moan about the selections. Great things were left out, crappy albums, bands, or songs were included, the writers were obviously on drugs, etc. The point being that every list is subjective. It's one of the main reasons I requested outside help, solicited recommendations, and enlisted a panel of judges. I didn't want this list to reflect my taste only. I think we did a pretty good job of getting as fair a representation of great drinking songs as could be managed. As expected, certain styles and genres placed more songs than others. I have some thoughts about that which I'll address in subsequent posts, as we work our way through the list.

I not only encourage folks to disagree with the list, but I'd love to hear your reasons why. I'd only request that insults and death threats be aimed at me and not the judges, who worked their asses off and brought a lot of great tunes to the table. I made the parameters, and had final say over certain issues, so any blame or omissions lies squarely on me. We listened to over 400 songs, and 286 tunes got votes. That's a hell of alot of drinkin', and we've probably only scratched the surface.

With all that in mind, we are pleased, proud, and nervous to announce a new site, hosted by yours truly: Barstool Mountain. For the next two weeks, Barstool Mountain will be counting down all the songs that got votes, but didn't make the Top 100. After that, it will become the official home of the Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs, with individual posts about each song on the list. Sprinkled throughout will be posts on songs we missed, or didn't make the cut. It'll be your one-stop shop for all things drinking song related. And here's the catch: you can contribute. Disgruntled with the list? Was your favorite song left out in the cold? Not enough jake leg blues in the list? Well, you get to put your bottle where your mouth is, and test out your dt's with your typing skills. Anyone can contribute to Barstool Mountain. All you have to do is email me at barstoolmountain@gmail.com, or leave a comment. I'll even host the mp3's. You just have to write the post.

More analysis and observations tomorrow, including a sneak peek at what artists placed the most songs on the list. And numbers 81-90.

Thanks for stopping by. We hope you enjoy.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs

100. "Green Beer" - Scrawl
(Sean says: "Though it's likely lesser known than many of the tunes featured here, Scrawl's "Green Beer" is an essential part of the canon. Alone among our Top 100, it depicts a key facet of contemporary American drinking -- the disorientation and frustration of "outsiders" who wind up at high school / college keg parties. (Not that we'd endorse underage drinking through this exercise, but...)")

99. "Too Drunk To Fuck" - The Dead Kennedys
(Typically hilarious preaching from the notoriously straight-edge Mr. Biafra. What should be a scathing commentary on drinking and frat culture ends up making me want to reach for a pint and test my, ahem, abilities.)

98. "Stomp Them Grapes" - Mel Tillis

97. "Blues Plus Booze (Means I Lose)" - Stonewall Jackson (Our first Country weeper (The Tillis song is a little more upbeat). Jackson visits the pathos of loss and forgetting, in a theme that has become synonymous with drinking songs of all genres)

96. "The Wild Rover" - Traditional

95. "Little Stream Of Whiskey(aka The Dying Hobo)" - Traditional

94. "Two More Bottles of Wine" - Delbert McClinton

93. "Wasted" - Black Flag

92. "Alligator Wine" - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
(Hawkins gives us a recipe for a brew so toxic it gives me the shakes just thinking about it. Forget moonshine and Everclear, this stuff is dangerous. Hawkins' spooky delivery only confirms my fears.)

91. "Kiss Me I'm Shitfaced" - Dropkick Murphys

Can't Buy a Gun

Mr. Kucinich, you have my vote. 'Course I live in Illinois, so it really doesn't matter.

Unsurprisingly, I'm putting the Book Club thingy I mentioned last post off 'til after the Top 100 Drinking Songs extravaganza (Coming next week!). It was really just a book review anyway.

I normally don't cover "new releases" very often. I figger other folks cover those things pretty well elsewhere. But there have been some intriguing records hitting the aluminum or vinyl circuit over the last couple of months: Son Volt, Mavis Staples, Detroit Cobras, Dean and Britta, and Mary Weiss, to name a few. And it's a rare and wonderful occasion when we get a new Billy Childish and a new Holly Golightly record in the same month. Lucky us. I've made it my life's goal to expose as many folks of the world as possible to the genius of Billy Childish, and his new album contains a swell little pot stirrer of a tune where he takes the piss on the great pretender, and Michael Jackson lookalike, Jack White. Hooray, Billy.

But I'm gonna focus on Miss Golightly and her new album, "You Can't Buy A Gun When You're Crying", performed under the moniker Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs. Essentially it's Holly and a feller goes by the name of Lawyer Dave.

Golightly has always flirted with a little neo-noir Country styling, and this record seems inevitable. It's a sepia-filtered affair, drawn from Southern Gothic that could only be imagined by a girl from a faraway land. Creaky and rattling, the tunes play from the back of a wagon, straw and hayseed clogging the amps. It's an eerie backwoods-styled album full of bad men and badder women, demons, devils,guns, and medicine water.

It's easily my album of the year up to this point. And it features my song of the year, "Devil Do".

Enjoy.

Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs: Devil Do (mp3)

Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs: You Can't Buy A Gun (mp3)

Special Bonus: The Jack White piss-take, and second best song of the year.

Wild Billy Childish and the Musicians of the British Empire: Bugger The Buffs (mp3)

See you on Monday, where we'll raise our glasses.

Raunchy

Hello there.

The moment y'all have been waiting for is almost upon us. The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs will make it's debut next Monday. That's right, next Monday. It'll be a ten-day liver buster, so get yourself hydrated. A project so massive in scope that we had to go and do something rash just to house the overflow. The spillage, as it were.

And since we're a busy bee these days, this Friday we've got the very first Big Rock Candy Mountain Book Club entry. Good god, can he do it? Can the Mountain actually manage 2 posts in one week? Well, we'll see.

Where's the damn music, you say? Enough of these damn promises? Okey doke.

Eddie Bond is a man. I mean he's a man, man. Swaggering and full of piss and vinegar, a rockabilly Lothario, hellbent on love for the ladies and the sweet rhythm spot on wax. Bond was so cool, legend has it, he made fun of a young Elvis Presley, recommending he "stick to driving a truck..." decades before the King had his "dead on the toilet" moment. 'Course those decades in between favored Presley, but we favor Bond in the long run here at the Mountain. The man performed a song called "Raunchy". Really, could it get any better?

Embodying the soul of Memphis, Bond veered from Rockabilly, straight-up Country, and Gospel throughout his career, laying down some crazed tracks that still sound fresh today, especially in light of imitators and hep-cat rock'n'twang wannabes.

Raw Country boy gone wrong trash, then. The kind we love so dearly.

Eddie Bond: Raunchy (mp3)

Eddie Bond: Someday I'll Sober Up (mp3)

Eddie Bond: Big Boss Man (mp3)

Support your local, independent record stores. If there are any left.

Greasy Skillet

I want to say thanks for all the kind words and emails y'all sent my way. Every time I think about hanging up the ol' Mountain, I'm reminded of why I started it in the first place. I rarely make personal posts, so I appreciate your patience. I apologize for the morbid nature of the tunes last time around. This post should be little more in line with what folks expect.

I missed a Baseball post on Opening Day. I'll get along to it soon.

Now then.

Uncle Dave Macon is about as backwoods, old-timey sounding as you can get. Photos of him reinforce a sort of doughy, redneck, good ol' boy persona. It's apt as Macon served as the gateway from 1800's vaudeville tomfoolery to the more stringent picking styles of later followers.

Macon didn't get his professional start 'til after the age of 50, in the 1920's, having lost his wagon business to the horseless carriage industry. But he whooped it up, as it were, once his time came, earning the distinction of being one of the first two members of the Grand Ol' Opry when it was known as the WSM Barn Dance. All of this and more of his history you can read about at the above link.

Macon was a hell of a banjo player. I read somewhere that experts have identified up to 19 different picking styles on his recordings. His voice is pure hillbilly, and his songs are a rollicking meander through the humorous and the strange, at least by our modern estimation. It's pure hoedown and square dance music, so bone up on your do-si-do.

Important Note: I wrote most of this post several weeks ago, long before recent events involving a certain morning talk show host. In the interest of full disclosure, Uncle Dave Macon was by no means what we would now call "politically correct" in certain of his lyrics and songs. One could, I suppose, argue context and time (Nick Tosches addresses a similar issue regarding the persona of Emmett Miller in his fascinating book, Where Dead Voices Gather), but this is probably not the best forum or moment to do so. The Mountain certainly welcomes any comments and thoughts on the issue of Race in Country music, particularly the earlier sides. It's a tricky issue. All this to say that we recommend caution or discretion when purchasing and playing certain of Mr. Macon's records.

Uncle Dave Macon: Whoop 'Em Up Cindy (mp3)

Uncle Dave Macon: Bake That Chicken Pie (mp3)

Uncle Dave Macon: Man That Rode the Mule Around the World (mp3)

Uncle Dave Macon: The Bum Hotel (mp3)

Thank you.

Blackjack

Please pardon this post if you're looking for the usual Big Rock Candy Mountain flippancy or songs about sin and salvation.

A dear friend of mine has just died, and this post is for him.

His name was Jeremy. He had a heart attack at the age of 34, leaving behind a wife and two young daughters. I hadn't spoken to him in a couple of years,but he never let me disappear from his life, or the friends we had created when we were in college. A card or note was always in the mail.

When we met, Jeremy was a fan of KISS and The Eagles. I was into Pavement and Sonic Youth. We should never have been friends if either of us had followed the vague rules of hipsterism. But neither of us was particularly interested in rules. Both of us were passionate about the music we loved, and we argued often. Somewhere within the argument we found a common ground. We agreed on Uncle Tupelo. We agreed on Country music. They were good arguments, and I owe a sense of parity to Jeremy. He kept me honest, and taught me the value of music "for the people", whatever that is. And at the end of the day, a drink would be raised, usually Jack Daniels, a song would be played, and we would sing lustily along. I miss those days. I will never have them again. I will sing alone, with his voice a distant memory. It is the nature of things. The dead sing in our heads, and we can only give them voice through our weak warblings.

Once, a few days before I left Ohio for good, Jeremy "kidnapped" me, and took me out to his father's house. We sat on lawnchairs, in the late August heat, and drank, talked, and watched bats flitting around the light above the garage. We talked about what had been, and what we would be, the dreams and hopes of the young. We were amazing in what we would be, what we would become. We went so far as to "invent" a drink, years before the advent of Red Bull. Mix Cherry 7-UP and Jack Daniels and you've got a "Red Handed Jack." I'm drinking one now. We were invincible that night. We would live forever.

Jeremy attended my Mother's funeral. He had never met her. He went for my sake, to be a friend in a time of loss.

It shouldn't have been difficult to pick up the phone. Make a call. Hear a voice through the static on the other end. I did not do this. Funerals are for the living, to make amends for a lifetime lost.

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this and all is mended:
That you have but slumbered here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend.
If you pardon, we will mend.
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long.
Else the Puck a liar call.
So good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

Jeremy loved Shakespeare. It was one of his great passions. He directed me in college, playing Shylock, in "A Merchant Of Venice." Shakespeare was one of the things we could always agree on.

I've always thought of Jeremy as Puck, The Gate Keeper, the Grave Digger, or Falstaff. Ultimately he was The Trickster from mythology. His was the laughing voice behind the tragedy, drawing you away, rooting you. He was wily, mad, the giggling fool, and often the only ground you could find on this too-trembling earth. He was maniacal, hysterical, and all too human.

As is often the case for music junkies like myself, and like Jeremy, we go to music to inspire us, to move us, or to soothe us. I could post a hundred songs that make me think of Jeremy. But I have shirts to iron and a plane to Ohio to catch. A funeral to attend. Lost in details, and without a net to catch the falling stars around me. That net is gone. I don't believe in God. I don't have the comfort of religion to promise me reunion.

I'm sorry to have bothered you with this. I know you were expecting something a little more facetious from this site. But we're all human, and even Mountains can mourn.

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

So, then, for those who have gone before, a brief and incomplete farewell:

Jay Ungar: Ashokan Farewell (mp3)

Nick Drake: Time Has Told Me (mp3)

Uncle Tupelo: No Depression (mp3)

Richard Buckner: Song Of 27 (mp3)

Townes Van Zandt: To Live's To Fly (mp3)

Townes Van Zandt: Rex's Blues (mp3)

Son Volt: Windfall (mp3)

Willard Grant Conspiracy: Notes From A Waiting Room (mp3)

Tom Waits: Cold Cold Ground (mp3)

Tom Waits: On The Nickel (mp3)

Tom Waits: Bottom Of The World (mp3)

Tom Waits: Home I'll Never Be (mp3)

Spend your money on a phone call to someone you love today. Music can wait.