Compromise

Taxes or Blogging. Hmmm. Which do you think I choose?

Chasen and I agree on some music. We both dislike James Blunt, John Mayer, and Howie Day. We both like The Go Go's, Pat Benetar, and The Beastie Boys. The differences come when we get passionate. I love Sleater-Kinney. Corrin Tucker's wails appear in my better sex dreams. Listening to Sleater-Kinney while wearing a tank top and sunglasses is the sexiest I can feel, ever.

I played Sleater-Kinney for Chasen and he said, "It's ok."

When we listen to the Rawk Station out of South Carolina, they play Hole, The Cranberries, Amy Lee, and Veruca Salt. That's the sum total of women's voices I hear on that station, and it's only one per week. When I hear one of them, I yell, "It's a girl! It's a girl!" Unless its Courtney Love, in which case my chant is, "It's a crackwhore! It's a crackwhore!"

So I make an effort to integrate GirlRawk into the room. He loves Bjork, but I can only take so much before I start to wonder why she takes herself so seriously. I've stopped trying to bring cd's. I just get frustrated and begin to doubt my taste. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tori Amos, Amy Ray, and Sahara Hotnights were all "ok." He only likes Tool, Nirvana, and Perfect Circle. If it isn't them, it doesn't matter. It only rates an "ok" at best.

We used to listen to the rawk station alot more, The Rise Guys and all, but that stopped about four months ago. After Brokeback Mountain came out, the shock jock assholes started to really push the gay jokes. They sent their whipping boy, Nine, out into men's rooms in upstate South Carolina to hit on guys. They kept telling him to "act more faggy." When one 'victim' got angry and trapped him in a stall, yelling and banging on the door, I started to cry. The Rise Guys were laughing hysterically. I left the room.

I went out to the break room and got another cup of coffee. I talked myself down a little, chatted with Clarkton. When I came back, Chasen had changed the station, "I'm sorry. That must be really hard for you to hear."

I thought -Why isn't it hard for you to hear?- then retracted it as not fair.

"I can't handle them anymore today."

We haven't listened to The Rise Guys since, even though I've told him it's ok to put them on once in awhile. They are funny, sometimes. But they're also racist, homophobic, misogynist, and all-around ignorant, with pride. Their listeners eat that shit up.

So we have our routine: Eighties in the morning, rock until 3, Terri Gross, then either All Things Considered or rock until we leave. Neither of us really like it, but its the best we can come up with.