My world is bursting sappy music

I was feverishly working out at the Arclight 24 Hour Fitness last night. While waiting for my preferred machine - that cool new treadmill/elliptical combo, with the separate tracks, one for each foot - I worked out on one of the regular elliptical machines. I had a great view out of one of the big windows at the 4th floor gym. I marveled at the Hollywood-ness of it all - the bulbous Cinedome, the not-so-distant hills, the various big buildings representing the not-so-old-school/not-so-new-school portion of the American entertainment complex, etc. For a moment there, I felt I was living in the center of it all. Then, I forgot about that and concentrated on the great song - Madeline and Nine by Mike Doughty - playing randomly on my iPod. Then my iPod battery ran out and I was saddened. Then, I realized I didn't need the music. Sometimes I need the music. Not last night.

Back to the Mike Doughty song, or more specifically, back to the underrated album it comes from - Haughty Melodic. In another song, Unsingable Name, he sings of wanting something unknown, indefinable. This pretty much sums up human desire:

Beware the thrum of hearts in your presence and
Watch the breeze that snaps at you now
All the dogs that bark from the fences and
Everything is wanting for you
Smirk on the face and fists in the clenches and
Make the radiator blow now
Crack the planks and shatter the lenses and
Mix the salt, the sugar and flour

I don't know how it sums up desire but it does. I know this because of what he sings later in the song:

I want to see the mountains in silhouette
Want to split for Singapore now

I should be explaining myself better today. I'll just say that I don't quite understand why the word "now" in the preceding quote is showing up as misspelled in my blogger program.

I could tie it all together and say that I did indeed see "mountains in silhouette" when I was looking out that big window at the gym. But that sounds cheesy. In fact, the whole silhouette/Singapore couplet sounds so much better in song than it does on a blog. Just go here and hope he puts the song up some time. In the meantime, listen to Tremendous Brunettes.

Anybody have good book recommendations for me? I like big 900+ page novels set in my lifetime. Or in England.

Just realized that two of the guys from Semisonic played with Doughty on that album. Small world. Makes sense, considering that his former band - Soul Coughing - were big in Minneapolis, hometown of Semisonic.

I could get more trivial than that. I could discuss my reasons for wanting the Timberwolves to pick Corey Brewer instead of Spencer Hawes in next week's NBA draft and why they shouldn't trade KG. Or I could talk about the amazing breakfast enchiladas at Fred 62.

Yes, I have a lot on my mind.