Aisle 5: Just A Little Bit

So in my ongoing efforts to waste my (imaginary) bit of burgeoning creativity on this little blog, I came up with a new title for my editorials which is, you guessed it, Aisle 5. Why that moniker. Well basically all I do on here is get on a soapbox and rant about whatever comes to my busy head. So I had to think of a clever name involving soapboxes but all I could come up with was corny names regarding the word clean. And that's just stupid. Then I thought of the box aspect and tried to think of a universal aisle number for cleaning supplies. Realizing the concept of some universal conglomerate of supermarket chains coming together to arbitrarily determine a set aisle number for cleaning supplies somewhat bizarre and convoluted, I chose 5 after I realized a strange coincidence regarding the two addresses I call home (2+3+0= 5, NY; 2+6+7 = 15, MA). Yeah way too much time on my hands.

Anyway, this first installment centers around songs that become staples of one's musical palette only because of one piece of the song. Sometimes its a lyric. Maybe its just a well timed musical device. But you endure listening to that one song just to hear that one element. Or once you hear it, you can move on to the next song. Or you just replay that five second interval. But it exists and kind of justifies why you listen to music anyway.

In Mario's "How Could You (Remix)" there is the bridge which has lyrics and a melodic line that is the perfect end to a smoldering passion that Mario attempts to cultivate throughout the song. The Spinners seminal hit "I'll Be Around" contains a bass riff that leads the hook back to the verse and I go bananas each time I hear it. And countless songs contain some amazing harmonic element that appears only for a brief section, but makes the whole song worth listening to. Half of the joy is derived from the anticipation of the hallowed event.

I used to feel guilty about leaving the rest of these songs for dead. With the Spinners, I usually listen to the first verse and the first recitation of the hook. Right after that bass line, and a brief four second pause to savor it, the next song is chosen. If Last.fm recorded my songs each time a quarter of them was played, I'd have 2,000 more songs played easily. But you get over the fact that the main draw of music is the ability to feel a connection with it, whether its the lyrics or the beat or just these little tidbits. And maybe it's silly that I can pinpoint the exact time Mos Def slips into Jamaican patois in the middle of his verse on a Macy Gray remix ("I've Committed Murder (DJ Premier Remix)"), but it's why we play the songs.