Clara’s latest obsession is the Magnetic Fields song “The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side,” which also happens to be my favorite. She heard the very beginning of it yesterday, just as I was switching it off, and demanded to hear the whole thing. Then she listened to it a few times. Last night she and I listened to many other songs from 69 Love Songs, and danced and sang to a bunch of them. But I noticed one thing: Several of those songs are just not appropriate for a five year old. “How Fucking Romantic,” for instance. And “Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits.” On the other hand, “Punk Rock Love” is lots of fun. Time to make a new playlist: “67 Love Songs.” Actually, I better check them all, now that I think about it.
Yeah, and even many of the ones that don’t include naughty words don’t, um, encourage healthy interpersonal relationships–“The Night You Can’t Remember” comes to mind. But they’re so damn catchy!