Herbie - The High School Years

I recently wrote a guest post for my friend Janet's authorial and very entertaining website where I talked about my decades-long obsession with "How Soon is Now?" (the best song in the history of the world for those whippersnappers too young to remember the 80's).

I know it is hard to believe (ahem!) but I spent my big haired, blue eye linered youth being the miserably awkward odd girl out instead of blithely skipping through a decade I look back on as the epitome of substanceless gloss and excess: Big Hair! Neon Clothes! Cocaine! Brat Pack Movies! Blahdeblahdeblah. As a result, I spent a lot of time listening to what would now be called goth and pre-goth music like "How Soon is Now?" If it was deep, dark and depressing, you can be sure it was in my record collection. 

Soon after I wrote my guest post I got into my car and realized that my phone's playlist wasn't syncing to my radio properly.  No matter what song I cued up, my car's display showed this:

 

 

The resulting battle was one I was doomed to lose.

 

Me: Car, I want to listen to Deadmau5.

 

Car: Nope. How about the Smiths?

 

Me: Well, you know I love them and this song in particular but after the day I just had I'm thinking something a bit more mindlessly upbeat might be to our advantage. Maybe Calvin Harris?

 

Car: Nah. "How soon is Now?" is plenty upbeat. (begins playing song)

 

Me: Umm...how about we compromise: Radio Head? Depeche Mode? Thomas Newman? Massive Attack? City and Colour?

 

Car: "There's a club, if you'd like to go

         You could meet somebody who really loves you
         So you go, and you stand on your own
         And you leave on your own
         And you go home
         And you cry
         And you want to die
         When you say it's gonna happen now,
         When exactly do you mean?
         See I've already waited too long
         And all my hope is goooooone."

 

Me: aaaaaugh.

 

I shouldn't be surprised that telling my car I've been there and that someday it will look back on this as a minor bump in the road is falling on a non-receptive speech recognition interface.