Difficult Show Ideas # 1: The Place Where You Live

When I am hit by inspiration, which is, of course, 99% desperation, I react much as I do when I realize that someone in the house is gassy, & it ain't me. Most of the inspiration for my radio show is typical, much like most of the gas is from one of the dogs - oh he knows it's him - so I am thinking, "I'll do a show about the blues! Or a show about love songs! Or a show about drugs!" It's not that I don't think such things are valid, but my own desire to make something more interesting to listen to sometimes drives me to come up theme ideas that are so damn narrow & ridiculous ("I know! I'll do a show about male pattern baldness!") that I'd be better off writing all the songs for the show & pretending I'm twenty different bands. (Not that that show wouldn't totally rule. Because it wouldn't.)

So I want a challenge, but like every other damn New York Times Sunday crossword I've done, I can't quite finish up a lot of my show themes. I mean, it's hard to fill up ninety minutes if your show theme is something utterly obscure like "musicans with hairlips." But some aren't impossible, they're merely hard. I want to talk about one of them. Maybe you can help.

My iPod & my life were talking one day earlier this year, when, walking home from work, I happened to step into my driveway while listening to Grant Hart's heartbreaking ode to shacking up, "2541." I became interested in that number, & my corresponding number, "1309" (not nearly as sexy, I'll admit), & I started thinking, "Why do we have these things called addresses? How did that start?" They seemed like such a big thing in our lives - we need them to receive mail, to get food delivered, to tell our friends & family where we are, to confuse taxi drivers - so naturally, it would seem, there'd be a lot of songs about them.

Let me clarify: I wanted songs that not only mentioned addresses, but had something to say about the address. So, on the show, I could do my usual half-assed research (thirty minutes with the Wikipedia) & speak authoritatively about when humans started using addresses, famous addresses, all that. It was just a matter of finding songs that either featured a famous address or spoke of an address that meant something in the song.

Not so easy.

There were some obvious ones, besides the Grant Hart song, the inspiration of it all. The Stones have a song called "2120 South Michigan Avenue." There's the theme song for the TV show "77 Sunset Strip." I might even branch out a little & talk about places people hung out, if it were specific enough (like the Ramones' "53rd & 3rd"). But after attempting to encourage my brain to be creative by soaking it overnight in some whiskey, I was left with, at best, around 15 or so songs. Not nearly enough to make up a show - especially if they didn't flow well.

I should point out, I don't want to talk about streets, as in songs like "Lonely Avenue." I want the song to mention a specific place - if not an address, then at the very least enough description so you'd know it was somewhere that had an address.

I tried to branch out some more - looking for songs that talked about where someone lives. That brought it up to 20 or so. Still not enough to give me breathing room to make a really great show - so I tell you this story about my attempts to live up to one of my themes not only as a possible request for help, but also to show you how my mind works. Especially when it's not been soaking overnight in whiskey.

Below are some song ideas for the show, if it ever happens. If you have an idea to share, email it to me or discuss it on this bloggy blog. Then we can perhaps talk about that show about musicians with hairlips...

"77 Sunset Strip" Alpinestars
"52 Linthorpe Street" Cannanes
"88 Christopher Street" Dirt Bike Annie
"She Lives By The Castle" Felt
"The Place Where She Lives" Four Rockets
"2541" Grant Hart
"The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill" Hüsker Dü
"I've Changed My Address" Jam
"8540 Twelfth Street" Yusef Lateef
"111 Archer Avenue" Mark Mothersbaugh
"101 W. 80th Street" Mount Everest Trio
"77 Sunset Strip" Frankie Ortega Trio
"1523 Blair" Outcasts
"53rd & 3rd" Ramones
"2120 South Michigan Avenue" Rolling Stones
"2500 Walden Ave." Saloon
"House Where Nobody Lives" Tom Waits
"Change Of Address Kit" Wimp Factor 14