"I Can't Help Myself...,"

...apparently.  I know, I've said that I try to be provocative, if not controversial, in these posts.  Occasionally, though, as in last week's, I try to avoid any hint of conflict or "attitude," and just muse about something that I can tie to a particular group of songs I've chosen to play on the radio that week.  Even then, though, it's hard to avoid giving the impression to at least some readers that there's some subtext there, one that even I am unaware of.  Perhaps if I were a better writer (not ending sentences with prepositions as I did the last one, for instance) I could convey just what I want and nothing else, but it turns out that this writing stuff is pretty hard.

This week, for instance, I want to continue my sporadic series of songs with women's names in the title.  I found the last one--which was also, weirdly, the first one (see what I mean about how words sneak around and trap you into unmeant meanings?)--to be a lot of fun, and there are certainly lots of those songs around, and if you have any to suggest I'd love to hear from you.  But trying to write something to explain why I might be playing those songs, other than for the above reasons, which don't lend themselves to becoming an interesting post, turns out to be fraught.

I was gonna talk about how I've always preferred the company of women to men, how, given the choice to talk to a man or a woman, I'd choose the woman 99% of the time (commitment issues prevent me from making that 100%).  But right there I've offended all of my male friends, of which I had many, I think, and raised the question of why I prefer women's company.  Is it sexual, am I just an inveterate (or maybe, being spineless, that should be "invertebrate") flirt at best, predator at worst?  Do I feel superior somehow to women?  Inferior to other men?  Is it because I couldn't talk easily to my father?  Jesus, leave me alone, willya?  I just want to play some songs, for Chrissakes.  Oh, um, I guess those voices were technically just in my head.  Nevermind.

Besides, men are on our way out:  Hanna Rosin, an editor at The Atlantic, has a new book out entitled The End of Men: And the Rise of Women (I don't really get what that colon's doing there) which makes the case that the era, which to me means most of history, of male economic supremacy is gone for good.  Among other things, women in their 20s now out-earn men in their 20s, and more and more young women are choosing "hookups" rather than relationships so that they can have the sex without commitment getting in the way of their freedom.  Guys, why didn't we ever think of that one??   What? 

So, dammit, I'm just gonna be uncontroversial and play songs with women's names in the title.  Last time I got through "X," so this time I'll start with Ottmar Liebert's "Yasmeen," John Gorka's "Zuly," and then back to the top.  I'm also, I think, going to try to resurrect The Nails' "classic" "88 Lines About 44 Women," 'cause it seems apropos somehow.  Join me, won't you?
100.1 FM, www.wool.fm on Tuesday from noon till two.

We're all still pals, right, guys?