TMBG

Bangs
To drape across your forehead
To swing concordant angles as you incline your head

This is a snippet from one of my favorite songs by TMBG. The song is on a mix CD that my husband recently put together for me. Happy fun music to go in the new car. My first car ever with a CD player actually built in. All of the songs reminded me of various things. Istanbul - that time he sang it with the SMCMen. The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas - the terrific time we had at their concert last Halloween. Mr. Excitement - how funny it is that "cafe con pain" gets stuck in our head for days whenever we hear the song.

Any time I hear a They Might Be Giants song I'm reminded of the first time I heard their music, junior year of high school. I'd borrowed a tape from a friend, and put it into the cassette player of my car, while driving, with my parents, to a swim meet. I Palindrome I was the first song out and happened to be just after the start of the song. The first lyrics I was ever to hear were "You son of a bitch" and the last for quite a while since my parents promptly leaned over and ejected the tape.

But Bangs brings back so many happy memories for me. It reminds me of my dear friend and her constant struggle with "Should I have bangs or not?" Waking up at 2 AM in college and catching her with the scissors I had hidden from her after a depsarate plea of "don't let me cut them again!" I think you look beautiful with or without them T!

It also reminds me of my honeymoon. I was determined to cut off the long length of hair I'd grown for the wedding. Finding a good salon in London was challenge number one. Understanding some British slang was number two. Since the stylist asked, did I really mean red hair? Oh you mean copper colored! When I showed what tints I wanted. And after I'd shown her a picture of what cut I wanted, whether I'd like a "fringe." Was she going to shred my clothing for me? A fringe??? OHHHHH you mean bangs! No none for me thanks. Then the girls at the salon went into a conversation about a fancy dress ball they were going to and one of them was going as Angelica with her hair "in bunches." I've never had such a fun time. Or such a hard time convincing anyone that my husband wouldn't be mad if they were to cut off all my lovely hair!

Funny what you associate things with isn't it?