j.Po Thots: Songs Are Like Pants

The new "j.Po thots" photo. Because I look like I might be thinking. Deal with it. Work with me here. Everyone's got a favorite pair of pants. Mine happen to be some I wear for pajamas with a big "LOBOS" down the side...one of the few ways I exhibit some alumnus spirit, and only then with utmost decorum. However, they haven't always been my favorite pair and judging by the fact that they are sweats and it is summer again (translation: HOTT), I'm going to shift my pants allegiances pretty quickly. That's fine. It was nice while it lasted, right? Some songs are like that. They get outgrown, or the circumstances in which you began singing them (or wearing them...in winter...with school pride) change. Your POV shifts, and sometimes...the songs don't shift with you. That's when I begin that process of eliminating things from my set list. Some songs just don't fit anymore. On the flipside, some seem to grow and adapt with me without me having to change the words. That's how I generally tell the keepers from the "nice try's". I have a friend who is very easy to get to know on the outset...she's great with people and easy to talk to. I was shocked to learn one day that she doesn't really consider you a "Friend" until you've been through a whole year together as acquaintances, because she realizes she changes with the seasons and her friend group does too. I thought that was very wise. Some friends are just summer friends...your moods align for a while and it's good, but it was never meant to last. Some are there for the long haul, even when it's the most depressing day in January ever because the holidays are over and the snow is gone and it's just grey and April is SO. FAR. AWAY. (That's just me and January, though). So maybe I have "keepers" and "nice try's" and "after Labor Day" songs? I guess the only solution is for you, dear readers, to come to every show, track every set list in excruciating detail, run some numbers, and get back to me. I'll be shopping for summer PJs.