Back when we were first dating, my Wife told me about “Bellybutton Movies.” They’re not necessarily movies where people walk around in midriff-baring costumes, bit I’m sure that’d be one possibility. Generally speaking though, the term refers to movies that are fun, lighthearted fare. No great thinking is involved, any villains are two dimensional and soundly defeated. The movie is suitable for children or pretty much anyone else in need of the sort of feel-good innocence that hearkens back to when you used to call the navel a “bellybutton” on a regular basis.
“Willow” is a bellybutton movie. “Apocalypse Now” is not.
This morning at work I realized that the same sort of thing happens with music. We’ve got a huge iTunes playlist in the office. Each of us has contributed to it, so it’s pretty diverse. Just glancing at the music library I can see things from A Flock of Seagulls, Art of Noise, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, Cracker, Cream, David Bowie, Devo, Dwight Yoakam, Elvis Costello, Fatboy Slim, Fleetwood Mac, Glenn Miller, Hypnotic Clambake, Jane’s Addiction, Ministry, Oingo Boingo, Primus, Ray Charles… The list goes on and on, and it includes some selections from the Residents.
So this morning after dealing with the slushy drive in, crappy drivers in too-fast cars, the standard parking situation and all that fun stuff, I came in, sat down and hit the random play button. And out of the speakers comes the Residents’ incredibly creepy tones singing a cover of the Monkee’s hit “Daydream Believer.”
Not bellybutton music at all. And I started laughing, because it was just perfect…