Dusty in Memphis

This morning, I woke up and wanted Dusty Springfield. Specifically her album "Dusty in Memphis", which is one of the more sublime things on the planet. My parents had an old vinyl copy of that record, and we used to blast it through the house when I was a child. (And this was actually in Memphis where I grew up, so that also makes it special.)

I have these songs I call my little "Domme soundtrack." All female singers, women I find particularly poignant or strong or sympathetic. Sometimes I like something really big and loud: The Gossip's "Fire With Fire," for example, or PJ Harvey. Sometimes I get playful about it -- Nina Simone's "Do I Move You?", which is a great song to tie a boy up to. There's always a healthy dose of Stevie Nicks, The Pretenders, Joan Jett, Grace Slick, Siouxsie, Annie Lennox, and Aretha. The boys have all their silly rock stars to relate to, and I have my moments rocking out to old Eurythmics songs.

Today, Dusty's "Don't Forget About Me" is on the list -- I'm feeling that song, big time. Also "I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore" -- especially this part: Ain't it sad, said the woman down the hall/That when a nice girl falls in love/Ain't it just too bad that she had to fall/For a boy who doesn't care for her at all?

I think I'm just feeling the weight of one too many stupid boys I let waste my time.

To quote another Dusty song (this one written by Carole King): There's so few men nowadays/Who understand the soul of a woman/Now they're always on the take and they're/Never giving, never offering a helping hand.

Fucking hell yeah.

I know I won't hold this forever. I hold it for a while, in order to get myself over it, and then I let it go when the time is right. I trust myself to know when that time comes. I'm glad, in a way, because this means I don't take things lightly -- I don't let myself feel something for someone unless I really mean it. Just because that person didn't deserve it doesn't diminish the nobility of feeling that way in the first place. I'm happy I'm not a person who takes love lightly. But I also don't take myself lightly, and I won't stand for anything less than what I deserve.

Thank God for Dusty in Memphis.