One Less Random Mystery in Life

It is (was) one of life's nagging little mysteries. That obscure, elusive song by a 90's one hit wonder band occassionally heard on late night radio or at Appleebee's and boutique's Muzak. I couldn't quite catch the lyrics because,
a) I'm practically deaf sometimes and,
b) the places where I heard the song weren't conducive to catching lyrics, e.g., some loud, screechy Janice in the dressing room beside mine never shut up, or my neighborhood Italian Coffee Company that's losing customers due to their spectacularly bad acoustics, you get the point.

I tried googling, but the lyrics I did know were too generic (I'm in love). I tried humming the tune to my friends, and even Manolo couldn't figure it out. True, the humming was bad, but he and I are among the 10 people in Monterrey who remember Toad the Wet Sprocket songs.

This song was unknowable. It wasn't even a very good song, but it's elusiveness rendered me a bit, umm, obsessive? Or let's just say one of those weird quirky things that make me unique and adorable....and make people cross the street when they see me.

So. I'm at McDonald's in Time's Square (last trip to NYC for a long time), getting an Egg McMuffin and feeling slightly guilty for buying into this whole food products over food thing, but hey, it's 9am and I'm hungry, and I don't do dairy very well, so cereal's out.

A couple of of cute Brit assholes walk in, if you like the whole Gordon Gecko Greed is Good look, asking the poor underpaid and heavy accented cashier for tea, which of course they don't carry. And then, suddenly, the song.

I want to shout at everybody to shut up so I can hear, I want to call at least three of my friends to prove that the damn thing exists, I want to record it on my cell. But of course I can't throw a tantrum without getting thrown out, my international roaming and roaming long distance charges are obscene and ridiculous, and my cell has crappy recording quality.

So, I do with the possibilities at hand, and manage to write down a couple of lyrics that weren't as hopelessly generic as the ones I already knew....And if I die before I blah blah blah.

Back home, my trusty Google didn't fail this time, with the proper humble offering. And the winner is.... Primitive Radio Gods, Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in my Hand. Song is downloaded, mission accomplished, filed alongside with Deep Blue Something and The Proclaimers in Random 90's. One less mystery in this life. Heh