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In the past couple weeks, between Thanksgiving and my mother-in-law’s arrival (and departure), the majority of my time in the kitchen has been spent cleaning — or so it seems.

(Yes, that was my actual sink — after doing the Thanksgiving prep work.)

Here in NYC, an apartment with a dishwasher…? Let’s just say, if you want a dishwasher, you better move to Jersey, kid.

But, like every other American under the age of sixty, I have an iPod to entertain me through such tasks — because god forbid I be alone with my own thoughts for more than fifteen minutes at a stretch. So, recently, while I was washing my through a seemingly unending barrage of dishes, I started to wonder what everyone else listens to when they have to clean, and I cam up with my own little meme.

What song(s) do you scroll down to when:

1. You need to psych yourself up to tackle a pile of dishes (as pictured above)?
2. You need a steady scrubbing beat to clean an especially heinous roasting pan?
3. You want to be distracted long enough to plow through the dozens of pieces of silverware?
4. You need something to perk you up when you’re almost done and are about ready to declare “oh, I’m letting them dry; I’ll do the rest shortly” (or is that just me)?
5. You’ve done the dishes but still need to clean off the burnt cooked-on food that’s on your stove? (Again, just me? Because that happens pretty much everytime I cook anything more than macaroni and cheese.)

Feel free either to answer me here or in your own blog. As for me…

1. I like to get started with Elvis Costello’s “Welcome to the Working Week” (preferably from the Live at The El Mocambo album) with its exhortion of “you gotta do it till you’re through it so you better get to it.”
2. “Make way for tha S-O-Veeeeeee!” I admit it: I love Lady Sovereign’s “Love Me or Hate Me” and its beep-beep-boop sound effects in the track. It also has the perfect beats-per-minute to get a good scrubbing rhythm.
3. When I’m in for a long haul, I turn to something that will keep my brain occupied while my hands are busy. Specifically, I usually go for WNYC’s podcast of On The Media, or a Pimsleur French lesson — je comprends un peu le français.
4. Four letters, my friends: A. C. D. C. [Or, if you’re a stickler for detail: A. C. Lightning bolt. D. C.] If I had to pick just one, I’d go with the somewhat appropiate “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”.
5. At this point, I’m too tired to rock out, but I don’t want something that will make me sleepy, so I usually go for something like “Yeh Ladka Hai Allah” from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… maybe bust a few Bollywood-style dance/cleaning moves if no one’s looking…

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December 11th, 2006 | Category: Questions, Odds and Sods | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL