I often wake up with songs already rattling around in my head, as I’m sure you do, too. Some days my brain is tackier than others (insert joke here), so some songs stick longer. I was discussing this with my friend Suzann the other night, and also how I’m less inspired to write Facebook status or Twitter updates (much less blog posts) —especially relevant ones— than I’d like to be. She suggested that I update Facebook status with whatever song is in my head… and a couple of other supportive gals (this one and this one) suggested I post ‘em here, too. So.

I’ll spare you the Joe Walsh and the Chumbawumba and The Carpenters. I’m ecstatic, however, to share with you a gem of a find I stumbled across in 2002,  just when I needed him most: Ben Kweller.

He was just a kid, barely 18 when he recorded this one, and I was involved in what felt like a messy, complicated relationship. Along comes this naïf, singing simple little love songs about simple little relationships. His innocence and clarity cleared away the crap and (it’s weird to say, but true:) lifted me out of that relationship.

Lessons Ben Kweller taught me:  Things shouldn’t be hard when they’re supposed to be good. One shouldn’t have to squelch oneself to be loved. It’s never that complicated.

Behold, the title(ish) track on 2002 album Sha Sha, “The Way It Should Be (Sha Sha)”:

when i was a movie star, an asteroid had hit the earth and prematurely ended my career. i thought out loud, but no one heard me saying:

“nothing isn’t nothing, nothing’s something that’s important to me. that’s right. and everyone’s a little nothing, that’s ok, that’s how it should be.”

that’s right. sha sha. sha doo.

when i was an astronaut, i bought a fancy charm. i thought you liked it but you called it cheap and at my feet it felt like:

“so sue me, it’s up to me if i decide to be what i think is right. and don’t bother me when i’m watching ‘planet of the apes’ on t.v.”

that’s right. that’s how it should be. sha sha. sha doo.

Go find it on iTunes, or better yet: Visit your local independently-owned record store and buy the whole album. That’s how it should be. Sha doo.

Now: What song is in YOUR head?

Tags: Ben Kweller, nothingness

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