Blunt

Father is obsessed with the pop singer James Blunt.

Obsessed, I tell you.

When we were in Princeton for my birthday celebration, Father said "Leah, have you heard of the pop singer James Blunt?"

"No."

"You haven't?"

"No."

"I find that weird."

"Whatever."

"He's really good."

"If you say so."

Pause.

"Wait, Dad, how do you even know about this guy? Since when do you listen to pop music?"

Someone at work told him about him, said he was amazing and you gotta hear this etc., lent him the CD, and the man is now obsessed.

He said "I'll play him for you in the car."

I didn't throw a fit, only because I was curious as to whether I'd actually heard of or heard James Blunt without realizing that I had. When the introduction to "You're Beautiful" started, D said "Ooh, this music is sort of pretty... oh my god MAKE IT STOP!"

I, of course, had heard the song before.

I was sitting at lunch, eating my bagel, trying desperately to concentrate on whatever nonsense I was reading in the Entertainment section of AM New York when I heard the worst song I'd ever heard. I gave up trying to read and allowed myself to concentrate on the trite and ridiculous lyrics that were slamming against my brain.

I thought "Oh my god, as soon as I get back to work I am going to make fun of these lyrics on my blog!" I recited the words over and over in my head so I wouldn't forget them, and so I could look up the song title on the reversible lyrics database thing so I could find out who sang it. Why I just didn't assume that the song was called "You're Beautiful" is beyond me. Sometimes I give people too much credit.

By the time I got back to work I'd blocked the entire experience out, and didn't ever blog about it. Until now!

My siblings and I proceeded to make fun of Father and of the song for the entire weekend, doing rap versions of the song and making pot references to James "Blunt." Believe me, it was funny at the time.

Father said "It's so weird that you haven't heard of him."

"It's so weird that you have," I said. "Don't you think it's weird that you're into modern music all of a sudden? And don't you think its even weirder that you're into someone who should be in a boy band? Really, Father, I expect more from you."

"But how could you not have heard of him?"

I didn't want to explain to him that I don't listen to the radio because I am hyper critical. I'm always talking to Mother en route to shows and she'll say "Where are you off to?" and I'll say "To a show..." and she'll say "Should I even ask?" "No, you haven't heard of them." We always laugh.

I think the only time they knew anything about someone I was going to see was one of the times I went to see Ben Folds, but this was only because I'd given Father a copy of one of his CDs because I thought maybe, just maybe, he'd like is because of the piano. I once caught him singing "Give my money back, you bitch..." Heh.

It is weird when your parents have no idea what you like and what you do with your time. Do my parents even know that I'm into music? Probably not. Does it matter? Not at all. It's not that important.

But imagine if the situation were reversed. Imagine if I was like "Father, have you heard of 'The Magnetic Fields?' No? Well, I am going to make you listen to them while you are trapped in the car with me."

Sister had to be in the car with The Parents for over five hours on their way to New Jersey. She had to listen to the entire James Blunt CD. At high volume.

She did, however, make my parents listen to "Interpol" and apparently Father actually liked it! Awesome. He is capable of liking interesting-sounding things.

One of the things I love about Father is his ability to laugh at himself. We beat the James Blunt jokes to death that weekend. We brought him up at least once every three minutes, and many of the jokes involved Father. He laughed every time.

My siblings and I often criticize Father for not having any feelings, but it is precisely this that makes him fun to be around. Because he doesn't take himself seriously, he is an easy and fun target. He will laugh at anything, even if it is at his expense. He has a good sense of humor. Yes, he can be insensitive, but we never have to worry about saying the wrong thing or hurting his feelings.

I know that sounds brutal, but it is nice to have mechanisms in place for keeping the mood light around parents. Things can often turn stressful when families spend time together. We are lucky that we can be honest and playful and silly around Father without having to watch our words.

The joke is still ongoing, with Father (and today, Brother's girlfriend!) sending the occasional James Blunt related web-article to cause a stir. When I write back to him, he replies with "You're beautiful."

Hehehe.