Bossy’s Ear Worm

Welcome to Bossy’s Ear Worm, which features songs currently in Bossy’s headphones. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

Soundgarden, The Day I Tried To Live.

You may not know this about Bossy, but sometimes she just needs to get her rock nut off. Bossy’s Ear Worm feature is often stacked with ethereal alternative songs — or as the genre is referred to in John Cusack’s High Fidelity, sad bastard music — but Bossy grew up listening to and loving rock, and spent many a night swinging her hiney around live rock shows.

Bossy admits to not knowing much about the Seattle band Soundgarden, which formed in the mid-80s — with the exception of their more mainstream tune Black Hole Sun.

But when Bossy heard When I Tried To Live the other day in her listening booth otherwise known as her Honda CRV, it made Bossy crank the car radio up to 11 and bask in that 16-year-old feeling again.

The song starts out ethereal enough, but then the bass and drums lock and load as one unit. And the whole descending guitar riff thing is just inspired, especially when the second guitar doubles the first, in harmony. And lastly, Bossy’s always a sucker for throwing a little 3/4 smack dab in the middle of a 4/4 time signature to keep things interesting. At least she thinks that’s what’s going on.

You’ll need your headphones for this one, to capture all that bottom.

One more time around might do it
One more time around I might make it
The day I tried to live