these days, music often evokes a very specific set of visuals. i blame mtv. in fact, video did indeed kill the radio star. i knew that i had fallen prey to this voodoo when i found myself liking a song after seeing the video even though i hadn't cared for it too much when i heard it on the radio. but, i'm not just talking about music video here. the use of popular music as emotional scene-setting in television shows has been raised to an art form by the wb's stable of teen and young adult dramas. tonight's felicity featured music by...

but, what i'm getting at is melrose place. i remember hearing m people's moving on up during an episode where the gang is at some hip club getting their groove on (i believe it was some sort of private d&d party), but then amanda's boss has a heart attack and collapses on the floor as heather (small, not locklear) croons "you took a sip from the devil's cup". i believe this is the same boss that later hung himself in amanda's office and then proceeded to haunt her from beyond the grave. wasn't he the marley in a very special "christmas carol" episode?

strangely enough, i've been to this club. it was on la cienaga between melrose and santa monica. my only memory of that night is that i was soooo out of it that, when i bummed a cigarette off this girl, i popped it into my mouth backward and almost lit the filter, before she graciously yanked it out of my mouth with a soft "no no", flipped it around, stuck it back between my lips and lit it for me. my angel.

so, about the theme song. it's super trouper, but the recent A*Teens reworking with the thumping bass line and the swirling carnival house pyrotechnics, not the ABBA original. at the end of the day, i'm "feeling like a number one" and my slumber is peaceful knowing, gentle reader, that "somewhere in the crowd there's you".