"They Don't Know / Corrupt" by Bounty Killer

Montego Bay, Jamaica. July 2009. Reggae Sumfest.

In Ocho Rios, I had picked up tickets for two of the music festival's three nights: Thursday (Dancehall Night) and Saturday (International Night 2).

Dancehall Night was a rapid immersion into a culture totally foreign to me. The music as aggressive, as vulgar, as violent as anything. One performer after another, all sex and murder and rivalries, all night long. The fans flashed hand signals, twirled towels, fired blowtorches (blowtorches!), made pistols with their fingers and shot them into the air "brrrup brrrup brrrup!" And on this night, there was a ceremony to officially crown Beenie Man the king of all this. But it was Bounty Killer who stole the show.

"Denial, Revisited" by The Offspring

I'm sorry. I don't have a good break-up story for you. I have lots of stories of unfulfilled longing and desire, and many more about missed opportunities and regret. I have a few tales of relationships that simply ran their course and of others that unceremoniously fizzled out. There may have been a couple of break-ups that seemed bad at the time. But I have to say that I have no stories of truly ugly, messy splits, of love turned rancid, of nights spent alone crying, of broken vows and crushed dreams and possessions to be divvied up. Not yet, anyway. So, in the meantime, this one is for a friend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8GzCoB6EHs

"Everything You Want" by Vertical Horizon

I see her every once in a while. Nevermind how I met her. She doesn't show all that much interest in touching me, but sometimes she'll let me make love to her. I wouldn't mind waking up next to her every morning. Instead, I'm stuck desperately trying to play it cool, to pretend I'm less interested than she is. I suppose I could make some grand romantic gesture and try to win her over. But her mother wants her to be with me, so she probably won't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RHczpn-Jno