I've just been browsing through my ipod and I came across a playlist I put together about 2 and a half years ago for listening to during labor. I wanted as much control during this difficult period as I could manage. (Yes, it was part of my attempt to micro-manage the labor process.) I was afraid of giving birth. I get claustrophobic in hospitals and I wanted to feel I had control over something--if not over the pain or duration of labor or the location, then at least over the music in the room.
The playlist is 4 and a half hours long and I listened to it twice in the hospital. What lovely gems are on this playlist? Relaxing, soul-centering instrumentals with the sound of a bubbling stream in the background? Fuck that. I wanted to be amused and even distracted. I wanted to pretend I was not on the fifth floor of a hospital. My attitude was "get back to me when it's time to push." My playlist is a collection of songs that made/make me feel happy and comfortable. Nothing difficult, but not necessarily relaxing. Here's a small selection:
Licking Stick (James Brown)
In the Mouth of a Desert (Pavement)
Mambo No. 5 (Prez Prado)
Anadolu (Ozel Turkbas)
Bonnie and Clyde (Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte B)
Care of Cell 44 (the Zombies)
White & Nerdy ("Weird Al" Yankovic)
You Won't Be Merry on a North Sea Ferry (the Toy Dolls)
Old World (the Modern Lovers)
Through Being Cool (Devo)
Abraham (Chico Marx Orchestra)
I'm Gonna See You (that dog)
They'll Need a Crane (They Might Be Giants)
Best Friend (the English Beat)
Disorder (Joy Division)
Montana (John Linnell)
Skinny Legs and All (Joe Tex)
Cold Beverage (G. Love and Special Sauce)
I Should Be So Lucky (French and Saunders)
Give It To Me, Baby (Rick James)
Bathtime in Clerkenwell (the Real Tuesday Weld)
It's funny to see the songs I thought of as being reassuring. They did the trick, though.
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