As promised, I began writing my novel yesterday to kick off NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month), and the overarching theme of it is about the quest for "the perfect song." I have an idea of what I'm going to play around with, but I'm curious--what makes up YOUR perfect song. What are the ingredients? What does a song need to have? What does it need to do to people? Should it bang and crash, or be soft and lucid? Are lyrics as important as melody and music? Does it need lyrics? What emotions should it stir up in you? Lonliness? Togetherness? Love? Hurt? Soul? Pain? Struggle? Success?

And with that in mind, do you think it's remotely possible for one song to affect every single person? Is there something primal than can be written into a song that can blow any mind, blast open any barrier? Or are people too different and polarized at this point in history to ever possibly be brought together on the same sonic plain, if only for 2 minutes and thirty-eight seconds by a song?

Sound off in the comments about your favorite songs, or what a song needs to be perfect.

Hey mom and dad of young whipper-snapping America, guess what? Researchers just found out your kids are probably listening to songs about booze, sex, and drugs. Apparently these labcoats never turned the radio on before?

But here's a fun fact for you. Rock n' roll is cleaner than honkey tonk country and hip hop! I don't know if I should be embarrassed (that hip hop has pried rock n roll's spirit from it's fingers and replaced The Stones with Chingy) or if I should let mom and dad know that they done did good with me, because I'm at work, wearing a tie, and listening to Coldplay.