Playlist: Don't fear the tears

By Sean Daly, Times Pop Music Critic
Published February 24, 2008

There are no lonely teardrops in my house. Not anymore. At any given time these days, at least two of my loved ones may be crying. The other day, we actually scored the trifecta, as my fiancee, our 4-year-old daughter and our newborn girl were all wailing at once.

To be honest, there was a perverse sitcom thrill to the blub-athon. I was bombarded with three distinct cries, each one trying to out-volume the other: the fiancee's I-need-sleep General Hospital drama flop, the pre-K kid's fat-teared I Love Lucy spout and the 3-week-old's grouchy Gremlins protest.

All of that in 5.1 Surround Sob. Awesome sound quality. Eat your heart out, THX.

I eventually became a little frustrated, but not at my trio of bawling blue-eyed gals. I wanted to squirt a few, too. I was seriously contemplating a hammer to the groin just so I could join the Kleenex Connection.

Now don't get me wrong about all of this: The Daly brood, now four-strong and mighty, has never been happier. Everyone is healthy and pretty. And the tear brigade is often followed by a boisterous flurry of chuckles.

But hoo boy, is there a lot of emotion running wild in that joint. As the only dude in a house full of magnificent, mercurial women, I knew the crying game would come eventually - I just didn't know it would come so soon. (And yes, I'm fully aware that I'm the cause of some of this crying. At least I have the courtesy to swallow my emotions until they fester into some horrible malady later in life. I'm considerate like that.)

As I sat there, sipping my Sam Adams, listening to the three-headed racket, I had to smile. Sure, my head felt like a holding place for Paul Bunyan's ax. But there was also a strange moment of clarity, especially for an only child always curious about bigger, louder households:

Now this is a family.

So in celebration of weepy loved ones, here's a musical playlist for you to crank when things get wet:

The Crying Playlist

1. You Left the Water Running, Otis Redding

2. Boo Hoo, KT Tunstall

3. 96 Tears, ? and the Mysterians

4. Who's Crying Now, Journey

5. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, Bob Dylan

6. There's a Tear in My Beer, Hank Williams

7. Boys Don't Cry, the Cure

8. Doctor My Eyes, Jackson Browne

9. Blues Eyes Crying in the Rain, Willie Nelson

10. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough), Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand

Playlist is an occasional series of musical mixes from Sean Daly's Pop Life blog. To contribute your own songs, go to blogs.tampabay.com/popmusic.

[Last modified February 22, 2008, 17:15:42]