Camera Obscura, "Tears For Affairs" (2006)

A colleague, who works down the hall from me, is a bit of a fitness freak. In itself, that's deeply admirable. He cycles to work; in this hot, humid weather, that's dedication. And each evening, before he leaves the office -- but while I am still around and thus unable to avoid bumping into him -- he goes for a run, and here my problems begin. He always wears a t-shirt...and some awfully short shorts. We're talking Daisy Dukes, or the kind of shorts beloved by never nudes. Plus, to keep his slightly unruly mop in place, a very 80s sweatband on his head. No legwarmers, though; thank god for small mercies. It's all distressingly Boogie Nights, or perhaps he thinks he's Olivia Newton-John. Well, at least I think it, and then I have an irresistable urge to nuzzle some dolphins.

Normally, I enjoy thinking about ONJ. When, on the chorus of Camera Obscura's "Tears For Affairs," Tracyanne Campbell sings the lines, "You had to drive/Look me in the eye/Whisper it, don’t cry," it makes me want to grab her mike and go, "Seems like forever...and a day! Thought I could never...feel this way! Is this really me?!" That's right; I can't listen to this lovely tweepop song without my mind involuntarily going to ELO's "I'm Alive." Since to me Xanadu is One Of The Greatest Movies Ever Made -- one that I saw twice in the cinemas when it was released, which is a big deal given how I was, like, twelve at the time and barely able or permitted to afford one viewing, let alone two -- this fact is, while slightly disconcerting, not at all unwelcomed. I just wish I could say the same about the daily sighting of my esteemed colleague.