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Stephanie Tells Me
Jason Falkner
I'm Ok, You're Ok (Japanese Release)
2007

If I had my own TV show, like Mary Tyler Moore or Carol Burnett or Bob Newhart, this song would be the theme.  The opening credits would feature me in smart outfits walking confidently down a crowded city street.  There would perhaps be a shot of me spilling coffee on my smart outfit followed by my sheepish glance directed right at the camera.  There would be a me-on-roller-skates segment (an homage to Hart to Hart) and a clip of me going out somewhere with only one eyebrow painted on (zany!).  There would be the classic me-and-my-costars-at-play snippets...perhaps one of us laughing as we unsuccessfully attempt to fly a kite and then a quick cut to the kite in a garbage can and everyone chilling under a tree with a book.

In the meantime, I listen to this song whilst walking down Sherbrooke (it's a good walking song), swaying my head, taking each step with a bit on an overexaggerated bounce.  This is one of those songs that I always come back to.  Quite simply, it makes me happy.  My Dad desperately wanted Jason Falkner's I'm Ok, You're Ok album in 2007, but couldn't find it anywhere (not even on legalsounds.com, our trusted based-in-Russia downloading service of the moment).  It wasn't available on iTunes or in record stores.  When a search on some sketchy torrent website actually turned up a relevant result, I was ecstatic.  I was so excited to surprise my Dad with his own (albeit low-quality) copy of the album.  I have no idea why it was released in Japan in 2007 and then in the United States in 2010, but you can find it no problem on iTunes now (hence the quality version I am sharing with you).

My theme would be a splice of these parts:

"She is possibly the meaning of perfection to me,
So full of clumsy grace, but wow such a pretty face,
Everyone's intrigued, tell me what you've done to me,
And when we're out tonight, lose the blues, uptight [...]

Well you came to town like a gift from God
Who had come to save the day
But a closer look at your crooked smile
Everything is not okay
Something's in your way

Stephanie tells me
Lately, that it's crazy,
But life is full of maybes
And I'm one of them"

I love "clumsy grace" and "crooked smile".  I LOVE the chorus.  It is catchy perfection and always results in full-on head sway.  Those opening "bah, bah, bahhhhs" (and the ones scattered throughout the song) are so necessary.  There are also plenty of satisfying hand-clap opportunities.  I love that the last time he sings the chorus the words are stretched out and that a sense of exhaustion or frustration has crept into his voice.  I love the snarkiness of "life is full of maybes/And I'm one of them".  This Stephanie hasn't quite sorted everything out, but at least she is open to change, and isn't necessarily willing to sell herself short and settle.