I’d never really listened to the lyrics of Sheryl Crow’s “Soak up the Sun” before (it was playing in the Village Apothecary when I went in yesterday afternoon). Not bad for a pop song, but what unbelievably irritating lyrics: “I’m gonna soak up the sun/Gonna tell everyone/To lighten up.”

God, the combination of Pollyanna-ish reverie and finger-wagging judgmental bossiness is almost overwhelming. And here I’d thought it had just been a mellow Beach Boys ripoff.