Pandora's Box

I've been using Pandora, but I have found that once I've started looking for stuff I actually like(as opposed to the class list) that I never listen to our class's material. It's strange, but it is just the way it happened.
I don't like how you can hear a song that you like, but then it may never come up again. Or just the opposite, a song you hate is played over and over, like a broken record.

Possible Performances

I am supposed to perform something music related for my class, but as I am utterly lacking in musical capacities and can't even play the kazoo, I am frantically trying to recall every piece of musical talent that I possess and thus far, the answer is none. I will probably have to create some sort of presentation that is related to music but does not involve me harming others and their ability to hear.

So today, I was looking at the list of music that I am supposed to listen to for my Roots music class and I was just amazed at the creativity of the blues names. I mean, how could someone seriously name their song "Jump the Boogie" and have people take them seriously. It's amazing. But I guess it's not any different than songs names from my era like Shoulda or No Scrubs(not that these are really my kind of music, but they do have horrible names). Just for laughs and for those interested in blues, here's the list that I am going to listen to:
"Got my mojo working" by Muddy Waters
"Death letter blues" by Son House
"Lord, I just can't keep from crying" by Blind Willie Johnson
"Wreck of the Old 97" by Pink Anderson
"Death cell blues" by Blind Willie McTell
"Sitting on top of the world" by Mississippi Shieks
"My Oklahoma blowed away" by Pete Seeger
"Stand by me" by Sister Matthews
"Jesus is a mighty good leader" by Skip James
"Feather bed" by Memphis Jug Band
"Worried man blues" by The Original Carter Family
"Midnight special" by Leadbelly
"Parchman Farm blues" by Bukka White
"Jump the boogie" by Boozoo Chavis
"Wabash cannonball" by Roy Acuff
"A spoonful blues" by Charlie Patton
"This land is your land" by Woody Guthrie
"Oh happy day" by The Edwin Hawkins Singers
"Move on up a little higher" by Mahalia Jackson
"Cross road blues" by Robert Johnson
"Cold, cold heart" by Hank Williams
"Uncle Pen" by Bill Monroe
"Wildwood flower" by The Carter Family
"Waiting for a train" by Jimmie Rodgers

Why did you sign up for a roots music FYS section? (It's totally OK if the answer is something like "I didn't really want to, but everything else was full.".):
Well, I signed up for the class because 1, I love music(though not necessarily country) and 2, it fit in my schedule.
If you could take 5 pieces of music with you to a desert isle, what would they be? (The definition of "piece of music" here is always tricky. Think "song", but I'll let you get away with a more extended piece like a symphony. A 4 CD compilation of 70's punk just isn't going to count as a single piece of music, though, no matter how cool it might be.):
If ever stranded on a desert island, I would bring along John Mellencamp's "Jack and Diane", The Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road", Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", Warren Zevon's "Werewolves in London", and the really whimsical "Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.
What's a piece of music you associate with a parent, grandparent, or someone you know well that's at least a generation older than you. (I'm particularly interested in people like grandparents that are two or more generations older than you, but I realize that not everyone is going to have an association for that.) :
I don't really associate a single piece of music with my Grandma Izzy but a genre. Izzy loves polka music and if I had to pick one, I would choose "The Beer-Barrel Polka", which is not completely about drinking, but about having fun.
If we all decided to replace the national anthem with a new song, and everyone agreed that you got to choose, what would you recommend? :
I would recommend "Imagine" by John Lennon(Am I on a Beatles kick or what?) which would be ironic, but I love it for the peace message that is completely unlike "The Star-Spangled Banner".
What kinds of music related performance stuff (if any) do you do? I interpret this pretty broadly so it can be playing one or more instruments, singing, dance, DJing (dance or radio), etc. (It's totally OK if the answer is "None".)
I sing(only in the shower), or when no else minds. I could be a hit in a group of tone-deaf people, because I am one as well. I dance at dances, but not for competition. I like listening to almost all types of music, other than completely instrumental.
Given the readings and what (little) you know about Governor Blanco, if you had a chance to ask her one question, what would it be?:
I would ask Gov. Blanco: What she would do differently if she could reenact Hurricane Katrina all over again?