March 05, 2002

Root Canal Epic

The root canal wasn't all that bad. I mean, it was three hours in a dentist's chair, which is no picnic, what with the things holding my mouth open and the metal things in my mouth. But I was numb for most of the time, although near the end, I was starting to get some feeling back. It oculd have been worse, I guess.

As I mentioned yesterday, my dentist has headphones so his patients can listen to cds. I didn't get around to making a mix cd specifically for the root canal, so I grabbed a random one on my way out the door.

I Love Rock & Roll - Britney Spears
I've actually been listening to Britney's version more than Joan Jett's. This is because I know Joan's version so well that I can hear it in the back of my head while I listen to Britney's version, so I get two songs at once.
This was a good song to start with. It's peppy and anthemic (well, Joan's version is anthemic anyway) so it was good for my morale. My plan was to lie back with my eyes closed and try to ignore whatever was going on in my mouth. But by the time I got to start listening to the cd, I'd already had three injections of novocaine (or whatever they're using now), so my spirit had already been broken.
Good Riddance - Green Day
This should have been a song with a lot of bass. See, they'd already finished using their initial drill (the one that makes a high whining noise that feels like it's puncturing your eardrum) and moved onto the heavy-duty model, which made my whole jaw vibrate and was very hard to ignore no matter how high the volume was. I think more bass would have helped.
Also, this song isn't as loud in general. I mean, you can sit back with your eyes closed and listen to it, but you'll be thinking about your high school reunion or something. Really, almost any other Green Day song would have been better for these purposes.
Tribute - Tenacious D
Yeah! Rock out!
This song almost rocks too hard; you kind of want to start headbanging, but it was important for me to keep my head still. It was around this time that I started trying very hard not to imagine what they were doing. I mean, I knew in general that we were still in the "drill into the tooth and suck out all the dead tissue and possibly the inflamed nerve" stage, but I planned to ignore the details.
Clint Eastwood - Gorillaz
There's a Gorillaz show around here pretty soon. A lot of people from work are going, although I can't see the point in watching a concert where (I hear) the band plays behind a curtain. Well, I can see the point if it's the Residents, but aside from that, why not just listen to the album?
By this point, the dentist had installed a couple of rubber things in my mouth; one kept my mouth open by fitting between my back teeth and the other, as far as I could tell, provided a screen so they could concentrate on one tooth and not have to see all the saliva pooling in the back of my throat. I was noticing it, though, because I had to concentrate on breathing through my nose. In fact, concentrating on my breathing (in for four counts, out for four counts) is how I got through the early painful parts where they inserted the needles. It's like meditation, except without the part about achieving enlightenment.
Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits
When this was used in last year's West Wing season finale, I couldn't believe how many people didn't recognize it. I love this song and have the Brothers in Arms album. In fact, I thought everyone had that album -- it's got both Walk of Life and Money for Nothing on it. And a few other good songs, too.
Unfortunately, it's got some fairly lengthy quiet bits, so I was forced to listen to what the dentist and his assistant were talking about. That happened to me when I got my wisdom teeth taken out, too, although in reverse; I was supposed to be unconscious, but the radio out in the lobby started playing "Hotel California", which kept me sort of awake. As a result, I got to listen to people saying things like "Oops -- we'll have to crush that one and take out the bits," which isn't any fun.
This time, the dentist was talking about snorkeling. While I'd normally prefer it if he concentrated on what he was doing, I'm glad I didn't hear him saying something like "Oops! We're vaccuuming out the wrong tooth!" Apparently, he once swam with dolphins, which I think sounds like fun. One time in California, I was sitting on a cliff and I saw a guy swimming by himself out in the ocean when some dolphins came along to play with him. It was neat, because I could see the dolphins coming for awhile, and I saw the guy react when he thought they were sharks. Heh.
The assistant had a friend who scuba dived and once surfaced in the middle of a pod of killer whales. That sounds startling. I've long wondered what it would be like to be in the middle of the ocean on a raft or something and have a blue whale surface next to you. Because those things are just unimaginably huge, and it would be really weird to see an animal that's just that much bigger than you. It's important, when people are working on your mouth, to go off on random trains of thought to keep yourself distracted.
Not Fade Away - Buddy Holly
You know what's odd? This is the only version of this song I've ever heard. And, just to take one example at random, the Grateful Dead version is beloved of hippies worldwide.
Breathing through my nose was getting difficult by this point. For one thing, my nose is slightly stuffed up, so I had only one nostril to work with. And for another, all the drilling had made the area smell like smoke. And they had done enough drilling to get down to the dead tissue in my tooth, which smelled like, um, dead tissue. I went to all that trouble to floss, brush, and Listerine my way to fresh breath and suddenly there are all these smells around. Bleah. I don't blame them for wearing the surgical masks.
Hey You - Pink Floyd
I don't listen to The Wall enough anymore.
If I had planned ahead, this spot would have been "Comfortably Numb" instead. Same band, same album, only a few tracks over. And, see, the goal was for me to be comfortably numb. See? Huh? Except that I wasn't very comfortable, because dentist chairs aren't all that confortable.
For one thing, I was tilted a little too far backwards, so I was imperceptibly sliding down on my back. Headfirst. So my hair was sticking on the headrest and as the rest of my body moved along, it was essentially pulling my hair. Ow. Plus, I was fairly tense and lying down with my ankles crossed and cramping up.
Strawberry Fields Forever - The Beatles
This is one of the alternate takes from that Anthology set. It's got fewer overdubs and things, and it sounds a lot different from the standard version. For one thing, you can really hear Paul's bass. It's nice to be reminded of a time when Lennon would have his song and the other band members would make it better with their performances.
Incidentally, I'm playing around with the time sequences a little. The cd is only 72 minutes long, and I was in the chair for three hours, so I listened to it a couple of times. I got a little bored after that, so I actually opened my eyes and watched what was going on. I didn't have a great view, because I didn't have my glasses on (they gave me cheap sunglasses to protect my eyes from any flying spittle of tooth fragments kicked up by the drill), and anyway I can't see into my own mouth. But I did get to see various odd toothpicky things that I think they were using to hold metal implements in place.
Thousands Are Sailing - The Pogues
Ah, what a great song. Don't you love this song? Last time I was in New York, I was humming it the whole time. Except when I was actually on Broadway looking at the statue of George M. Cohan; then I was singing outright.
This was one of the only songs to successfully take me out of myself. I mean, I was still aware that I was having a root canal, but it wasn't the primary thing on my mind. Mostly, I was wondering when I learned to interpret Shane McGowan's singing. Because the first time I listened to this song, I couldn't make out a word, but now it all makes perfect sense.
Tomorrow, Wendy - Concrete Blonde
This song, however, is not what you want to be listening to while being cut into. You start thinking about the fact that a root canal is designed to remove an infection, and then you wonder about infections spreading. Before you know it, you've imagined yourself into an extremely unlikely death. I really like the song, but it might be too much of a downer for the situation.
Up There - South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
At this point, I think this is my favorite song from the South Park movie soundtrack. Blame Canada and Uncle Fucka are fine, but this one is such a note-perfect Disney Movie song. And it's a good one, too; I like it better than "Part of Your World" from Little Mermaid, which it appears to be derived from. What makes this song work is that it's done straight. When Satan sings "Because of my beliefs, I'm supposed to stay where Evil is sown", he means it! He's a saaaaad Beelzebub!
I was identifying with the yearning aspect of this song because I really wanted to be done with the root canal. You know how it is.
Runaway Train - Soul Asylum
I really liked this song when it came out, but I don't seem to be too fond of it anymore. I keep picturing the schmaltzy video.
After a long period of the dentist doing things I could ignore, he started doing something with a pick. I'm not sure what, but he'd push down and I'd feel the pressure from my jaw moving. Then he'd pull the pick free with a little popping feel. I'm not sure what was going on, and I'm sure I'm happier not knowing, but it was actually kind of nice to get some distraction from lying down with my eyes closed.
I mean, I couldn't even shift around, because there was always the chance I'd move my mouth. And that's risky.
Pepper - Butthole Surfers
This is a fun song, although I now realize how very similar it is to Beck's "Loser".
I was in the chair a long time. I may have mentioned that, and I apologize, but it's the sort of thing you find yourself mentioning to people. "Hi Monty." "I was in the chair for three hours!" Like that. You know the thing has gone on longer than expected when the dentist has to give you a booster shot of anesthetic partway through.
Cinder Block - Boy Next Door
Boy Next Door is a local band I like. They opened for Flock of Seagulls last year! Wow! This is a good song, but you probably don't know it.
Toward the end, when the various rubber appliances were taken out of my mouth, they put the suction thing in and told me to close my mouth around it so it could suck up the saliva. It was difficult because my mouth had been held so wide open for so long that I had trouble puckering my lips. It was kind of embarassing, not to mention being fairly gross.
Drinking Song - Moxy Fruvous
Such a pretty, sad song. It ends with the singer vowing to stop drinking (or, well, telling about his vow, which happened some time ago). Much like undergoing a couple hours of dental surgery will make you vow to start flossing regularly.
Although I have to floss gently for a few days. Not only do I have a temporary crown, but they had to "do some work" on my gums, which apparently resulted in blood. So I'm leery of doing too much sawing into my flesh.
Friendship and
Karate - Tenacious D
Yes, this makes three Tenacious D songs. There's nothing wrong with having more Tenacious D songs around. Although both these songs made me want to get up and kick some ass.
My crown is only temporary. That means I have to be careful with it. For instance, I can't eat anything hard or sticky (luckily, I lead a very quiet life, so that's not a problem). I'm probably overreacting, but I went out and bought a lot of pudding. Mmm. Pudding.
Baba O'Riley - The Who
I've heard this song too much in my life. I didn't even notice when it was over, because it's such background noise at this point. I realize there was a time when it was loud and exciting and even (so I hear) revolutionary, but now it's just another song. Did you know they play it at NBA games? It's weird.
During the times when I was bored enough to open my eyes, I think I creeped out the dentist and the assistant. I mean, they're leaning over my head to get a better view of my back teeth and if they glance the wrong direction, Boo! There's me, staring back up at them. Heh. It would have been more fun if I hadn't been worried about them stabbing me in the cheek.



	« Uh Oh \| Main \| Trivia Night Out » March 05, 2002 Root Canal Epic The root canal wasn't all that bad. I mean, it was three hours in a dentist's chair, which is no picnic, what with the things holding my mouth open and the metal things in my mouth. But I was numb for most of the time, although near the end, I was starting to get some feeling back. It oculd have been worse, I guess. As I mentioned yesterday, my dentist has headphones so his patients can listen to cds. I didn't get around to making a mix cd specifically for the root canal, so I grabbed a random one on my way out the door. I Love Rock & Roll - Britney Spears I've actually been listening to Britney's version more than Joan Jett's. This is because I know Joan's version so well that I can hear it in the back of my head while I listen to Britney's version, so I get two songs at once. This was a good song to start with. It's peppy and anthemic (well, Joan's version is anthemic anyway) so it was good for my morale. My plan was to lie back with my eyes closed and try to ignore whatever was going on in my mouth. But by the time I got to start listening to the cd, I'd already had three injections of novocaine (or whatever they're using now), so my spirit had already been broken. Good Riddance - Green Day This should have been a song with a lot of bass. See, they'd already finished using their initial drill (the one that makes a high whining noise that feels like it's puncturing your eardrum) and moved onto the heavy-duty model, which made my whole jaw vibrate and was very hard to ignore no matter how high the volume was. I think more bass would have helped. Also, this song isn't as loud in general. I mean, you can sit back with your eyes closed and listen to it, but you'll be thinking about your high school reunion or something. Really, almost any other Green Day song would have been better for these purposes. Tribute - Tenacious D Yeah! Rock out! This song almost rocks too hard; you kind of want to start headbanging, but it was important for me to keep my head still. It was around this time that I started trying very hard not to imagine what they were doing. I mean, I knew in general that we were still in the "drill into the tooth and suck out all the dead tissue and possibly the inflamed nerve" stage, but I planned to ignore the details. Clint Eastwood - Gorillaz There's a Gorillaz show around here pretty soon. A lot of people from work are going, although I can't see the point in watching a concert where (I hear) the band plays behind a curtain. Well, I can see the point if it's the Residents, but aside from that, why not just listen to the album? By this point, the dentist had installed a couple of rubber things in my mouth; one kept my mouth open by fitting between my back teeth and the other, as far as I could tell, provided a screen so they could concentrate on one tooth and not have to see all the saliva pooling in the back of my throat. I was noticing it, though, because I had to concentrate on breathing through my nose. In fact, concentrating on my breathing (in for four counts, out for four counts) is how I got through the early painful parts where they inserted the needles. It's like meditation, except without the part about achieving enlightenment. Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits When this was used in last year's West Wing season finale, I couldn't believe how many people didn't recognize it. I love this song and have the Brothers in Arms album. In fact, I thought everyone had that album -- it's got both Walk of Life and Money for Nothing on it. And a few other good songs, too. Unfortunately, it's got some fairly lengthy quiet bits, so I was forced to listen to what the dentist and his assistant were talking about. That happened to me when I got my wisdom teeth taken out, too, although in reverse; I was supposed to be unconscious, but the radio out in the lobby started playing "Hotel California", which kept me sort of awake. As a result, I got to listen to people saying things like "Oops -- we'll have to crush that one and take out the bits," which isn't any fun. This time, the dentist was talking about snorkeling. While I'd normally prefer it if he concentrated on what he was doing, I'm glad I didn't hear him saying something like "Oops! We're vaccuuming out the wrong tooth!" Apparently, he once swam with dolphins, which I think sounds like fun. One time in California, I was sitting on a cliff and I saw a guy swimming by himself out in the ocean when some dolphins came along to play with him. It was neat, because I could see the dolphins coming for awhile, and I saw the guy react when he thought they were sharks. Heh. The assistant had a friend who scuba dived and once surfaced in the middle of a pod of killer whales. That sounds startling. I've long wondered what it would be like to be in the middle of the ocean on a raft or something and have a blue whale surface next to you. Because those things are just unimaginably huge, and it would be really weird to see an animal that's just that much bigger than you. It's important, when people are working on your mouth, to go off on random trains of thought to keep yourself distracted. Not Fade Away - Buddy Holly You know what's odd? This is the only version of this song I've ever heard. And, just to take one example at random, the Grateful Dead version is beloved of hippies worldwide. Breathing through my nose was getting difficult by this point. For one thing, my nose is slightly stuffed up, so I had only one nostril to work with. And for another, all the drilling had made the area smell like smoke. And they had done enough drilling to get down to the dead tissue in my tooth, which smelled like, um, dead tissue. I went to all that trouble to floss, brush, and Listerine my way to fresh breath and suddenly there are all these smells around. Bleah. I don't blame them for wearing the surgical masks. Hey You - Pink Floyd I don't listen to The Wall enough anymore. If I had planned ahead, this spot would have been "Comfortably Numb" instead. Same band, same album, only a few tracks over. And, see, the goal was for me to be comfortably numb. See? Huh? Except that I wasn't very comfortable, because dentist chairs aren't all that confortable. For one thing, I was tilted a little too far backwards, so I was imperceptibly sliding down on my back. Headfirst. So my hair was sticking on the headrest and as the rest of my body moved along, it was essentially pulling my hair. Ow. Plus, I was fairly tense and lying down with my ankles crossed and cramping up. Strawberry Fields Forever - The Beatles This is one of the alternate takes from that Anthology set. It's got fewer overdubs and things, and it sounds a lot different from the standard version. For one thing, you can really hear Paul's bass. It's nice to be reminded of a time when Lennon would have his song and the other band members would make it better with their performances. Incidentally, I'm playing around with the time sequences a little. The cd is only 72 minutes long, and I was in the chair for three hours, so I listened to it a couple of times. I got a little bored after that, so I actually opened my eyes and watched what was going on. I didn't have a great view, because I didn't have my glasses on (they gave me cheap sunglasses to protect my eyes from any flying spittle of tooth fragments kicked up by the drill), and anyway I can't see into my own mouth. But I did get to see various odd toothpicky things that I think they were using to hold metal implements in place. Thousands Are Sailing - The Pogues Ah, what a great song. Don't you love this song? Last time I was in New York, I was humming it the whole time. Except when I was actually on Broadway looking at the statue of George M. Cohan; then I was singing outright. This was one of the only songs to successfully take me out of myself. I mean, I was still aware that I was having a root canal, but it wasn't the primary thing on my mind. Mostly, I was wondering when I learned to interpret Shane McGowan's singing. Because the first time I listened to this song, I couldn't make out a word, but now it all makes perfect sense. Tomorrow, Wendy - Concrete Blonde This song, however, is not what you want to be listening to while being cut into. You start thinking about the fact that a root canal is designed to remove an infection, and then you wonder about infections spreading. Before you know it, you've imagined yourself into an extremely unlikely death. I really like the song, but it might be too much of a downer for the situation. Up There - South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut At this point, I think this is my favorite song from the South Park movie soundtrack. Blame Canada and Uncle Fucka are fine, but this one is such a note-perfect Disney Movie song. And it's a good one, too; I like it better than "Part of Your World" from Little Mermaid, which it appears to be derived from. What makes this song work is that it's done straight. When Satan sings "Because of my beliefs, I'm supposed to stay where Evil is sown", he means it! He's a saaaaad Beelzebub! I was identifying with the yearning aspect of this song because I really wanted to be done with the root canal. You know how it is. Runaway Train - Soul Asylum I really liked this song when it came out, but I don't seem to be too fond of it anymore. I keep picturing the schmaltzy video. After a long period of the dentist doing things I could ignore, he started doing something with a pick. I'm not sure what, but he'd push down and I'd feel the pressure from my jaw moving. Then he'd pull the pick free with a little popping feel. I'm not sure what was going on, and I'm sure I'm happier not knowing, but it was actually kind of nice to get some distraction from lying down with my eyes closed. I mean, I couldn't even shift around, because there was always the chance I'd move my mouth. And that's risky. Pepper - Butthole Surfers This is a fun song, although I now realize how very similar it is to Beck's "Loser". I was in the chair a long time. I may have mentioned that, and I apologize, but it's the sort of thing you find yourself mentioning to people. "Hi Monty." "I was in the chair for three hours!" Like that. You know the thing has gone on longer than expected when the dentist has to give you a booster shot of anesthetic partway through. Cinder Block - Boy Next Door Boy Next Door is a local band I like. They opened for Flock of Seagulls last year! Wow! This is a good song, but you probably don't know it. Toward the end, when the various rubber appliances were taken out of my mouth, they put the suction thing in and told me to close my mouth around it so it could suck up the saliva. It was difficult because my mouth had been held so wide open for so long that I had trouble puckering my lips. It was kind of embarassing, not to mention being fairly gross. Drinking Song - Moxy Fruvous Such a pretty, sad song. It ends with the singer vowing to stop drinking (or, well, telling about his vow, which happened some time ago). Much like undergoing a couple hours of dental surgery will make you vow to start flossing regularly. Although I have to floss gently for a few days. Not only do I have a temporary crown, but they had to "do some work" on my gums, which apparently resulted in blood. So I'm leery of doing too much sawing into my flesh. Friendship and Karate - Tenacious D Yes, this makes three Tenacious D songs. There's nothing wrong with having more Tenacious D songs around. Although both these songs made me want to get up and kick some ass. My crown is only temporary. That means I have to be careful with it. For instance, I can't eat anything hard or sticky (luckily, I lead a very quiet life, so that's not a problem). I'm probably overreacting, but I went out and bought a lot of pudding. Mmm. Pudding. Baba O'Riley - The Who I've heard this song too much in my life. I didn't even notice when it was over, because it's such background noise at this point. I realize there was a time when it was loud and exciting and even (so I hear) revolutionary, but now it's just another song. Did you know they play it at NBA games? It's weird. During the times when I was bored enough to open my eyes, I think I creeped out the dentist and the assistant. I mean, they're leaning over my head to get a better view of my back teeth and if they glance the wrong direction, Boo! There's me, staring back up at them. Heh. It would have been more fun if I hadn't been worried about them stabbing me in the cheek.
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Root Canal Epic

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