Songs Heard in the Dentist’s Chair

February 24th, 2009

Ever since a friend shared a memory of receiving a root canal while listening to Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets” over the Muzak system, I have paid close attention to what the dentist spins while I’m in his chair.

Here’s what was on the playlist today while my dentist did a little drilling (minor maintenance, knock on wood):

Billy Joel, “Big Shot” (I didn’t need one ha ha)
The Allman Brothers Band, “Jessica”
The Allman Brothers Band, “Ramblin’ Man”
[Something by the Rolling Stones that I couldn't hear over the sound of the tiny electric sander on my molars]

Yes, it was a double-shot of Allman. Twofer-Tuesday, I imagine. On first glance, it would seem that I was in that chair longer than four songs, but remember: “Jessica” clocks in at more than seven minutes. It was what I heard during the moments of scarier drilling, and to be honest — you could pick worse songs to hear at the dentist (see “Bennie,” above). It’s got that loopy guitar solo that snakes on and on, and then the guitar basically just turns into a fiddle. Plus, it makes me think of the road-trip montage scene in “Field of Dreams,” where you’re like “Yeah! Woo-hoo, Kevin Costner! Way to brainwash James Earl Jones!”