LISTS

The following is an exercise inspired by Umberto Eco's guest curation at the Louvre, on view in Paris through December 13, 2009. In a fascinating interview with SPIEGEL, Eco attests to the "irresistible magic" of lists and explains the paradoxical manner in which the list is both a liberating and limiting tool, used to express the infinite in a finite way. Here's a cool video featuring Eco and his interesting take on lists.

A List of Lists: Men Describing Qualities of Women

1. Cake, "Short Skirt, Long Jacket"

I want a girl

with a mind like a diamond

who knows what's best

who gets up early

who stays up late

with fingernails that shine like justice

who's fast and thorough and sharp as a tack

with a short skirt and a long jacket

2. Kings of Leon, "Milk"

She saw my comb-over

Her hourglass body

She had problems with drinking milk and being school-tardy

She'll loan you her toothbrush

She'll bartend your party

3. Bob Dylan, "Just Like a Woman"

She takes just like a woman, yes, she does

She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does

And she aches just like a woman

But she breaks just like a little girl.

4. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, "Home"

Well, hot and heavy, pumpkin pie,

Chocolate candy, Jesus Christ,

Ain't nothing please me more than you

5. Tom Jones, "She's a Lady"

Well she knows what I'm about,

She can take what I dish out and that's not easy

Well she knows me through and through,

She knows just what to do, and how to please me

She's a lady. Whoa, whoa, whoa, she's a lady

6. Elton John, "Tiny Dancer"

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band

Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man

Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand

And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

7. The Rolling Stones, "You Got the Silver"

You got my heart, you my soul

You got the silver, you the gold

You got the diamonds from the mine,

That's alright, it'll buy some time

Perhaps a list is the best way to approximate je ne se quois ...?