I suspect that they've lasted so long - are held in memory so long - because they address our concerns, and become a way of talking to ourselves. And because they work. Ballads that reconfigure archetypal situations have a way of being recalled. Same with love songs, and broadside tales of murder and hanging; they allow us to work through the various theatres of our fears and aggressions and live to sing the song again.

And melodies are a miraculous consolation all by themselves. When they support words we like, we remember them on purpose. I'm heading off to work today with a song in my head that should last me through the worst moments that retail can conjure.

Primitive stuff perhaps, but we're still pretty primitive. Look what happens when someone from another tribe wanders in! Or, more exactly, when one of us reminds the rest of us that her tribal memories are different from ours. Tough, and smart, and thoughtful, Azizi is one of my favorites, when I venture into Mudtown.