If at first you don't succeed... fill a sack full of rocks and knock that fool out.

So, driving home this evening I was happy: great weather, relaxed weekend on tap, ready to get home and be sappy with Mr. Brown. I'd been spinning a playlist on my iTunes for the previous few hours, which Genius launched based on a Jennifer Hudson track from Dreamgirls. It's one of those tunes I can very literally rewind for an hour and not get sick of it. That song spawned tracks by Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, Ike & Tina, and Mary J. Blige. All are quite yay-worthy.

As I'm singing along, I clue in to the lyrics to Try Again, one of Aliyah's final recordings before she bought it in a plane crash. Sad that, since she was just 22 -- I guess R. Kelly mourned her loss by trying his hand (as it were) at water sports. But, I digress.

So, the lyrics make a great club jam, but I paused more than once:

What would you say
To have your way
Would you give up
Or try again
If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself and try again...


If you dont wanna throw it all away
Might be shy on the first date
What about the next date...

Am I the only one who thinks Aliyah wanted a fool to stalk her? Maybe R. Kelly wasn't giving her what she needed -- she wanted a little more chase, a little less, errr... psuedo-sexual stage play? This song came out around the same time she was rumored to have been his wifey, but from all I recall, she was ride or die in her own right. Maybe she wanted a dude to hold her stash, instead of vice versa? I don't know; I'm all about a guy giving his all, but if I'm shy on the first date, there's generally a reason. I've dated enough of the wrong men to know when it's right, and I think it's a pretty good bet that, when a woman doesn't speak to you, look at you or stand within 25 feet of you, she very likely does not want to be with you.

So to all those dudes emboldened by Aliyah's words, do yourself a favor and stop trying. You're really going to hate life when you wind up in county lock-up.