Nine Questions

Emily Rush is a Syracuse, N.Y., transplant who studied animation at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, R.I. She spends most of her non-work time dealing with the trials of owning a home, husband and dog for the first time.

What was the first concert you ever saw?

Black Train Jack and Goldfinger at the Lost Horizon in Syracuse, N.Y., probably 1994-ish. Haven't listened to either of them since.

What CDs are in your changer right now?

Bernadette Seacrest and Her Yes Men, No More Music by the Suckers; Foo Fighters, Foo Fighters; Tori Amos, Strange Little Girls; Dave Chappelle, For What It's Worth; Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Damn the Torpedoes.

How many total albums do you own (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks)?

Who knows? I've got crap in boxes that I haven't seen in years.

Do you download music, and if so, legally or illegally?

Yes, usually from iTunes. Not illegally, but only because I don't really know how to do it.

What was the first album you owned?

The Bangles, Different Light—the one with "Walk Like an Egyptian." My mom bought it for me.

What song would you like to have played at your funeral?

"Frog on My Toe" by Tori Amos. It's such a beautiful, strange, sad song. My goal is to make all my loved ones blubber like fools, right?

Musically speaking, what do you love that your friends don't know about? What's your favorite guilty pleasure?

I don't think anyone knows how much I love Crystal Gayle. We Must Believe in Magic is one of those Sunday-morning, bacon-frying, dancing-around-in-your-underwear kind of albums.

What band or artist changed your life, and how?

Nirvana. They were the first band that I really, really loved as a teenager, and the whole thing hit me pretty hard.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

Depends on what day this so-called "gun" is to my head. Probably Bad Religion, Recipe for Hate. Or Nirvana, Nevermind. Or the Rolling Stones, Let it Bleed ...