Can one write an entire column while listening to "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)," the 1972 smash hit by Looking Glass, over and over again? Get excited, because we're about to find out.

I wish I could turn the damn song off, but my iPod's fully charged, my obsessive streak is getting the best of me, and it just sounds way too good. Not to mention, of course, that, as in the case of the singer's, my life, my lover, my lady is the sea.

Listen, I know there're some people who probably listen to "Brandy" for retro kitsch value alone. But that's not me. I'm not a guy who goes sprinting onto the dance floor screaming "I remember this song!" whenever, say, "Come on Eileen" comes on. Maybe I did that when I was a junior high school girl, but not now.

No, I simply think "Brandy is - and I'm sure plenty will agree - a great song. The lyrics succinctly tell a sad story of love that, alas, can never be, but the music, in its easy-listening-getting-a-little-bit-wild way, never fails to get you psyched. Plus, anytime you have the band singing backing vocals of "Do do-do do do, do do-do do do do," I'm hooked.

The real magic of "Brandy," though, is that you can listen it to with anyone - hipsters, your mom, children, world leaders - while doing anything - dancing, exercising, creating a PowerPoint document. I go by the theory that my folks conceived me while the song was playing.

"Brandy" is also one of the songs that's ideal for when you're pushing around the cart in a supermarket. It even manages to keep you bouncing happily along while you try to open a bag for produce.

But the problem with listening to "Brandy" at the supermarket, of course, is that it's a short song - only a few seconds over three minutes - and one interruption on the loudspeaker from someone asking for a price check can ruin the experience. That's why I downloaded the song and bring my iPod with me when I go shopping.

But, I must admit, having "Brandy" at the ready 24 hours a day is proving to be more of a curse than a joy. I'm listening to the part right now where it goes, "Yeah, Brandy used to watch his eyes when he told his sailor stories. She could feel the ocean fall and rise; she saw its ragin' glory." Fantastic lines, right? It's easily at least the 20th time I've heard them today. I'm perilously close to wanting to kill those lines.

That's the problem with living in these music-on-demand times. You have instant and constant access to songs you'd never previously buy - and that probably sound best when you happen to catch them on the radio every once in a while. As great as "Brandy" is, I fear that I'm learning the hard way that it's best hearing once every two years or so, not in a continuous loop.

My iPod is quickly filling up with these kind of songs, though. "Take on Me" by A-Ha, "Misunderstanding" by Genesis, "Jacob's Ladder" by Huey Lewis, "Shake Your Thang" by Salt-N-Pepa, "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" by John Parr. Yeah, I'm more proud of downloading some of those than I am others. But it's safe to say I now equally and completely resent all of them.

Still, they're my babies, and, while the honeymoon period for them is over, I still dutifully listen to each at least once every day. (I promise to never mix familial metaphors like that again).

Being the latest download, "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" has been enjoying special treatment recently, but, frankly, now that this column is done, I've got a stop button to press.

(Mark Bazer can be reached at mebazer@yahoo.com.)

(c) 2004 mark bazer, Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.