The Season So Far: A Musical Interlude.

That's right. I'm getting super bloggy again. But that's okay. Because guess what? I enjoy music. I enjoy what it evokes. I pop, I enjoy twee hipster crap. Man, if I could write for Pitchfork I would break the site because I like everything. Because I can listen to Dokken with the same sort of unironic joy as Kenny Loggins.

And if I could lay out a soundtrack for the season in terms of what song would I use under the bed of the highlights from the game? I would. But I only have a blog. But man. Let's take a walk back through it, shall we?

Preseason: "Banned In DC" --Bad Brains

Man, remember the preseason? I was new and fresh. And the Badgers were this close to stepping into position as the cocks of the proverbial walk. No one thought it would come to this. We were loud, we were swaggery. We were moshing. And we were just gonna need two minutes to win the division.

Wisconsin 26, Northern Iowa 21: "Who Was In My Room Last Night?" --Butthole Surfers

To mix musical metaphors, this is not our beautiful house. Danny O'Brien's efficient, but Montee Ball wasn't. And Sawyer Kollmorgen had two big plays to throw the Badger fans into a fugue state. I mean, we weren't supposed to win by 5. We weren't supposed to hang on.

And like a Butthole Surfers album. It got worse.

Oregon State 10, Wisconsin 7: "We Made You" --Eminem

Not saying this as sour grapes, but Oregon State's season started with a then shocking win over the then ranked Badgers. Oregon State wouldn't lose until Sean Mannion came back too soon from an injury, and they got to the Top Ten. You're welcome, Corvallis!

Wisconsin 16, Utah State 14: "Because The Night" --Patti Smith

Danny O'Brien was benched. The only touchdown belonged to a punt return. The Badgers by all rights should have lost this one. But it doesn't matter. They can't hurt us now. We got this one. The night belongs to us, y'all.

Wisconsin 37, UTEP 26: "New Noise" --Refused

There were a few sequences that kept the song from being a truly great rock song. And this was a rather sloppy win. A lot more of a sweat than a team that's likely a cellar dweller that will retire their coach should have forced. But through the muck? There came hope. Hope and fun. Fun and a turnover!

Nebraska 30, Wisconsin 27: "Hit 'em Up" --2Pac

The theme song for the post modern horror movie Scream. It fits. The Badgers got swaggerjacked after Kyle Costigan's leg collapsed. You could switch out "Ether" from Nas or one of the many other hip hop diss tracks from Music's history, but the fact that they let junior members rap verses on the track ... this slowed it up. Kind of like how ponderously the Badgers managed to lose this one.

Wisconsin 31, Illinois 14: "Flagpole Sitta" --Harvey Danger

For three quarters, this game was as ugly as a Germanic recorder based cover of "Jenny From The Block." But out of nowhere, like a song on a cut rate horror movie, the Badgers kind of rocked in the fourth quarter. And unfortunately, there was little reason to see this as more than a one-hit wonder at this point.

Wisconsin 38, Purdue 14: "Riot Rhythm" --Sleigh Bells

For two plays, the Badgers were in trouble. For two plays, Purdue was going to shock the world. Then the Badgers marched. And marched. And marched some more. It was a call that maybe the fun flavors of 2011 might have returned. Boy how did we miss those. Boy how we were glad they were back. Alexis Krauss vocalized the game so well.

Wisconsin 38, Minnesota 13: "Extraordinary Machine" --Fiona Apple

Lyrically sound, but sonically sedate, rivalry week the first was nothing more than a call that the Badgers had the road rise up to meet them. Montee Ball was back in the Heisman periphery. And everything felt as sweet as this song.

Michigan State 16, Wisconsin 13: "Rainbow In The Dark" --Ronnie James Dio

We lost our quarterback, we lost a rivalry game. We're back in the wilderness. We're afraid to admit the possibility that Indiana might win the upcoming game. We're like a rainbow in the dark. But you know what happens with a rainbow in the dark?

It finds a way to shine. Somehow.