I have a funny thing about rules. I really like to live in the moment and enjoy plenty of freedom, but I think we need certain guidelines to keep people from going crazy.

Lately, I have noticed one place which needs a little less freedom and a few more rules.

The radio.

I listen to a lot of music, partially because of my commute, but also because I just love music. I have little to no musical ability myself so I really respect the things musicians can do.

I don’t consider myself a music geek or music snob or anything. I really don’t care what kind of music people like. I just want the people putting tunes on the air to realize some of the things they do wrong.

First off, one of my favorite songs by The Cure is their 1992 hit “Friday, I’m in Love.” I don’t get into goth stuff very much, but I love The Cure. They had a lot of hits when I was in college that got me listening to Robert Smith’s music long before “Friday, I’m in Love” ever came out.

The song has a pretty bouncy beat and probably ranks as the band’s best-known song. I like some of their earlier work better, but this song almost always puts me in a good mood.

But why do people insist on playing it before Friday? The day of the week is right in the title. It’s a celebration of the weekend. The other days of the week are described as blue and grey and not worth caring about. So I can’t get too excited when I hear the song at the beginning of the week. I just feel depressed that the weekend is so far off.

The same thing goes for “Working for the Weekend” by Loverboy. I get really mad when I hear this on Monday or Tuesday. I just finished a weekend and now you want to fill my head with images of Mike Reno and Paul Dean – bandannas everywhere – dancing in the video for this song? That’s just torture.

When DJs want to play one of these at the beginning of the week, they should instead reach for “I Don’t Like Mondays” by the Boomtown Rats. This song topped the British charts in 1979 and really should never hit the airwaves after the first day of the work week.

The title should make that obvious, but who wants to hear a song inspired by a school shooting when you’re trying to make your plans for the weekend? I get really, really mad when I hear this on a Friday.

All this stuff should come naturally. Even Bridget gets it, and she’s not even 8 yet. She heard me talking about this idea for a column and said, “like Walking on Sunshine. They shouldn’t play that when it’s raining.”

I felt a mixture of regret for not thinking of that one myself and pride that I have obviously raised her the right way.

I just wonder why people working at radio stations across the country don’t get it. Their parents must have done something wrong.