1. Radio London (Monday...Tuesday)/Armenia City In The Sky/ Wonderful Radio London- The Who

• "The sky is glass, the sea is brown and everyone is upside-down, Armenia, city in the sky, Armenia, city in the sky, Freak out! Freak out!" In 1967 The Who paid tribute to pirate radio and pop commercials with their concept album "The Who Sell Out". The only well known song from the album is the hit "I Can See For Miles", with the remaining material best known only to Who fanatics. Concept albums were in vogue after the Beatles Sgt. Pepper's (even thought Sgt. Pepper's lacked a solid concept) and "The Who Sell Out" was the bands 1st attempt at such an effort. "Armenia City In The Sky" is pure psychedelia complete with backwards guitars. It holds a rare distinction as the only original song the band recorded that wasn't written by one of the members of the band. Perhaps as a result it sounds quite unlike anything else from The Who. "The Who Sell Out" was remastered and reissued with bonus songs in the mid 90s and again this past year as a Deluxe edition complete with demos, mono mixes, rarities and I imagine anything left over in the studio. When you are a fan, you need to have it all.

2. Waiting On The World To Change- John Mayer

• "And when you trust your television what you get is what you got, cause when they own the information, oh they can bend it all they want." A friend of mine described this song as a bold attempt to write our generation's "What's Going On". It's hard to argue with that assessment given the message/feel of both songs and some similarities in song structure. For example "Waiting On The World To Change" contains a break down where the music largely drops out and there is audible chatter that recalls the intro to Marvin Gaye's classic. "Waiting On the World To Change" serves as the first song on Mayer's album "Continuum", which was the most (legally) downloaded album prior to Coldplay's "Viva La Vida". There is a great acoustic version of "Waiting On the World To Change" featuring Ben Harper on Mayer's "The Village Session" EP.

3. Same Thing- BareNaked Ladies

• "I found me an answer in the form of an old man with a cardigan on, this guy's got thirty years on me but he stops and smiles just to say "Hello, didn't I see you on TV?...must've been the same thing Charlie Brown went through." Mainstream success had eluded the BareNaked Ladies prior to the release of their 3rd album "Born on a Pirate Ship". The album featured the song "The Old Apartment" which would become a hit. "Same Thing" has a mellow folk/country feel built on acoustic guitar and piano with vocals from guitarist Ed Robertson. After "Born on a Pirate Ship" the band would to some extent move away from the folk/country feel of songs like "Same Thing" in favor of rock a la "The Old Apartment". However the band never strayed far from their musical roots and the highlight of any BNL show for me was when the band would perform acoustically around a single microphone. These stripped down moments always highlighted a number of the band's strengths- vocals, harmonies, great melodies and arrangements.

1. Wrong Way- Sublime

• "A cigarette pressed between her lips but I'm starin' at her t*ts It's the wrong way." If you lived in the Philadelphia area in the mid/late 90s you'd know this as a Y-100 song, in that it was played ad nauseum on the station. Some critics come down on Sublime as faux ska/reggae, the kind of stuff most appealing to frat boys who'd most likely turn a deaf ear to those forms of music in their undiluted state. There is probably some truth in that but I could care less. This song is fun.

2. Do You Realize??- The Flaming Lips

• "Do you realize - that everyone you know someday will die, and instead of saying all of your goodbyes- let them know you realize that life goes fast, it's hard to make the good things last." This is an amazing song. "Do You Realize??" is featured on the "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" album which would qualify for one of the most creative album titles in my collection. When a song with awesome lyrics and great melody is coupled with a nice arrangement and great production you have yourself a classic. "Do You Realize??"is built on an acoustic guitar progression augmented with synth and chimes. Speaking from experience, it also functions quite nice by itself on acoustic guitar. The song was used several years ago in an add for HP computers and more recently to sell Land Rovers.

3. Come Back to Bed- John Mayer

• "What will this fix, you know you're not a quick forgive, and I won't sleep through this, I survive on the breath you are finished with." John Mayer flashed some blues power on his sophomore album "Heavier Things" with the song "Come Back to Bed". This song was somewhat of a departure from the sound on his first album and nod of things to come like the John Mayer Trio and the more bluesy sound of "Continuum". The refrain at the end of the song "don't hold your love over my head" also works melodically as a refrain for the song "Gravity" over the "just keep me where the light is" part. If you are a fan of John Mayer's blues sound and you find yourself in Vegas on New Years Eve be sure to check out the Trio at The Joint.

1. Get On The Good Foot- James Brown

• "Qué pasa people, qué pasa ...hit me! Ooh! Get on down like a...Unh! I wanna get on the good foot...down to the crib, let all hang out where soulful people knows what it's about-ah." The power of the Godfather compels you to get on the good foot. James Brown helped lay down the foundation for soul, R&B, funk and provided the blueprint for hip hop along the way. I can remember being "slightly" out of my mind in Chicago a few years ago and dancing to "Get On The Good Foot" in an after hours bar, completely ignoring the 3 drinks I ordered for myself (one of them being a bottle of champagne). When you have soul you can't help yourself.

2. In God's Country- U2

• "Naked flame she stands with a naked flame, I stand with the sons of Cain, burned by the fire of love, burned by the fire of love." I'm not a huge U2 fan but the greatest of some of their songs is simply undeniable. "In God's Country" is one of many amazing songs from U2's "The Joshua Tree" which stands as the band's crowning achievement and one of the greatest albums of the 1980s. The biggest hits from "The Joshua Tree" make their way onto U2 singles and greatest hits compilations but songs like "In God's Country" and "Running to Stand Still" are just as worthy. Any song with Old Testament references scores bonus points- you can only imagine how high I am on The Hooters "All You Zombies".

3. Stairway to Heaven- Led Zeppelin

• "There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure 'cause you know sometimes words have two meanings." I'm not sure what insight there is to provide here. "Stairway to Heaven" is a masterpiece from the landmark classic "Led Zeppelin IV". The song slowly builds in momentum and intensity until it climaxes all over your turntable. "Stairway" is an epic in the vein of "Free Bird" yet jerks don't call out for it in bars. The song is the butt of a joke in the film "Wayne's World" but the premise is that it's the song that every guitar player wants to know how to play. When I recently caught the Dave Matthews Band in Hershey they masterfully worked it into their cover of "All Along the Watchtower" to the delight of classic rock connoisseurs.

1. Because- The Beatles

• "Love is old, love is new, love is all, love is you, because the sky is blue, it makes me cry, because the sky is blue." Great band or greatest band? Put me down for greatest band. This version of "Because" is from the album "Love" which does a masterful job of remixing a number of classic Beatles tunes. The change to the original version here is obvious- the song is presented acapella. It does showcase the Beach Boys style vocals/harmonies which is nice but I prefer the original "Abbey Road" version driven by the harpsichord. I've come to accept "Abbey Road" as the greatest Beatles album. For a good read on the break up of the Fab Four check out the latest issue of Rolling Stone. If you have a lack of Beatles in your collection you are in luck-The Beatles catalogue is being remastered and reissued on 9-9-09 along with the release of the Rock Band game.

2. Shiver- Coldplay

• "From the moment I wake, to the moment I sleep, I'll be there by your side, just you try and stop me, I'll be waitin' in line, just to see if you care." I'd have to put "Shiver" in the great tradition of "stalker songs" like "Every Breath You Take" and "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get". The guy isn't going to give up easily...and this is what girls want, right? The endless maddening pursuit. If "Say Anything" taught us anything it's that if you really want to get the girl you should show up on her property uninvited... and maybe bring a boom box for good measure. "Shiver" is featured on Coldplay's debut "Parachutes" and there is a nice acoustic version available on the "Trouble (B-Sides) EP". The song is fantastic vocally, melodically, lyrically, and sonically. It will help you make friends and influence people.

3. All At Sea- Jamie Cullum

• "I’m all at sea where no one can bother me, I sleep by myself, I drink on my own, I don’t speak to nobody, I gave away my phone." In 2004 Jamie Cullum became a VH1 "You oughta know" artist of the month when he corned the market on pop/alt-jazz with the release of the album "Twentysomething". The album features original numbers like "All At Sea" as well as a number of well done covers. Plenty of songs take on personal meaning in our lives and the "I gave away my phone" makes this one personal for me. About 4 years ago for no particular reason I decided to ignore my phone, voicemail and text messages for a few days...I think I wanted to escape technology for a bit. You would have thought it was the end of days by the reaction from people not being able to get in touch with me...and trust me, I'm not important. Not long after the release of "Twentysomething" I had the fortune of seeing Jamie Cullum at Zanzibar Blue in Philadelphia. Zanzibar was the premiere jazz club in the city- a landmark so to speak...sadly it is gone. I'm glad I was able to catch a great show there.