1. Top Gear- The Who

• "Top Gear! Top Gear! Top Gear! Top Gear! Ahh, ahh Top Gear!" The Who offer up a series of advertisements on their 1967 concept LP "The Who Sell Out". Rotosound Strings, Premier Drums, Great Shakes, and Coke are among the featured products. "Top Gear" is a great example of the surf guitar/drums sound The Who dabbled in on occasion during their early years. Drummer Keith Moon was a huge fan of the surf genre, so songwriter Pete Townshend would placate him from time to time with this type of song. The most notable songs from "The Who Sell Out" would have to be "I Can See For Miles" and "Tattoo", due to it's inclusion on the "Live at Leeds" album. Speaking of "Live at Leeds", there is now a "super deluxe edition" version which features the bands performance at Hull the following night. The Who originally intended on releasing the Hull performance (which they preferred) but went with the Leeds show due to technical issues with the Hull tapes. 40 years later the Hull show is finally available. While it doesn't vary drastically from the Leeds show, it's a treasure and worth the wait. I have to figure there is a version of me in a parallel universe that has been listening to "Live at Hull" for years and is now just listening to the Leeds show for the 1st time.

2. Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)- The Jacksons

• "I don't know what's going to happen to you baby, but I do know that I love ya, you walk around this town with your head all up in the sky, and I do know that I want you, let's dance let's shout (shout), shake your body down to the ground." If you're the Jackson 5, what do you do when you leave the Motown label but Jermaine stays behind and Motown keeps the rights to your name? Well, you add youngest brother Randy and become The Jacksons. "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" comes from 1978's "Destiny" album. The infectious disco/R&B sound created here is found again a year later on Michael's breakthrough solo LP "Off The Wall" on songs like "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You". Like Juvenline's "Back That Azz Up" this song is very instructional. When it comes on if you aren't already shaking your groove thang you should get down on it. Available on "The Essential Michael Jackson" album, this song belongs in your collection.

3. Ghorgon Master of War- Ryan Adams

• "Ghorgon! Master of war. Death is all around him. Ghorgon! Master of war. This will continue till the systems collapse, under their control, Ghorgon!" Midway through 2010 Ryan Adams released his heavy metal sci-fi concept album "Orion" through his Pax AM record label and website. "Orion" represents Adam's earnest attempt at recording a metal album. The lyrics (which describe an intergalactic war) may be tongue in cheek, but the music is not. I'm not a heavy metal connoisseur so it's hard for me judge how legit "Orion" comes across but it sounds like the real thing to me. "Ghorgon Master of War" starts off with some relatively calm acoustic guitar. It's followed by some ominous synthesizer work and then before we know it we're in the throws of "Ride the Lightning" era Metallica. Adams sings with urgency, as if the battle for the universe is real. I'm not sure the exact role that Ghorgon plays in the "Orion" mythology but I'm pretty sure he's not the good guy. Fans of more traditional Adams material may want to check out the recently released "III/IV" which showcases songs recorded with his backing band The Cardinals in 2007.

1. The End- The Beatles

• "And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make." While "Her Majesty" is the last song on "Abbey Road", "The End" serves as the album's musical climax. You can't really talk about this song in an isolated sense because it serves as the exclamation point on a musical score. While the first half (or so) of "Abbey Road" is made up of individual songs the better part of the second half is made up of songs that blend into one another (and borrow themes used previously on the album). It is fair to say that on "The End" The Beatles decide to give the drummer some. In the first part of the song we get to hear Ringo bang out a solo. Where else in The Beatles catalogue do we get to hear that? I don't care if it sounds like a drum solo I could perform with a little practice- it's iconic. If you know of any albums that are better than "Abbey Road" I'm all ears.

2. Who's The Mack?- Ice Cube

• "Straight gangsta mack. Who's the mack? Is it some brother in a big hat, thinking he can get any b*tch with a good rap, rolling in a f*cked up Lincoln, leaning to the side so it looks like he's sinking." In 1990 Ice Cube dropped the cargo known as N.W.A. and started making all the dough. The gangsta rapper teamed up with Public Enemy's Bomb Squad production team to release "Amerikkka's Most Wanted". The album is fast paced, hard hitting and Ice Cube is on the attack. "Who's The Mack?" stands out stylistically for sounding a good bit different than the rest of the album. Here we have a slow, smooth, laid back beat with a flute for extra flavor. The flute must have caught the ear of one Dr. Dre as he used it a few years later (see "Let Me Ride", "Lil' Ghetto Boy") on his "The Chronic" album. The great sample here is Shock G as Humpty Hump- "straight gangsta mack" from "The Humpty Dance". If you peep the "Who's The Mack?" video on YouTube you can see Ice Cube rock the jheri curl.

3. Magazine Called Sunset- Wilco

• "There's a magazine called sunset, and a tape machine that won't let, me ever forget this impossible longing for you. Or I'm a future fallout standing, in the present erase our phantom." The best artists know their best work from the rest of their work. Such is the case with Wilco and "Magazine Called Sunset". Recorded as a part of the sessions that produced "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" this song appeared in the documentary film "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco" and the "More Like the Moon" EP. It did not make the final cut for "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". The film "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" chronicles the struggles Wilco endured to release "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". Nonesuch records saves the day after the band is dropped from their label. In a "what have you done for me lately" world, Wilco announced earlier this year that they were parting ways with Nonesuch to do their own thing.

1. Lovers in a Dangerous Time (live)- BareNaked Ladies

• "Don't the hours go shorter as the days go by, we never get to stop an open our eyes, one minute you're waiting for the sky to fall, the next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all." In 1991 a number of artists contributed songs to "Kick at the Darkness", a tribute album celebrating the music of Canadian artist Bruce Cockburn. Looking back perhaps most notable among the artists were the BareNaked Ladies, who were yet to release their major label debut "Gordon". "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" would go on to become the B-side of "The Old Apartment" CD single and was included in 2001's "Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits (1991-2001)". I can't imagine anyone would care to know this but the version of "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" included on the greatest hits CD is a slightly alternative mix of the original. I don't know much about Bruce Cockburn's music but I really enjoy this song and he does a masterful cover of "Turn, Turn, Turn" on the "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" Pete Seeger tribute album.

2. Cheated On Me (live)- Gavin DeGraw

• "I've felt just like this before, there was another just like you, I loved her for so long, but I had poison on my mind and drove her into, someone else's eyes, someone else's arms, someone else's obvious moves." Not bad, but I liked this song better when it was called "Just Friends". On "Just Friends", from his debut "Chariot", Gavin sings about a girl who ends up in another guy's arms. Think "Ooh baby you, you've got what I need, but you say he's just a friend." This time around on "Cheated On Me", from his self titled sophomore effort, the same thing happens but he's got himself to blame. Gavin is hardly the first artist to revisit an idea lyrically or musically. After Marvin Gaye had a smash hit with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" he turned around with the sound-a-like song "Your Unchanging Love". Speaking of Gavin and Marvin, I've heard Gavin do a great live cover of Marvin's "Let's Get It On". After James Taylor's success with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" it's a shame he didn't dabble with more Gaye tunes. I'd like to hear what he'd do with "You Sure Love to Ball".

3. Black (live)- Pearl Jam

• "I know someday you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star, in somebody else's sky, but why, why, why, can't it be, can't it be mine." In 1998 Pearl Jam released "Live on Two Legs". Unless I'm mistaken it was their first commercially available live album. The irony is that now you can purchase virtually every live show that Pearl Jam performs. As for "Black", I can only say great things. The live version here is phenomenal with the band stretching the song to nearly seven minutes thanks to some guitar heroics from Mike McCready. The original version comes from the band's major label debut "Ten". The album (which features 11 songs) was named after then-current NBA basketball player Mookie Blaylock who wore the number 10. "Ten" was a critical and commercial smash that in part launched grunge music, ended the popularity of hair metal, and helped guys across the country with flannel shirts fit in.

1. Middle Man- Living Colour

• "I don't have a need to be the best, don't want to be just like the rest, just stay who I am, just and ordinary middle man. I've got no master plan, just a simple middle man." If you weren't listening to Living Colour in 1988, what were you listening to? "Cult of Personality" hit radio and MTV with a fury that year and the album "Vivid" went on to sell over 2 million copies. If anyone saw the all black heavy metal band as a novelty, they quickly got past that when they realized how talented these guys are. In particular, Vernon Reid is probably as technically proficient as anyone who has ever played hard rock guitar. In other words, anything you can do, he can do better. Musically "Middle Man" is built around a great guitar riff (Angus Young would be proud). Lyrically it's about finding contentment in living an average life. Not everyone is going to change the world. As the band once quipped, not everyone is going to invent a better mousetrap.

2. Company In My Back (live)- Wilco

• "Hide your soft skin, your sorrow is sunshine, listen to my eyes, they are hissing radiator tunes, I move so slow, a steady crushing hand, holy sh*t there's a company in my back." For all the love critics gave "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" it's successor "A Ghost is Born" provided an equally impressive collection of songs. Don't sleep on it. Pitchfork, some website I never heard of until earlier this week, gave "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" a perfect ten stars (why not give 10 pitchforks?) in 2002. This might not sound crazy until you find out they hadn't given another album 10 stars until this year (the new Kanye West album got the honor). Was there nothing in between that good? Getting back to "Company In My Back", this version of comes from the "Kicking Television: Live In Chicago" album. The live version clocks in at the same exact time (3:46) as the studio version- way to keep it tight fellas. Earlier this year I purchased a "1st time on LP" Kicking Television vinyl box set that features a number of songs not included on the original CD. You'll be happy to know that not only have I not opened the records, I haven't even opened the box they were shipped in. "Near mint condition" does not befit a true collector.

3. B Side Wins Again- Public Enemy

• "Here you go y'all, little by little you know, we got the power, the knowledge to move 'em, and still rock, a super song for the cause so, feel the load on your brain for the episode, and we just begun it's number one y'all, brother black the B is back." Where would we be without B sides? Well for one we might not have Rod Stewart (his breakout "Maggie May" was a B side). In the day of the 7 inch vinyl single the B side often gave us a "deep album cut" or a song not even featured on the album the A side sought to promote. In the earliest days of hip-hop, before the advent of MCs and rap records, DJ's made a name for themselves by finding breaks in all sorts of places. To this day DJ's dig through crates to find B sides and obscure records to sample. "B Side Wins Again" finds Chuck D paying homage to the B side and kicking lyrics absent the political focus most often associated with Public Enemy. The sound here is also unique for P.E. Instead of the dense sonic assault P.E.'s Bomb Squad production team made famous we have a basic drum track and an echo effect on the vocal. It's not a stripped down as Run DMC's "Sucker M.C's" but it's not far off. If you have any vinyl singles laying around be sure to dust them off and flip them over.

1. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (live)- Bob Dylan

• "Baby let me follow you down, baby let me follow you down, well I'll do anything in this God almighty world, if you just let me follow you down." Bob Dylan is known as one of the best (if not the best) songwriters in the history of rock music. Perhaps surprisingly, his 1962 debut album "Bob Dylan" only featured 2 original songs. The rest of the album was made up of traditional folk songs including "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down". This particular version comes from "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live, 1966: The Royal Albert Hall Concert" album. Ironically the album takes it's name from mislabelled bootlegs that attributed the show to The Royal Albert Hall when in fact the show was recorded at Manchester's Free Trade Hall. The great thing about this version is hearing Dylan backed by The Hawks (The Band) who know how to keep it loose and keep it tight.

2. Long Division- Death Cab For Cutie

• "And they carried on like long division, and it was clear with every page, that they were further away from a solution that would play, without a remain remain remain remainder." I was told there would be no math on this blog. "Long Division" comes to us courtesy of the "Narrow Stairs" album. The song references an "open door" which ends up being the name of the great EP that followed "Narrow Stairs". For me the brilliance of "Narrow Stairs" is the seamless juxtaposition of lead singer Ben Gibbard's depressing lyrics (which have always been a hallmark of the band) and music that is much harder and more upbeat than what the band typically produced in the past. If you weren't paying attention you'd swear these are happy songs. "Long Division" isn't a standout track per se but it's a solid song from a great album.

3. Who Killed Davey Moore?- Bob Dylan

• "Who Killed Davey Moore, why and what's the reason for? 'Not me' says the gambling man, with his ticket stub still in his hand. 'Not me' says the man who's fists, laid him low in a cloud of mist." Another selection from the Bob Dylan Bootleg series-this time it's from volume 1. "Who Killed Davey Moore" is a protest song built around the real death of boxer Davey Moore in 1963. Each verse is from the perspective of various people involved in the fight- the referee, the crowd, the manager, a gambler, a boxing writer, and for good measure his opponent. In each case no one takes responsibility for his death. It's doubtful that Dylan was protesting boxing with this song. It's more likely that he was using symbolism to show how most people point fingers before they take responsibility for their actions or accountability for their role in events. If you listen to Jack Johnson's "Cookie Jar", off the album "On & On", you'll see that it's a straight jack of "Who Killed Davey Moore"...it might as well be the same song.

Get Some (Turkey) Edition

1. Belief (Live)- Gavin DeGraw

• "Tonight you arrested my mind, when you came to my defense, with a knife in the shape of your mouth, in the form of your body with the wrath of a god, oh you stood by me, belief." Gavin DeGraw hit the big time in 2003 with the album "Chariot" which gave us hits like "Follow Through" and the mega smash "I Don't Want To Be". The album also featured a few gorgeous ballads including "Belief". "Chariot" would be re-released a year later with a "stripped" version of each song from the album with much less production. If you have a special someone, "Chariot- Stripped" is a good listen as you get to know that someone better in the biblical sense. This particular version of "Belief" comes from the iTunes exclusive 9 song "Live from Soho" album. "Live from Soho" finds DeGraw behind the piano and acoustic guitar performing songs from his 1st two albums in good form. "Chariot Stripped" and "Live from Soho" are the best representations of his music- Gavin sounds best minus the studio gloss.

2. The Search is Over- Survivor

• "I was living for a dream, loving for a moment, taking on the world, that was just my style, now I look into your eyes, I can see forever, the search is over you were with me all the while." Every now and again the iPod gives me a pure gem to talk about. Does it get any better than "The Search is Over"? I can remember hearing this song in a restaurant in Baltimore about 4 years ago and thinking "how is this song not in my collection?" I remedied that situation quickly. Survivor is the same group who sang "Eye of the Tiger" which was used in the film "Rocky III". That song rocks, and if you are from the Delaware Valley hearing the the opening guitar riff may give you the sudden urge to enroll at Pennco Tech. "The Search is Over" shows us the softer side of Survivor...a much softer side. In the pantheon of cheesy 80's power ballads this has to be towards the top. My favorite lyric is "so if you ever loved me, show me that you give a damn." He's serious. This is not a game.

3. Somebody Told Me- The Killers

• "Well somebody told me, you had a boyfriend, who looked like a girlfriend, that I had in February of last year, it's not confidential, I've got potential, a rushin' a rushin' around." Aside from "All These Things That I've Done" (which is genius) I'm not sure what the hot fuss is about The Killers. That being said "Somebody Told Me" is a fun song. If you like a combination of electric guitars, synth pop and tales of androgyny I can't imagine a better song for you. Plus who doesn't love a hard riff and a back beat? The Killers call Las Vegas home and I can see how their music fits the Vegas high energy party vibe. My only issue with "Somebody Told Me" is that it's hard for me to accept that "heaven ain't close in a place like this" when thanks to Warrant I grew up believing that "heaven isn't too far away."

1. Back In the U.S.S.R.- The Beatles

• "Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out, they leave the west behind, and Moscow girls make me sing and shout and Georgia's always on my my my my my my my my mind." This is a fabulous song that kicks off the classic "The Beatles (White Album)" album. I do have to ask- why there is no love for Belarus? From personal experience I can tell you that those girls know how to keep their comrade warm. Apple made headlines this week when iTunes became the first digital music store to offer The Beatles catalogue. For someone who has all The Beatles CDs this was basically a non-event. As I write this, "The Beatles (White Album)" is the 8th most popular album download in the iTunes store. The Beatles "Box Set" which comprises every studio album plus the Past Masters collections is the 12th most popular album download. This sort of begs the question- did people not realize that they could buy this music on CD, import it into their iTunes and sync it to their iPods?

2. What You See Is What You Get- Xzibit

• "And so it was written, and after all these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power the earth was lighted by his glory, and he cried mightily with a strong voice saying 'Babylon the great has fallen'". Xzibit is perhaps best known as the former host of MTV's "Pimp My Ride", a show that elevated the art of spending thousands of dollars in upgrades to hoopties. Think of it as an investment in extravagance. It turns out that Xzibit is also and MC, and a bit of a lyricist. "What You See is What You Get" is the only Xzibit in my collection thanks to it's inclusion on a "Saturday A.C. Mix" CD a friend made for a drive to Atlantic City. Making CDs for road trips is a lost art. "What You See Is What You Get" is high energy. I dig the apocalyptic spoken word intro (quoted above) and in general Xzibit sounds like he could kick my ass which is comforting when I listen to hardcore hip hop.

3. War At 33 1/3- Public Enemy

• "War at 33 and a third, haven't you heard, I got quick and clever at the level of a scientist, with this list my fist pumps chumps and don't miss." In 1990 Public Enemy released "Fear of a Black Planet". It remains one of the greatest artistic achievements in hip hop. For those that don't catch the reference 33 1/3rd is a vinyl LP. Chuck D sided with Gil Scott-Heron joining in the call that "the revolution would not be televised". Chuck D brought the revolution to wax using Public Enemy as a vehicle to spur a mind revolution to promote black nationalism. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before on the blog, but my 1st concert was none other than Public Enemy at the Spectrum in Philadelphia in 1990. I was 14 or 15 years old so kudos to my parents for letting me go. P.E. was on tour at the time supporting the "Fear of a Black Planet" album. In retrospect my street creed was never higher than in 1990. 20 years later you can find me taking a bubble bath listening to "Africa" by Toto on my iPod. Don't worry, I'm still down.

1. Long Tall Sally- Little Richard

• "Well long tall Sally she's built for speed, she got everything that Uncle John needs, oh baby, yes baby, ooh baby, having me some fun tonight." This song has so much energy it's ridiculous. "Long Tall Sally" is only 2 minutes and 10 seconds but what more do you want? The boogie woogie piano, the vocal and the lyrics all come together perfectly. By 1956 standards this was as good as it gets. I do love the line about being "built for speed". A few years later (3 to be exact) the great Chicago blues songwriter Willie Dixon (perhaps inspired by "Long Tall Sally") penned "Built For Comfort" with the classic lyric- "I'm built for comfort, I ain't built for speed". The Beatles covered "Long Tall Sally" early in their career but they didn't come close to the original. Little Richard is an undisputed rock 'n' roll architect/pioneer. How much his sound varied is debatable and was the subject of a rather hilarious joke on the cartoon Family Guy. If you "Google" or "You Tube" "Little Richard- Piano Riff Woo" you'll know what I'm talking about.

2. Sleepwalker- The Wallflowers

• "Cupid don't draw back your bow, Sam Cooke didn't know what I know, I'll never be your valentine, the sleepwalker in me, and God only know that I tried." Jakob Dylan (sleep) Walker! Pardon my inside joke. Back in the time known as the 90s, The Wallflowers were a popular outfit. Most of that success was tied to their 1996 multi-platinum breakthrough "Bringing Down the Horse" which spawned several big hits. Their 2000 follow up "Breach" received much less attention but "Sleepwalker" did get some radio play. I do love the reference to Sam Cooke even with the dubious presumption that the singer knows more about affairs of the heart than Sam. This version comes from volume 5 of the Y100 sonic sessions collection. Speaking of said sessions, Weezer recently released a deluxe edition of their album "Pinkerton" which features a number of bonus tracks including 3 songs from their original Y100 sonic sessions recording. This is noteworthy to me since I was in that audience, so technically I'm on a Weezer record. What does this have to do with the Wallflowers? Absolutely nothing.

3. High & Dry- Jamie Cullum

• "Drying up in conversation, you will be the one who cannot talk, all your insides fall to pieces, you just sit there wishing you could still make love, they're the one who'll hate you when you think you've got the world all sussed out, they're the ones who'll spit at you, you will be the one screaming out." I won't say I enjoy this more than the Radiohead original (I'm sure some would find that blasphemous) but I do enjoy it just as much...perhaps because I don't worship at the Radiohead alter. Lyrically "High & Dry" is genius and who doesn't enjoy a nice falsetto? Radiohead does deserve all the credit here, but the Jamie Cullum version is jazzy good times. The original "High and Dry" comes courtesy of "the bends" album which also gave us "Fake Plastic Trees"... the kind of melancholy acoustic alternative music a "sensy" like me can't get enough of. As soon as I'm done listening to this I'm going to go outside and marvel at fireflies.

Better Late Than Never (Maybe) Edition

1. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues- Bob Dylan

• "I started out on burgundy but soon hit the harder stuff, everybody said they'd stand behind me when the game got rough, but the joke was on me there was nobody even there to bluff, I'm going back to New York City, I do believe I've had enough." This song rocks. Bob Dylan's conversion from Judaism to Christianity in the late 70s didn't cause as many waves as his switch from acoustic to electric guitar in the mid 60s. "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" (featured on 1965's "Highway 61 Revisited") is an early example of his musical conversion. The dissent amongst his folk audience was palpable, and audibly documented on "The Bootleg Series Volume 4: Bob Dylan Live, 1966 The Royal Albert Hall Concert" album. During an electric set that included "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" an audience member is heard shouting "Judas!". Dylan's subsequent instructions to the band (The Band) as they warmed up for "Like a Rolling Stone" were to "play f#cking loud". I can recall seeing Clem Snide in DC in the early 2000s and being elated when they worked this song's final verse (quoted above) into their set. I was also elated when the show ended and the house music in the venue featured selections from Hall & Oates greatest hits.

2. Diamond Dogs- David Bowie

• "This ain't rock and roll, this is genocide! Come out of the garden baby, you'll catch a death in the fog, young girl, they call them the Diamond Dogs." I know that "Diamond Dogs" was a single from an album of the same name in the mid 70s. I know that musically this song could be mistaken for mid 70s Rolling Stones number. Lyrically I can't pretend to know what in the world this song is about. I did a little casual research and found out that the "Diamond Dogs' album was a concept piece inspired by the novel 1984 that depicts a post apocalyptic glam world. I haven't seen the other side of the apocalypse but I don't imagine glam survives. The single best remembered from"Diamond Dogs" would have to be "Rebel Rebel". "Diamond Dogs" (the song) found it's way onto 1990's "Changesbowie" greatest hits collection but didn't make the cut for the updated "Best of Bowie" 2002 collection.

3. Part-Time Lover- Stevie Wonder

• "We are undercover passion on the run, chasing love up against the sun, we are strangers by day lovers by night, knowing it's so wrong but feeling so right." The great film "High Fidelity" referred to 1984's "I Just Called To Say I Love You" as a "musical crime". How any song produced by Lionel Richie could be a musical crime is beyond me. Crime or no crime, a year later (and almost a full decade before TLC gave us "Creep") Wonder struck gold again with "Part-Time Lover". I think everyone enjoys this song. Fans of old school hip hop should recall the Boogie Down Productions song "Part Time Suckers", an obvious ode to this Wonder classic. I have a cassette tape (look it up) of my sister and I singing along with this song on the radio when we were kids. If I weren't on the recording it'd be the sort of embarrassing thing I'd break out at a rehearsal dinner some day. It's something I plan to keep under wraps as sadly I'm a co-conspirator in this musical crime.

Let's Undress Just Like Cross-eyed Strangers Edition

1. Tired Of Being Alone- Al Green

• "I'm so tired of being alone, I'm so tired of on my own, won't you help me girl soon as you can, I guess you know that I (huh) love you so, even though you don't want me no more." There is nothing about this song I don't like. The guitar, the horns (oh my yes the horns), the melody, the lyrics and oh yea...Al Green's flawless vocals. This is soul music. Does being desperately alone make this song sound better? Probably, but I'm pretty sure it sounds good for people who have someone that cares about them as well. In the hip hop DJ documentary "Scratch", DJ Premiere talks about sampling records and how they don't make the funk like they used to. "Tired of Being Alone" is a great example of how the funk used to sound.

2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer- BareNaked Ladies

• "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose (like a light bulb), and if you ever saw him, you would even say it glows (like a light bulb), all of the other reindeers used to laugh and call him names (like stupid)." In 2004 the Ladies released "BareNaked For The Holidays", a collection of holiday music (imagine that). The album contained a brief instrumental version of "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" from Kevin Hearn on what I can only imagine is a Casio keyboard. This version comes from a live performance at the tail end of 2008...complete with lyrics. This concert performance would mark one of the last times that co-founding front man/lead singer Steven J Page would sing with the band. The Ladies (now a four piece) released "All In Good Time" in early 2010. Earlier this month, Steven Page released his first true solo effort "Page One" which oddly sounds more like BNL than "All In Good Time".

3. Rock With You (Single Version)- Michael Jackson

• "Out on the floor, there ain't nobody there but us, girl when you dance, there's magic that must be love, just take it slow, 'cause we got so far to go, when you feel that heat, and we gonna ride the boogie, share that beat of love." The iTunes review for Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" describes "Rock With You" as a "dance-floor workout". I won't argue that. I set a few dance floors on fire in my day to songs like this and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". (On that note- you can't call 911 every time shawty fire burning on the dance floor.) I suppose I have the benefit of enjoying the best of the disco/dance era without having had to live through it. "Rock With You" is silky smooth. The track and Jackson's laid back vocals draw you in...by the time the hook comes around you're shaking the ass your momma gave you whether you realize it or not.

1-2-1 Edition

Staff Notes- soul music lost a legend with the recent passing of Solomon Burke. We have the recipe but Memphis Soul Stew will never taste the same.

1. Belief- John Mayer

1. "Belief is a beautiful armor that makes for the heaviest sword, like punching underwater you never can hit who you're trying for. What puts a hundred thousand children in the sand, belief can, belief can, what puts a folded flag inside his mother's hands, belief can, belief can." JM batting lead off for the 2nd week in a row (I have baseball on the brain). "Waiting On The World To Change", the debut single from the album "Continuum" drew musical and thematic comparisons to the Marvin Gaye classic "What's Going On". That groundbreaking work (which will forever be included in my desert island top 5 albums) is a true concept piece where the story is told over the course of the album. "Continuum" doesn't have a unified thematic thread but "Belief" and "Waiting On The World To Change" are brothers in arms. Both songs question the war, just from different angles. "Waiting On The World To Change" questions how we got there- "when you trust your television, what you get it what you've got, cause when they own the information oh they can bend it all they want." "Belief" questions how we'll ever get out of it- "we're never gonna win the world, we're never gonna stop the war, we're never gonna beat this if belief is what we're fighting for." Like Gaye before him, Mayer doesn't claim to have the answers to the challenging issues of the day, but as an artist he calls his audience to question how we got here and where we should go. Before I head to that desert island I'm grabbing my copy of "Continuum" as well.
2. Family (featuring Jack Johnson)- Zack Gill

• "She was feeling the yuletide burn, cause her family was wearing on her nerves, she was tired of fighting and feeling frustrated, finding it hard to relate to those of whom she was related." You may think that you've never heard Zack Gill but chances are you have. Zack plays piano and accordion for Jack Johnson and is a member of this touring band. As much as Jack Johnson's sound is defined by the simple elements of his voice and guitar, more and more his signature sound includes his partner Zack. It turns out that Zack is a decent songwriter in his own right and has a warm soulful voice (file Zack under blue eyed soul). "Family" is a holiday themed song about the struggles of spending time with relatives but ultimately understanding and appreciating the bond. I should probably listen to this song more as I often find extended family holiday events a serious strain on my mental health. A few years ago I caught Zack Gill open for Mason Jennings (who is on Jack Johnson's record label) at the TLA in Philly. The highlight of Zack's set, without a doubt, was a German themed rendition of the Charlie Daniels Band classic "Devil Went Down to Georgia". In this version the protagonist battles the devil on accordion with hilarious results. Believe it or not I once saw Charlie Daniels sing the national anthem. It came before the 2007 Outback Bowl between Penn State and the University of Tennessee. I wasn't all that moved but the redneck UT fans were in their glory.

1. Powder Blue- BareNaked Ladies

• "With each mistake you either bend or break, with every word I chose, you only seem to bruise. You're going off the deep end, I'm going over all the things I've got to say. I made love blind and lost my mind." It was bound to happen and it happened today...we've gotten into some obscure BareNaked Ladies. "Powder Blue" is a left over from the sessions that gave us the album "Maroon". You probably know "Maroon" for songs like "Pinch Me" and "Too Little Too Late". You may be interested to know the album was produced by Don Was, who brought us "Everybody Walk the Dinosaur" when Was was in Was (Not Was). "Powder Blue" first found life on an Australian "Pinch Me" CD single import which featured a few songs that didn't make it off the cutting room floor. This is by far the best of that collection...."Born Human" a song about dating a girl raised by wolves is by far the quirkiest. "Powder Blue" shows up as a live number on the "Talk To The Hand: Live in Michigan" CD/DVD/Blu-ray and the original Ships and Dip album. While the Ladies are best known for upbeat pop tunes they've recorded a number of songs with very dark undercurrents. Songs like "I'll Be That Girl" (references to auto erotic asphyxiation and suicide), "War on Drugs" (depression and suicide), "The Flag" (spousal abuse) and "I Live With It Everyday" (suicide) to name a few. "Powder Blue" fits into that tradition nicely. Someone queue up a happy song.

1. Say- John Mayer

• "Even if your hands are shaking, and your faith is broken, even as the eyes are closing, do it with a heart wide open (a wide heart), say what you need to say." You might think I have a lot to say about this song. You'd be wrong. You might think I'm crazy. That's a whole 'nother story. "Say" was released as a single in late 2007. It was written for the film "The Bucket List". I haven't seen the film but I understand the song plays such a critical role in the movie that it is used over the end credits (and at no other time in the film). I do like "Say" but it doesn't do a whole lot for me. I suppose the song lacks the emotional depth it strives so much to achieve. Musically I do enjoy the 1:05 mark when the band kicks in and the song gets a little more punch. In 2009 "Say" won the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal performance over Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" which in terms of chart longevity proved to be the biggest pop song of all time. Mayer has won The Best Male Pop Vocal Grammy 4 out of the last 8 years and was nominated one other time so it's almost his category. In 2008 John Mayer re-released the Continuum with "Say" appended as the final song.

2. Till There Was You- The Beatles

• "And there was music, and wonderful roses, they tell me, in sweet fragrant meadows of dawn and dew, there was love all around, but I never heard it singing, no I never heard it at all, till there was you." What a sweet song. The Beatles were known to cover rock n roll songs early in their career. Songs like "Roll Over Beethoven", "Twist and Shout" and "Rock and Roll Music" to name just a few. They also dipped into Broadway show tunes with their cover of "Till There Was You", a song written in 1957 by Meredith Wilson (a dude) for the musical "The Music Man". I'm not big into musicals (discount the fact that I recently saw a production of "Oklahoma") but "The Music Man" does have a bunch of great tunes. "Seventy Six Trombones" and "Gary, Indiana" are classics. Fans of the cartoon series "Family Guy" are inadvertently familiar with the musical thanks to their rendition of "Shipoopi", which believe it or not does not alter the lyrics. Getting back to the fab four... The Beatles performed "Till There Was You" regularly-it was one of the songs they played on their 1st appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, an appearance which proved to be a defining moment in pop culture history.

3. Ring The Alarm- Fu-Schnickens

• "Ring the alarm, and not a sound is dying, woah, aye. So take heed to this lesson I bring or the lesson I brought, which was taught to one another, all slack MC's better ring the alarm, in other words run for cover." My first introduction to Fu-Schnickens was hearing "Ring The Alarm" on the radio (I've been a true fu-schnick ever since). It was most likely on Philadelphia's "Power 99", which at the time (1991) relegated hip hop to the late evenings and weekends. The normal broadcasting hours were saved for the "quiet storm" R&B nonsense the average hip hop fan looked at with disgust. "Ring The Alarm" provides quite an introduction to the Fu-Schnicken style of speed rapping and occasional backwards lyrics. I didn't discover the origins of this tune until a number of years ago. "Ring The Alarm" is based on a mid 1980's reggae song of the same name by Tenor Saw. It's one of those songs where you don't need to be a fan of the reggae genre to appreciate what's going on. The Fu-Schnickens speed up the Tenor Saw sample and bust rhymes that will make your head spin.

1. Cigarette- Ben Folds 5

• "Fred Jones was worn out, from caring for his often, screaming and crying wife, during the day but, he couldn't sleep at night for fear that she, in a stupor from the drugs that didn't even, ease the pain would set the house a blaze, with a cigarette." I can remember buying Ben Folds Five "Whatever and Ever Amen" and BareNaked Ladies "Rock Spectacle" in the summer of 97 at a store called Circuit City. Last week's episode of Family Guy mocked the now extinct electronics chain;"Circuit City- even our name was bad". I can remember playing both CDs when I moved into my apartment for my senior year of college. You know, you hook your stereo system and speakers up early so you can listen to music as you do the rest of your unpacking. That semester I listened to the Ben Folds 5 CD a sane amount (the same can't be said for "Rock Spectacle"). "Whatever and Ever Amen" features great songs like "Brick", "Kate", "Battle Of Who Could Care Less", and "Song For The Dumped". It also features "Cigarette", a slow moper that clocks in at 1:38. Lyrically I've given you the whole deal. Musically it features solo Ben on piano (the other dudes that make up the 5 are not represented). The music is pleasant and sounds like something you might hear at your local piano recital.

2. Hoodoo Voodoo- Wilco

• "Black birdy, blue jay, one, two, three, four, trash sack, jump back, E F G, biggy hat, little hat, fatty man, skinny man, grasshopper, green snake, hold my hand." Back in the late 90s (when I was listening to "Rock Spectacle" on repeat) Wilco hooked up with alt-folk singer Billy Bragg to record a number of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Woody Guthrie sits alongside Pete Seeger as a godfather of folk music. "Mermaid Avenue" and "Mermaid Avenue" Vol. II" document the fruits of this unique recording endeavor. If I'm to believe what I read online, Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy was ambivalent about the project and Billy Bragg didn't want the band mixing/touching his recordings. If Tweedy wasn't sure about the project I'm guessing he was fairly pleased with the results. Songs like "California Stars", "One By One" "Airline to Heaven" and "Hoodoo Voodoo" have become Wilco concert staples. "Hoodoo Voodoo" is a fun nonsense song. At least I can't make any sense of it. Musically it reminds me of "Picture Book" by the Kinks. If you listen to the two side by side I dare you to not draw that comparison. This particular version of "Hoodoo Voodoo" comes from a concert at the Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, PA in 2008. It was my first Wilco show and I was not prepared for how good the band was. I was blown away.

3. Different Names for the Same Thing- Death Cab For Cutie

• "Alone on a train aimless in wonder, an outdated map crumpled in my pocket, but I didn't care where I was going, 'cause they're all different names for the same place." Some people must find charm in lo-fi recordings. Why else would a band with access to multi-million dollar recording equipment and studios produce a song that sounds like it was sung into a tape recorder? "Different Names for the Same Thing" is classic depressing Death Cab, at least for the first two minutes. After that we get a slow build into the electro-sound more associated with lead singer Ben Gibbard's side project The Postal Service. "Different Names for the Same Thing" comes from Death Cab For Cutie's first major label record "Plans". The band had previously released albums on a smaller independent label. I can't remember if The O.C. explicitly referenced "Plans" (it probably did) but Death Cab was Seth Cohen's favorite band so you know he was listening to this back in the day when he was pinning for Summer Roberts. I can't blame him. Summer Roberts, yum.

1. What Do You Need- Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons

• "And my lovers they don't understand what ever needed you for, but I needed you for me, they don't understand anything about me, they don't understand what it is about me that loves." A year ago I had no idea who Cory Chisel was. I had the fortune of seeing him open up for Brendan Benson at the World Cafe in Philadelphia. I became a fan that night. Cory Chisel reminds one of a young Bruce Springsteen in his hey'. The friend I saw the show with commented that Cory offers all the things he liked about Springsteen (the sound) without all of the stuff he didn't (the pretense). More on that show in a bit. "What Do You Need" comes from the full length "Death Won't Send a Letter" album. It's a straight forward rock song that won't change your world. "Born Again", "So Wrong For Me" and the gorgeous "Tennessee" are the standout songs from the album. As an encore to the show Brendan brought Cory back on stage for a cover of Tom Petty's classic "American Girl". Brendan sang the first verse but forgot the opening lyrics. It's funny to me because the opening lyric is basically the name of the song.

2. Sunday Kind of Love- Etta James

• "And my arms need someone, someone to enfold, to keep me warm when Mondays and Tuesdays grow cold, love for all my life to have and to hold, oh and I want a Sunday kind of love." Hey ladies, how do you when a guy really likes you? It's when he gets seeing his friends out of the way on Friday and Saturday to spend his Sunday with you. Etta James is best known for her smash "At Last" but she has a handful of other classics in her collection including "Sunday Kind of Love". James was recently portrayed by Beyonce Knowles in the film Cadillac Records and Beyonce recorded a few of her songs on the soundtrack. Given that Beyonce is an icon in her own right it's not hard to imagine a yet to be born signer playing miss Knowles in the movies decades from now. I hope when that soundtrack comes out it features "Bug A Boo". Getting back to Etta James I definitely recommend that you listen to this song...just try to resist the urge to go out and buy Dockers.

3. Born Under a Bad Sign- Albert King (featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan)

• "Wine and women is all I crave, a big legged woman is going to carry me to my grave, born under a bad sign, I been down since I began to crawl, if it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all." Albert, Freddie and B.B. represent the three kings of blues guitar. If you spend any time listening to these cats you'll hear where guys like Clapton, Page, Beck, etc got their sound from. In 1983 Albert King played a concert with Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was the hot blues guitarist of day. The concert was filmed for the show "In Session". That show was released as a CD years later but for whatever reason this particular song (perhaps Albert King's best known song) was left out. Years later the song was included in an Albert King Stax Profiles greatest hits collection. I first came across "Born Under a Bad Sign" as an instrumental cover on the Jimi Hendrix "Jimi Blues" album. Jimi's version is of course amazing but this version takes the cake; you get the lyrics and Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan trading licks. A DVD of the King/Vaughan In Session concert is being released next month.

1. End of the Line- The Traveling Wilburys

• "Maybe somewhere down the road aways (end of the line), you'll think of me and wonder where I am these days (end of the line), maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays (end of the line), purple haze." For those not in the know, The Traveling Wilburys were a late 80s/early 90s super group featuring Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, George Harrison and Bob Dylan. These old white guys could really make a great song. How much do I like this song? A lot. Why should you care? I'm not sure but that is kinda the premise of this blog. I'm not into Elvis much, but the "well it's all right" chorus of "End of The Line" has a great 50's Elvis feel. Perhaps the chorus reminds me of "That's Alright Mama", the Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup cover which was Presley's 1st single. This may be the last time I reference "The King" as he's not on my iPod and I'm not a fan. "End of the Line" is worth checking out for any fans of Tom Petty or classic rock in general.

2. Space Between The Lines- Pictures and Sound

• "There's a little sparrow singing, and a ring around the sun, and I'm right here by the shoulder, just stickin' out my thumb. Now I'm right back where I started, in the space between the lines, I come expecting nothing, but what i find." Blue Merle had a handful of original songs- "Road to Town", "Foreign Girls" and "Space Between The Lines" that did not find their way onto their debut (and only) studio album "Burning in the Sun". "Space Between The Lines" became a live staple for the band. Blue Merle front man/songwriter/singer Lucas Reynolds recorded the song as the title track for his 2006 solo EP. He re-recorded it in 2008 as Pictures and Sound. The various versions of "Space Between The Lines" are pretty much the same- plodding, moody and introspective...but that's right up my alley. Lucas Reynolds, who now goes by Luke, has a great new independent album available online. You can stream it for free and supposedly a physical CD version exists (I'm still waiting for mine in the mail). Very recently Luke became a full time member of Guster. Perhaps the lads from Guster will give us another incarnation of "Space Between The Lines".

3. Lucky (Suerte) [feat. Ximena Sarinana]- Jason Mraz

• "Se que te quiero cuando te vas, supe desde tiempo atras, Es que mi corazon no sabe querer hasta volverte a ver, suerte que despierto junto a ti, suerte que senti lo que senti, suerte que regresas para mi." Who said this blog has no international appeal? This re-recording of "Lucky" finds Jason Mraz ditching duet partner Colbie Caillat and teaming up with Ximena Sarinana. Jason kicks a few verses in English, Ximena answers back in Espanol and they sing together in Spanish. The original version of this song is so sugary that repeated listening could cause tooth decay. With this version I'm less aware of what they're singing about so I can focus on the nice melodies and harmonies. The melodies are so nice that I took the time to teach myself this song on guitar (with help from the We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things "Play It Like It Is" song book) despite the fact that I have no chick to sing it with. I've been playing guitar for years and years but I still haven't found the "Juliana next to my Evan" or the Natalie next to my J.R. (despite my best efforts).

1. Hello, I Love You- The Doors

• "She holds her head so high, like a statue in the sky, her arms are wicked and her legs are long, when she moves my brain screams out this song." With "Hello, I Love You" The Doors give us a perfectly crafted pop song in 2 minutes and 13 seconds. Thanks guys. Of course The Doors weren't afraid to jam out either with classics like "Light My Fire", "Riders On The Storm" and "L.A. Woman" clocking in at over 7 minutes. I wasn't alive when The Doors were making music but from what I can gather the band brought a lot of excitement to rock and roll, particularly with their live shows. If you saw The Doors on any given night perhaps you'd see Jim Morrison get arrested on stage for inciting a riot or exposing himself. Rock and Roll is supposed to have the element of danger. In 2010 alternative music is a band like Weezer using an imagine from a globally popular television show (Lost) to promote an album named after a corporate clothing sponsor (Hurley) distributed by a major record label (Epitaph). Epitaph poses as an indie label but they are RIAA member (i.e. a part of the establishment). Anywhoo, not too long ago a friend sent me a link to watch an episode of the hit show Glee that featured "Hello" songs. I was watching to see how they tackled Lionel Richie (it was OK) but in the process caught the Pat Boone-esque performance of "Hello, I Love You". Thankfully Jim Morrison was not alive to see it but sadly Val Kilmer may have been exposed.

2. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band- The Beatles

• "It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play, they've been going in and out of style, but they're guaranteed to raise a smile, so may I introduce to you, the act you've known for all these years." Last week I mentioned how Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as the greatest album of all time in 2003. There are a handful of Beatles albums I'd rank ahead of "Sgt. Pepper's"- "Rubber Soul", "Revolver", "The Beatles (White Album)", and "Abbey Road" to name a few. Even John Lennon admitted there was no concept in this supposed concept album. All that being said, the introduction (this song) to the album is about as iconic as it gets. The audience cacophony interrupted by Ringo's drum beat and George's lead guitar is priceless...whatever lyrics follow are fine by me as I'm already hooked. Three days after the release of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", the Jimi Hendrix Experience performed the lead song in a concert which featured Paul McCartney and George Harrison among the audience members. That performance is featured on the "Jimi Hendrix Experience Box Set". To give further credit to "Sgt. Peppers" (as if it actually needs it) the album does feature the fabulous "With a Little Help From My Friends" which has the distinction of being Brian Wilson's favorite Beatles song.

3. Rise 'n' Shine- Kool Moe Dee

• "Are you ready to elevate, as I rhyme on time you'll illuminate, hard as diamond, knowledge shining, it's that time and it's all in the timing." You'd think that any hip hop song that features Kool Moe Dee, KRS-One and Chuck D would be amazing. After all most hip hop historians would place these three along with Melle Mel and Rakim as the greatest old school emcees of all time. Sadly the results don't match the greatness of the participants. "Rise 'n' Shine" was among a few songs from Moe Dee's 4th studio album "Funke, Funke Wisdom" that got radio/video play but the emcee was on the downward arc of his brilliant career. Technically this trio had appeared together once before as the Stop The Violence Movement with a host of other rappers on the song "Self Destruction" which is a masterpiece. The other notable song from "Funke, Funke Wisdom" is the smooth jam "How Kool Can One Blackman Be" which features an interpolation of the 1974 James Brown hit "Papa Don't Take No Mess". Two years later Janet Jackson would sample said track as the basis for "That's The Way Love Goes" which became her most successful single ever in the states and garnered her a Grammy.

1. Something- The Beatles

• "Somewhere in her smile she knows, that I don't need no other lover, something in her style that shows me." When this came up on shuffle I thought "this blog just got serious". We are talking about one of the great love songs of all time. Frank Sinatra felt the same and called it his favorite Lennon/McCartney song. Of course "Something" was written by George Harrison. It's easy to forgive 'old blue eyes' given the fact that Harrison compositions represented such a small percentage of The Beatles catalogue. "Something" is the 2nd song from "Abbey Road". Rolling Stone magazine recently ranked "Something" as the 6th best Beatles song of all time. In 2003 the magazine ranked "Abbey Road" as the 14th greatest album of all time. They placed 4 Beatles albums ahead of "Abbey Road" including "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as the #1 album of all time. Have they even listened to these albums? "Abbey Road" is The Beatles at their best. The Rolling Stone top 10 list is all albums from the 60s and 70s. In all fairness to Rolling Stone the list was compiled pre-Lady Gaga. We have to imagine "The Fame Monster" is now in their top ten.

2. What Is Life- George Harrison

• "What I feel, I can't say, but my love is there for you any time of day, but if it's not love that you need, then I'll try my best to make everything succeed." In 1970 George Harrison released his 1st post-Beatles solo album "All Things Must Pass". It features great songs like "What Is Life", "If Not For You" and "My Sweet Lord" to name a few. Harrison's earlier solo efforts, recorded and released while The Beatles were still together- "Wonderwall Music" (1968) and "Electronic Sound" (1969) were experimental efforts. "All Things Must Pass" is a proper solo album and a masterpiece. In the late 60's Harrison was growing as a songwriter but having a hard time getting The Beatles to record his songs. The Beatles had rejected a number of his songs, including the gorgeous "Isn't it a Pity" which found its way onto "All Things Must Pass". Harrison had so much material built up that "All Things Must Pass" was issued as a triple LP. The album would become the most commercially successful solo album from any of the former Beatles. I remember reading John Lennon's reaction to "All Things Must Pass" the Harrison biography "Dark Horse: The Life and Art of George Harrison"- he offered some polite praise but questioned if it really warranted three LPs. Way to be magnanimous John.

3. Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind- The Lovin' Spoonful

• "Sometimes there's one with big blue eyes, cute as a bunny, with hair down to here and plenty of money, and just when you think she's that one in the world, you heart gets stolen by some mousey little girl." In my day pop songs were 2 minutes long and that's the way we liked it. "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind" clocks in at just under 2 minutes. If I had a nickel for every 'mousey little girl' who's stolen my heart I could quit my day job. The Lovin' Spoonful were lead by singer/songwriter John Sebastian. Sebastain went on to write the hit song "Welcome Back" which was commissioned as the theme to the sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter". Had he known the show would help launch the career of John Travolta and the song would be sampled decades later by the rapper Mase he may have decided to keep the song to himself.

Workers of the World Unite Edition

1. If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)- NaS

• "Imagine smoking weed in the streets without cops harassing, imagine going to court with no trial, lifestyle cruising blue behind my waters, no welfare supporters more conscious of the way we raise our daughters." In 1996 Nasir Jones teamed up with Lauryn Hill of Fugees fame to record this crossover hit. "If I Ruled the World" is based on a Kurtis Blow song of the same name. It also references The Delfonics song "Walk Right Up to the Sun". If you want to get a feel for Kurtis Blow's original "If I Ruled the World" look no further than the 1985 film "Krush Groove". Not only will you see Kurtis Blow rock the mic but you'll get a look at a 17 year old LL Cool J and pre-"Licensed to Ill" Beastie Boys. If you like NaS and reworked old school hip hop you should check out his cover of Slick Rick's "Hey Young World" from Levi's Pioneer Sessions 2010 Revival Recordings.

2. I Wanna Be Your Lover- Prince

• "I wanna be your lover, I wanna be the only one who makes you come running, I wanna be your lover, I wanna turn you on, turn you out, all night long, make you shout." Shakedown 1979. The purple one kicks off his self tittled sophomore release with this pop classic. The album also features "I Feel For You" which would become a big hit for a Rufus-less Chaka Khan 5 years later. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" fits in with the disco style of the time yet it stands up years later much better than most of the music from that era. If you didn't know any better you'd peg this for a mid 80s hit. An aging Marvin Gaye started to view Prince as a threat after the success of "I Wanna Be Your Lover" as critics framed Prince as the era's new sex symbol. I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on the "Prince" LP cover- a shirtless long haired Prince complete with mustache. What a sight to behold.

3. Hot Blooded- Foreigner

• "You don't have to read my mind, to know what I have in mind, honey you ought to know, now you move so fine, let me lay it on the line, I wanna know what you're doing after the show." I spent the better part of my sophomore year in college playing NHL 96 and listening to Foreigner's greatest hits. Songs like "Double Vision" and "Head Games" found their way into our hockey vocabulary. If you gave me a week to prepare I'm fairly confident that I could beat anyone with the 96 Florida Panthers. The lads in Foreigner were some randy fellows. Songs like "Urgent", "Feels Like the First Time" and "Hot Blooded" are all about shagging in the sheets. Foreigner tours to this day and while the band has gone through countless line up changes, the band's founding guitarist Mick Jones has been a constant. 1977''s Hot Blooded" is built on Jones's hot guitar riff and lead signer Lou Gramm's hormonally charged lyrics. These days Lou is hot blooded for the Lord; his band released an album of Christian music in 2009.

1. Brain Damage- Pink Floyd

• "And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear, you shout and no one seems to hear, and if the band you're in starts playing different tunes, I'll see you on the dark side of the moon." I'm pretty sure Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album spent more time on the charts than any other LP in history. Songs like "Money", "Time" and "Brain Damage" help explain why. I'm not the type to smoke drugs, but if I did this would be a pretty great album for enhancing the experience. For me not many lyrics can top, "the lunatic is in my head". If you play acoustic guitar you know that some songs never sound quite as good as the record whereas some sound just right. Some even have specific chords/moments that sound perfect. The C7 in the bridge to "Different Drum" is an example and in this case the G7 in the verse of "Brain Damage". If you don't play guitar it's never to late to pick one up and get frustrated.

2. Gone Away From Me- Ray LaMontagne

• "For a while I sat there staring at the photograph, for a while I cried and tried not to make a scene, there was a time when we were young, but life is long, my love has gone away from me." If you like feeling depressed (I know I do) then "Gone Away From Me" is right in your wheelhouse. The intro to "Gone Away From Me", with it's mellow acoustic guitar and horns has a Gram Parsons/"Cant Always Get What You Want" feel. Lyrically it's the stuff of slitting your wrists ala James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend" and R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts". All jokes aside, "Gone Away From Me" is quite gorgeous. This past week I was talking to a friend about the pleasures of being a working stiff. I recalled Ray LaMontagne's comments from his Live at Abbey Road studio performance. I paraphrased then but I'll quote here- "you go to work, you do your robot bit for the day, you come home turn the TV on, you hypnotize yourself for 4, 5,6 hours and then you go to bed and get up and do the same thing. It's just a crazy world." Amen.

3. Lonely Computer Screen (live)- Mason Jennings

• "One day you'll wake up to find, the world is full of things you left behind, babies crying steal you from your sleep, the love you feel is now twice as deep." What a timely selection. Mason Jennings released "Live at First Ave" this past Tuesday. It features three new songs including "Lonely Computer Screen". The album largely focuses on material from Jennings's last studio effort "Blood of Man"; 9 of that album's 11 songs are represented here. "Blood of Man" threw me for a loop when it came out last fall. It's mostly built around electric guitars and is much louder and darker than Mason's previous work. As an example the "your scripture won't save you when my gun's in your mouth" lyric from "Black Wind Blowing" comes to mind. Once the record sank in I realized how many great songs it featured "Live at First Ave" drives that point home. "Lonely Computer Screen" isn't destined to be one of my favorites but "Live at First Ave" does a great job capturing the feel of a live Mason Jennings show.

1. Legalize It- Peter Tosh

• "Singers smoke it, and players of instrument too, legalize it, yeah, yeah, that's the best thing you can do." Peter Tosh was the original guitar player for The Wailers, who also featured Bob Marley and went on to become the most famous reggae band of all time. "Legalize It" comes from Tosh's mid 70's solo debut of the same name. If anyone was confused about what Tosh wanted to see legalized he helped the audience out with the album cover. He appears smoking marijuana, surrounded by marijuana and upon first release the album featured a marijuana scented sticker. I think I've got it. I don't have much reggae in my collection but the "Scenario" reference to Tosh (courtesy of Busta Rhymes) alone made me want to have something from him on my iPod. Quite recently I added an early Wailers cover of "What's New Pussycat" to said iPod. I acquired this as a part of a "Sex Bomb" compilation from a Tom Jones 70th birthday celebration party. The cover has me wishing I could hear more Tom Jones in the Trenchtown style.

2. Lying In The Hands of God- Dave Matthews Band

• "Save your sermons for someone that's afraid to love, if you knew what I feel then you couldn't be so sure, I'll be right here lying in the hands of God." If I'm not mistaken, Dave Matthews claims that he's not a person of faith. If that is the case he spends an awful lot of time singing about God, Jesus, and making biblical references for someone that doesn't believe. "Lying In The Hands of God" comes to us from DMB's latest album "Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King". The album is great from top to bottom. "Lying In The Hands of God" isn't one of my favorite songs from the collection but it's not bad. This happens to be the song Dave stretched to new lengths with jamming when I saw him in concert most recently. The summer before "#41" got the marathon treatment at the show I saw. I have a number of great memories from the latest DMB show from earlier this summer. The show itself was amazing, our tailgate wasn't far behind and I inadvertently walked in on a girl in a port-o-pottie while her dress was half way above her head. It was hilarious, horrifying and taught her a lesson about locking the door.

3. Nothing- Mason Jennings

• "Things that I buy and things that I think, haven't made this a better place to be, drugs that I try and drinks that I drink, haven't made this a better place to be." Great song from a great artist. Period. "Nothing" is one of the stand out songs from Jenning's self titled debut. Mason has come up fairly often on the blog and I've talked at length about how much I enjoy his music. I haven't talked about my first introduction to his music. My ex has been a music supplier for years. If you listen to "I'm Your Pusher" by Ice-T you'll get an appreciation for how getting hooked on great music is better than drugs...but probably just as addictive. She boiled 4 Mason Jennings albums into a best of mix, akin to turning cocaine into crack rock. I can remember listening to that mix over and over in the summer of 06. Of course I now purchase his albums, learn his songs on guitar and see him in concert. I'm hooked.

1. Body Movin'- Beastie Boys

• "Now let me get some action from the back section, we need body rockin' not perfection. I'm so sweet like a nice bon bon, came out rapping when I was born." I have two fond memories of this song that involve my friend Mike D. "Body Movin'" was one of the first songs played at his wedding reception back in 2007- not the 1st song which would have been "Scenario" by A Tribe Called Quest as the new couple was introduced. Fresh off surgery Mike was the best dancer on the floor but I also remember his wife throwing down as well. The other memory would be when the song first came out in the summer of 98. We were somewhere at the Jersey shore (Sea Isle? Avalon?) and decided to take one night off from heavy drinking. I got new strings for my guitar and Mike picked up "Hello Nasty" at midnight. I remember Mike cracking a beer open early the next morning to the disgust of our housemates who were hurting from the night before. "Hello Nasty" got heavy play the rest of our time at the beach.

2. Praying For Time- George Michael

• "I may have to much but I'll take my chances, cause God's stopped keeping score, and you cling to the things they sold you, did you cover your eyes when they told you, that he can't come back, cause he has no children to come back for." George Michael's solo debut "Faith" wasn't lacking for serious material; songs like "Father Figure" and "Hand To Mouth" showed his maturity. Most of this was lost as the most recognizable image from this era was Michael shaking his ass in tight jeans in the video for "Faith". His follow up album "Listen Without Prejudice" sought to move beyond his sex symbol status with songs like "Freedom 9o" and "Praying For Time". In "Praying For Time" Michael sings about things like poverty and injustice with an apocalyptic tone. The song manged to reach #1 on the singles chart without a video which is fairly remarkable by 1990 standards given how many people wanted their MTV and relied on it for popular music.

3. I'm So Tired- The Beatles

• "You'd say I'm putting you you on, but it's no joke, it's doing me harm, you know I can't sleep, I can't stop my brain, you know it's three weeks, I'm going insane, I'd give you everything I've got for a little piece of mind." If you don't have a copy of "The Beatles (White Album)" you should remedy that as soon as possible. It's like the line in the film "High Fidelity": (Barry) " Don't tell anyone you don't own 'Blonde on Blonde'. It's going to be ok." "The Beatles (White Album)" happens to be the first Beatles album I added to my collection and remains one of my all time favorite records. "Abbey Road" may be a more brilliant cohesive statement but "The Beatles (White Album)" is a treasure trove with more than it's fair share of musical gems. This particular version of "I'm So Tired" comes from the Anthology series. It's quite similar to the version on the "The Beatles (White Album)" with a few exceptions. There is no organ part which helps to give the song an even grittier feel. My favorite thing about this version is when John Lennon sings the "I wonder should I call you, but i know what you do" vocal and takes it in a different melodic direction than what I'm used to in the "The Beatles (White Album)" version. It sounds sooo good.

1. Squeeze Box- The Who

• "Well the kids don't eat and the dog can't sleep, there's no escape from the music in the whole damn street, cause she's playing all night and the music's alright, Mama's got a squeeze box, Daddy never sleeps at night." Pete Townshend was surprised that this dirty little joke became a big hit for The Who. Here are his reflections on "Squeeze Box" from the "The Who By Numbers" album liner notes: "Intended as a poorly aimed dirty joke. I had bought an accordion and learned to play it one afternoon. Amazingly recorded by The Who to my disbelief. Further incredulity was caused when it became a hit for us in the USA." A squeeze box is of course slang for an accordion. The lyrics in the song are nothing more than euphemisms for hanky panky, or making whoopee if you prefer. "Squeeze Box" spent the most time on the Billboard top 100 singles chart out of all The Who singles. Speaking from personal experience, unless you are Pete Townshend don't bother trying to teach yourself accordion.

2. Sweet City Woman- The Stampeders

• "Like a country morning all smothered in dew, ah she's got a way to make her man feel shiny and new, and she sing in the evening, oh familiar tunes, and she feeds me love and tenderness and macaroons." If you dig the banjo and nice harmonies then you'll have a hard time resisting "Sweet City Woman". It's a fun song in the vein of "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry. My favorite memory of this song is from last summer. I was making a 2am drive in Ocean City Maryland from Seacrets to Tugos for some late night pizza. My friend and I, windows down, blasted "Sweet City Woman" for our own amusement but also for the pleasure of the girls in the car next to us at the traffic light. Amazingly these girls (young 20s I'd guess) were not feeling "Sweet City Woman". Sadly the Stampeders were lost on them. Another fond memory of this song involved eating Bunny Burgers (no macaroons...sorry) on the way to State College. "Bon c'est Bon!"

Childlike Wildlife- Jason Mraz

• "Well I guess I'll treat her right, I guess I'll treat her more right this time, I'll try not to rely, try not to rely on the perfect line." This is a somewhat obscure Mraz song. It appeared in studio form on two early independent releases- 1999's "A Jason Mraz Demonstration" and 2001's "From the Cutting Room Floor". It showed up again in 2007 on the live "Selection For Friends" online release. The most notable thing about "Childlike Wildlife" is the 2nd half of the song which is based on a groove that sounds oh so much like the riff from "Curbside Prophet". Speaking of "Curbside Prophet" there is a great live version on 2002's "Sold Out (In Stereo)" which contains a number of brilliant lyrical references including one about the Stevie Wonder episode of The Cosby Show. "Jammin' on the one!". I have tickets to see the "geek in the pink" at the University of Delaware in September. I planned on going with a hot married friend but when she proved unavailable I resorted to taking a hot single friend who has no interest in me. It's great to have options.

San Diego Edition

1. Fakin' It- Simon & Garfunkel

• "I'm such a dubious soul, and a walk in the garden...wears me down, tangled in the fallen vines, pickin' up the punch lines, I've just been fakin' it, not really makin' it." My favorite Simon & Garfunkel album would have to be "Bookends" despite the brilliance of the group's follow up and final studio album "Bridge Over Troubled Water". What "Bookends" lacks in "Greatest Hits" material (there is some) it more than makes up for with gem after gem. Songs like "Fakin' It", "Save The Life Of My Child" and "At the Zoo" are great songs that showcase the duo at their best. Most bands split up too late, years after they've run out of material. These guys were getting better with each album.

2. I'm Yours- Jason Mraz

• "Well open up your mind and see like me, open up your plans and damn you're free, look into your heart and you'll find love love love love. But I won't hesitate, no more no more, it can not wait, I'm yours." It's hard to imagine anything being better than LeAnn Rimes but "I'm Yours" topped "How Do I Live" to set the record for the longest run on the Billboard "Hot 100" chart at over 70 weeks. The song first appeared on an iTunes-only EP released in conjunction with Mraz's 2nd commercial full length album "Mr. A-Z". The song would disappear only to re-emerge (re-recorded) as the lead single to the follow up album "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things". "I'm Yours" lost out to John Mayer's "Say" for the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy in 2009 despite being the biggest song from that year. Perhaps as a make up Mraz was given that award in 2010 for his song "Make It Mine". The original version of "I'm Yours" (now labeled as a demo) is once again available on iTunes. After seeing how this song has been embraced internationally it dawned on me that this is one of the great pop songs of all time.

3. Jesus Gave Me Water- Sam Cooke

• "...Jesus gave me water, I want let his praises swell, Jesus gave me water, Jesus gave me water, Jesus gave me water, and it was not in the well." Before Sam Cooke was Sam Cooke he was a teenage member of the gospel outfit The Soul Stirrers. "Jesus Gave Me Water" is from Sam's 1st recording session with the group when he was just 19. The results are wonderful. Given the content of the Soul Stirrers music Gospel may be the best tag but this music is 50's doo-wop at it's finest...they just happen to be singing about Jesus. "Jesus Gave Me Water" has made it way onto a number of Sam Cooke compilations including "Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964" which has to be the authoritative single disc greatest hits collection. That being said, "Jesus, I'll Never Forget" to me is a much better Sam Cooke/Soul Stirrers song. It was used in the Cohen Brothers film "The Ladykillers". The less we say about that movie the better.

1. War of My Life- John Mayer

• "Come out angels, come out ghosts, come out darkness, bring everyone you know, I'm not running and I'm not scared, I am waiting an well prepared. All the suffering and all the pain never left a name." Everyone has trials in their life- suffering and striving are universal. "This album is dedicated to....all the n*ggas in the struggle". That of course was Biggie Smalls introducing us to "Juicy" but the sentiment here is about the same. "War of My Life" (from John Mayer's latest album "Battle Studies") is meant to be accessible; we should all be able to relate to this. I'm not sure who I am to question Steve Jordan's production choices given the fact that he helped mastermind the sound on "Continuum" but the studio version of "War of My Life" sounds a bit murky, as if the guitar leads were recorded under water. That being said the overall feel of the record hits the right emotional notes. John Mayer debuted this song this time a year ago in a small venue in Los Angeles. Where did the last year of my life go?

2. Purple Pills- D12

• "I take a couple uppers, I down a couple downers, but nothing compares to these blue and yellow purple pills." It's always nice to have a few songs in your collection that glamorize recreational drug use. D12 features Eminem and a handful of his boys from Detroit. To help commercialize the song (i.e. get it played on radio and TV) the song was reworked as "Purple Hills" with a few lyrical modifications. Searching for old records to sample is known to many in hip-hop as "digging in the crates". It really is an art form. The quest for that moment in an old record that can be reworked into something new and different is some people's life work. In the case of "Purple Pills" I must say bravo. "Purple Pills" is based on a sample of Ray (Oh yes they call him the streak) Steven's "Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant Tasting Green and Purple Pills". We're not exactly sampling James Brown or Parliament Funkadelic here.

3. Red Bus Needs To Leave!- DJ Shadow

• (instrumental) Speaking of "digging in the crates" we have come to one of the masters. Josh Davis a.k.a. DJ Shadow has made a career out of blending moments from obscure and long lost records into brand new music. His breakthrough "Endtroducing...." was reissued several years ago as a "Deluxe Edition" with a bonus disc of material. The bonus disc has a number of cool moments. "Red Bus Needs To Leave!" is not one of the more notable selections but he bonus disc is labeled as "excessive ephemera" so it's not like we haven't been warned.

1. Radio Ga Ga- Queen

• "So don't become some background noise, a backdrop for the girls and boys, who just don't know or just don't care. All we hear is Radio ga ga." How this hasn't been remixed/reworked into a Lady Gaga song is beyond my powers of comprehension. I wasn't quite sure when this song was recorded but the production is a give away that we were talking about the golden age of the 1980s. Turns out the song was released in 1984 -back when I was a part of the Pepsi Generation and several years from being a part of the Electric Youth movement. I can remember having a late night/early morning conversation about music with a guy working the desk at a hotel. It wasn't a hotel where I was staying or visiting anyone but I found myself there none the less. We were talking about the greatest "popular singers" of all time. I threw out a few of my favorites like Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke. This dude (an older black guy) told me that Freddie Mercury was the best pop singer ever. The more I listen to Queen the more I can see where he was coming from.

2. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed- The Allman Brothers Band

• (instrumental) There's an episode of the Simpson's (All's Fair in Oven War) where Bart and Milhouse begin to live the "Playdude" lifestyle by doing a number of cool adult things including listening to jazz music. They both seem to enjoy it though Milhouse muses aloud, "I wonder when they'll start singing". "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" has me wondering the same thing. This studio version, found on "Idlewild South" and "A Decade of Hits 1969-1979" clocks in at almost 7 minutes. The famed 1971 live "At Filmore East" album finds the band stretching the number another 6 minutes. At times "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" is tight, focused, and downright funky. At other times it's rather masturbatory and meandering...but hey, I'm just the critic. If you are really a fan of an extended southern rock jams that can take your mind to another dimension I recommend the Allman's "Mountain Jam" from the classic "Eat a Peach" double LP. Not only does it clock in at over 33 minutes but if you have the album on vinyl you'll need to take side 2 off of your record player and put side 4 on to hear the whole thing. Love it.

3. I Want You Back- The Jackson 5

• "Tryin' to live without your love was one long sleepless night, let me show you girl that I know wrong from right, every street you walk on I leave tear stains on the ground, following the girl I didn't even want around." As far as debut singles go this one isn't half bad, and by that I mean it's one of the greatest of all time. "I Want You Back" introduced America to the Jackson family including some 10 year old named Michael. This song pretty much leaps off your turntable- 2 minutes and 59 seconds of R&B/funk/soul pleasure. This is one of 3 versions of the song in my collection. I have an acoustic cover by Jer Coons which puts the song in a singer/songwriter context. I also have the Z-Trip version from the "Motown Remixed" album which puts it in a hip hop form. My favorite part of the Z-trip remix is the extended intro which gives us a greater appreciation for the wonderful electric guitar riff that forms the basis of the song. I can't tell what's better in the original song- the music track or the vocal. They are both impeccable.

1. Galileo- Indigo Girls

• "And then you had to bring up reincarnation over a couple of beers the other night. I offer thanks to those before me, that's all I've got to say, cause maybe you've squandered big bucks in your lifetime, now I have to pay." About 5 years ago I can remember playing "Galileo" and "Closer To Fine" on acoustic guitar for a girl I had recently met...a girl I dubbed "L.T. Smash". She was rather impressed that a guy would know how to play these types of songs (chick songs?). I was more impressed that she was able to do back to back power hours without getting sick (which I did). Gotta love college girls. "Galileo" is a brilliant song. My favorite version is from the "Y100 Sonic Sessions Vol. 1" CD. The energy between the band and the crowd is unmatched. Normally when a band has the crowd sing a few lines it's a disaster but in this case it sounds amazing. It's by far one of my favorite live recordings of all time.

2. The Impression That I Get- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

• "Have you ever had the odds stacked up so high, you need a strength most don't possess, or has it ever come down to do or die, you've got to rise above the rest." Yes. Have you ever had to knock on wood? Apparently the lead singer of the Bosstones hasn't but he still managed to write a great song about it. I don't have much in the way of ska in my collection but "The Impression That I Get" is one of those modern rock crossovers I happen to know and love. Modern of course being the late 90s. Speaking of knocking on wood...when I was a kid I had a cover of Eddie Floyd's "Knock on Wood" on 45 that I'd spin on my turntable when I really wanted to rock out. I suppose "The Impression That I Get" has even more kick than that old 45.

3. All Night Long (Live)- Jason Mraz

• "Well my friends the time has come, to raise the roof and have some fun, throw away the work to be done, let the music play on (play on, play on). This is a fun song- I don't care who you are. The original of course is one of the countless hits from superstar Lionel Richie. Lionel set the modern record for the most consecutive years with a #1 hit single. If you check out Lionel's video for "All Night Long"you not only get to see Mr. Richie cut a rug but you get some popping and locking as well. B-boys and B-girls should not miss it. You can check out the video on YouTube or do like me and buy his video collection on DVD. Some things we need to cherish. Jason Mraz does a nice cover version on his "Live on Earth" CD/DVD. The vocals are tight plus the percussion and horn line sound great. Sail on Jason.

This isn't Bastille Day weekend, what's all the fuss edition

1. Sunrise- The Who

• "You take away the breath I was keeping for sunrise, you appear and the morning looks drab in my eyes, and then again I'll turn down love, having seen you again, once more you'll disappear, my morning put to shame." I'm too lazy to dig up the liner notes for "The Who Sell Out" at the moment but if memory serves Pete Townshend wrote this song to prove to his mother that he could write jazz. Take that Mrs. Townshend. "Sunrise" is quite unlike any song you've heard from The Who. We have Pete Townshend on vocals and acoustic guitar (channeling his inner Barney Kessel) while the rest of the band is nowhere to be found. It's not obvious what the remaining members of The Who would have done on this song. The results of "Sunrise" are in fact quite jazzy. As far as I know The Who never performed this song live. Hearing "Sunrise" reminds me how each Who song started out as a Townshend demo. The Lifehouse Demos box set (for the avid fan) or Lifehouse Chronicles compilation CD (for the faint of heart) as well as the "Scoop" collections provide brilliant insight into the origins of a number of Who classics.

2. Talking About My Baby- The Impressions

• "I wanna talk about my baby (yeah yeah), she does the walk real nice (yeah yeah), there's no questions about maybe, for her I'd make any sacrifice." The first 6 seconds of "Talking About My Baby" are heaven sent. Curtis Mayfield gives us a soulful guitar lick for the ages....it's so pure. When the horns and the rest of the band kick in the sound gets even better. By the time the vocals (and backing vocals) arrive we've gone to another level. If you are a fan of soul music, "Talking About My Baby" ought to be in your collection. When Curtis Mayfield passed away I remember reading a quote (which may have been from Mayfield himself) that said his particular style of guitar playing was passing away as well. If you listen to Mayfield's lick here it is impossible not to hear how he influenced Jimi Hendrix. On top of the great guitar sound his voice is so distinctive there is no mistaking it. "Talking About My Baby" gets an A+++.

3. In Da Club- 50 Cent

• "Go shawty, it's your birthday." I can remember the 1st time I heard this song. My friend Mike D played it for me at the Days Inn (State College) on a burnt CD, playing on a Sony PlayStation connected to the hotel room TV. I was told it would be a popular song. I had no idea. Now it's hard to remember life before 50. These days gangsta rappers are spokesjacks for things like Vitamin Water (50 Cent) and Dr. Pepper (Dr. Dre) so we can't escape them even if we wanted to. One of the more memorable lines from "In Da Club" is "Banks told me, go ahead switch the style up, and if 'they' hate then let 'em hate and watch the money pile up." Of course Kanye West took the lyric and ran with it in "Good Life" on 2007's "Graduation". "Graduation" was released the same day as 50's "Curtis" LP. 50 boasted (hip hop does encourage boasting) that he'd retire if "Graduation" outsold "Curtis". Of course it did and he didn't. "In Da Club" will go down in the all time pantheon of great hip hop songs and I'm not one to argue.

1. Not Myself (Demo)- John Mayer

• "Suppose I said, colors change for...no good reason, and words will go from poetry to prose, would you want me when I'm not myself, wait it out while I am someone else. Suppose I said you're my saving grace." The demo version of "Not Myself" comes from the "Why Georgia" CD single. I'm not quite sure if record companies make CD singles anymore which is a shame because they often serve as a great place to pick up non-album B-sides and other lost treasures. "Not Myself" is one of the many great acoustic based songs on John Mayer's major label debut "Room For Squares". The demo doesn't vary all that much from the version on the album but it makes for an interesting listen. There is a great live (in studio) version of "Not Myself" recorded back in 2001 for a venture called getmusic.com. The video clip is available on Youtube and features Mayer on acoustic guitar with bassist David Labruyere. It's kinda hard for me to believe that this song came out almost 10 years ago.

2. I Need You Tonight- INXS

• "I need you tonight, cause I'm not sleeping, there's something about you girl, that makes me sweat. So slide over here, and give me a moment, your moves are so raw, I've got to let you know, I've got to let you know, you're one of my kind." INXS released "Kick" in 1987 and it's massive success made them one of the biggest bands in the world. "I Need You Tonight" went all the way to #1 and there were 3 other top 10 hits on the album. There are a lot of things to like about "I Need You Tonight"; the beat, the lyrics, the general sensuality to name a few....but it's all about the guitar riff. The hook (the guitar hook in this case) brings us back. The brilliant guitar riff is funk/soul yet the song remains rooted in rock and roll. Perhaps that's one explanation for what made it so popular in the 1st place. "I Need You Tonight" fit in on the pop top 40 stations just as well as the rock stations.

3. It's a Shame- The Spinners

• "It's a shame (sha-ame), the way you mess around with your man, it's a shame (sha-ame), the way you hurt me, it's a shame (sha-ame), the way you mess around with your man." When I think of great guitar riffs my mind doesn't go to soul music right away but in the case of "It's a Shame" we have another song where the guitar hook is out of this world. What is also out of this world is the falsetto we hear on the bridge. Of course when the Spinners sing the song it's about some girl who is doing some guy wrong. Since that sort of thing is universal it didn't take much to remake the song from the female perspective. In 1990, English female MC Monie Love remade "It's a Shame" with a hip-hop twist. I most recently heard "It's a Shame" while enjoying a boat ride in Ocean City Maryland this weekend. It was a fantastic 5 day vacation that will come to a crashing halt when I go into the office tomorrow morning. That my friends is a shame.

1. The Ballad of El Goodo- Evan Dando

• "Years ago my heart was set to live, oh, but I've been trying hard against unbelievable odds, it gets so hard at times like now to hold on, guns they wait to be stuck by, and at my side is God." This cover of Big Star's "The Ballad of El Goodo" comes to us courtesy of the Empire Records movie soundtrack. Mr. Dando does a fine version which is pretty consistent with the original. "The Ballad of El Goodo" is quickly becoming one of my favorite songs. Learning it on guitar made me appreciate it even more. The "...there ain't no one gonna to turn me 'round" lyric is priceless. If you think Big Star is just an obscure 70s band with no impact on today's music you may want to think again. After Big Star co-front man Alex Chilton died last month, Katy Perry's manager asked her to change the spelling of her song "California Girls" to California Gurls" as an homage to the band, and their song "September Gurls". "California Gurls" is currently sitting at the #1 singles spot on iTunes. It's nice to know that someone making disposable music is managed by someone who enjoys the classics.

2. Life- Sly & The Family Stone

• "Life, life, clouds and clowns, you don't have to come down, life (who hoo), life (whoo hoo), tell it like it is, you don't have to die before you live." Around the same time The Band told us that "Life is a Carnival", Sly & The Family Stone recorded a song called "Life" that sounds like a carnival. The only way I could feel more like I'm at a carnival while listening to "Life" would be to eat some funnel cake and have someone guess my weight "carnie" style during the song. I'm in the 185-190 range if you're keeping tabs at home. I do enjoy the lyric about not having to die before you live. This is good news since dying is easy while the resurrection part proves more tricky. As always, "Life" finds Sly & The Family Stone as funky as ever. All they wanna do is take us higher.

3. Cath...- Death Cab For Cutie

• "Cath, she stands with a well-intentioned man, but she can't relax with his hand on the small of her back, and as the flashbulbs burst, she holds a smile like someone would hold a crying child." Death Cab's music may be getting more up-tempo and accessible, but it doesn't mean Ben Gibbard's lyrics are any less depressing...if you pay attention to them. "Cath..." is a great example of the dichotomy between upbeat music (the main guitar riff is sublime) and gloomy lyrics. In the song we find that the protagonist (Cath I presume) settles in her marriage, which "closed the door on so many men who would have loved you more". To make matters worse the move makes sense since her "heart was dying fast". Bravo Death Cab. Of course in the 1996 "Homerpalooza" episode of The Simpsons which parodies the alternative music scene of the day, Bart tells us that "making teenagers depressed is like shooting fish in a barrel." Hard to argue.

1. The Next Day- Glen Phillips

• "Tic-toc the hour goes, junk food junk TV shows, I can't remember, one thing that I took in, everyday, I promise (that), I will change, the next day." In 2006 Glen Phillips released his 3rd full length solo studio album "Mr. Lemons". Since then Glen has released an EP of space inspired music, formed and recorded albums with multiple "side project" bands, fallen trough a glass table, and reunited sporadically with his band Toad the Wet Sprocket. In short he's done everything but issue a proper follow up to Mr. Lemons. Thankfully there is enough great material on his 1st 3 albums to make the wait bearable. "The Next Day" is one of the better songs from "Mr. Lemons". Perhaps the most notable song from the collection is a brilliant reworking of "I Want a New Drug" by Huey Lewis & The News. For me though the ultimate gem is "Everything But You"...a song that sounds better every time I listen to it. Speaking of "tic-toc" I'll go ahead and call myself out by admitting that I was dancing to Ke$ha at a bar last night. I'm not proud of that.

2. Giving It All Away- Roger Daltrey

• "I paid all my dues so I picked up my shoes, I got up and walked away, oh I was just a boy, I didn't know how to play, worked hard and failed, now all I can say, is I threw it all away, oh I was just a boy, giving it all away." Despite being the front man for The Who, Roger Daltrey never seemed to be in a position to break out on his own. Pete Townshend served as the band's principle songwriter and as a result held all of the cards. That was until 1973 when Roger teamed up with David Courtney and Leo Sayer who penned "Giving It All Away" for him. It became Daltrey's 1st hit song outside of The Who. Leo Sayer would turn around and record his own version a year later. Of course a few years after that, Sayer would record "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" which is one of the most effeminate recordings known to man. A few summers ago I played "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" on a jukebox at a Chicago bar as a joke. When a few girls got into it I approached them and asked if they were into Leo Sayer....of course they had no idea and thought that I was the one who was strange.

3. If You Want Me To Stay- Sly & The Family Stone

• "If you want me to stay, I'll be around today, to be available for you to see, I'm about to go and then you'll know, for me to stay I've got to be me." We all know that groove is in the heart. In this case the bass groove in "If You Want Me To Stay" is the heart of the song. There are a lot of things to like about this song- the great vocal, the funky horns and keys but they all take a back seat to the bass line. Of course Sly & The Family Stone had a significant influence on much of the music that came in their wake. In 2006, Sony records put out "Different Strokes By Different Folks" which featured current artists recording new parts overdubbed alongside the original Sly recordings. It's like singing with a dead Nat King Cole but with a lot more funk. The range of artists on the collection (The Roots, Joss Stone, Moby, Steven Tyler) speak to the broad influence of Sly & The Family Stone.

1. When You Come Back Down- Nickel Creek

• "When you're flying high, take my heart along, I'll be the harmony to every lonely song, that you learn to play, when you're soaring through the air, I'll be your solid ground, take every chance you dare, I'll still be there, when you come back down." Nickel Creek came up on the blog about 6 weeks ago with the ultra-smooth "Out Of The Woods". "When You Come Back Down" is more of the same, and that's a good thing. The lyrics, instrumentation and melodies are nice. The harmonies are outstanding. The harmonies set the song apart. I referenced hearing Nickel Creek for the 1st time on a trip from Vegas to the Grand Canyon. My time in the canyon was brief but quite memorable. I arrived with sun poisoning from laying out at the Mandalay Bay for hours without sunscreen (I apparently need humidity to tell me I'm roasting). Doped up on various medication I nearly passed out in a bathtub full of water the 1st night. I rallied the next night and partied into the early morning hours with canyon locals, drank Knob Creek, talked trash to a Pitt grad and woke up with a Native American girl nowhere near my hotel. Ah, to be 23 again.

2. I Me Mine- The Beatles

• "All through the day, I me mine, I me mine, I me mine, all through the night, I me mine, I me mine, I me mine." Can't we all just get along? "I Me Mine" from the album "Let It Be" is believed to be George Harrison's comment on the infighting amongst The Beatles as egos spiraled out of control and the band began to implode. Rolling Stone magazine had a great article last year about the breakup of the band which made it seem like John Lennon's insecurities played a central role in the demise of the fab four. The article suggested that Lennon couldn't keep up with McCartney's songwriting in terms of quantity and couldn't handle it. "I Me Mine" is one of the last songs the group recorded together although John Lennon was absent from the recordings. The "Let It Be" version features string and brass overdubs from producer Phil Spector. A more stripped down version appears on both the "Anthology 3" collection and "Let it Be...Naked".

3. Pablo Picasso- Citizen Cope

• "If I had a pistol, I'd brandish it and waive it, she's the only one alive that knows that I'm not crazy." Citizen Cope first entered my consciousness when he appeared at Jammin Java in northern VA. This is the same venue where I did my 1st open mic after a few too many adult beverages. "Pablo Picasso" comes from "The Clarence Greenwood Recordings" album. Citizen Cope probably falls into the alt-rock category but there are heavy reggae and hip hop influences in his sound. "Pablo Picasso" isn't one of my favorites but the album has some great songs. "Sideways" (featured in the "My Jiggly Ball" episode of Scrubs) is amazing mellow-awesomeness, "Son's Gonna Rise" thumps, "Bullet and a Target" has been used in numerous films and TV shows, and "Hurricane Waters" is so good that Richie Havens recorded a version of it for his last album. If Citizen Cope returns to Jammin Java I may be available to open.