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.