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.