Songs revisited

I guess I’ve done this in reverse. Reading more of the King column in Entertainment Weekly, I see that he offered his list of most played songs from his itunes library only after he had listed his favorite songs from his itunes library.

After looking at my most played songs (and I really had no idea what they would really be), I was amazed that they weren’t the ones I would have guessed. I mean how can you listen to a song over 200 times and NOT thing it was one of my most played or favorites.

So here is a look at the ten best songs from my itunes library.

10. “Sleigh Ride” – Johnny Mathis. A Christmas song??? True. It’s not even close to the proper time of the year (well, it did snow this week). However, this is an incredible song. I don’t care if it’s 90 degrees outside, if I hear this song, I am all hyped for Christmas. Mathis hits every note perfectly. I can’t help but hear this and think of Christmas tins and Norman Rockwell’s work when I hear this.

9. “The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald” – Gordon Ligthfoot. Maybe one of the best songs written. Ever. The lyrics are hypnotic – and poignant. The music is equally hypnotic.

8. “Suite Judy Blue Eyes” – Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Brilliant. Beautiful. Epic. The best from a legendary band. Not only does the rhythm change throughout the song, but so do the emotions. It’s impossible to not feel relief, hope, and joy when listening to this.

7. “Hotel California” – Eagles. Scared the hell out of me as a kid. “You can check out anytime you want . . . but you can never leeeeeaveee!” What a great final line. The lyrics are brilliant and the entire song is a powerful symbol (for what, well, you have to decide for yourself on that one).

6. “Learning to Fly” – Pink Floyd. An underated song from Floyd. I hate most of their stuff – it puts me to sleep, but this song is brilliant. It’s a modern day version of the Icarus legend. The live version is superb.

5. “Tunnel of Love” – Bruce Springsteen. An underrated song from Springsteen. This wasn’t a big hit for Springsteen on his follow up to the massive “Born in the USA” album. But it’s a great metaphor for love and growing up. Beatiful. Gotta love the line, “You have to learn to live with what you can’t rise above.”

4. “Moonlight Drive” – The Doors. Another underrated song from a huge band. This song is hauntingly beautiful. “Swim out and drown tonight . . .” How fitting is that for Morrison? The keyboard is aloof and the drums and guitar delve into a rhythm that perfectly fits with the lyrics as Morrison croons sinisterly away.

3. “Moondance” – Van Morriosn. The rhythm and lyrics are hypnotic. I have no sense of rhythm, but this song gets me tapping my foot. This is another one from my Halloween playlist. Morrison’s images are great. The words just sound like they were meant to go together. It’s one of those songs that seems a lot easier than it really must have been to put it together and pull it off.

2. “Every Little Thing She Does” – The Police. I could have chosen “King of Pain” too, which is incredible. But this song gets the edge. Sure, everybody knows “Every Breath You Take,” but this one is maybe the best pop song of the 80’s. The lyrics focus on a young man who is madly in love with a woman for whom he is too shy to talk to. Now I’m biased. I used to listen to this because that was exactly how I felt about Kristie before we really met. I know exactly how this guy feels: “I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day and ask her if she’ll marry me in some old fashioned way. But my silent fears have gripped me long before I reach the pone, long before my tongue has tripped me. Must I always be alone?” How perfect is that? Well, it worked out for me because Kristie and I did get married in some old fashioned way. Though I feared the phone and tripped over my tongue plenty! Good thing Sara came through for me!


1. “Wish You Were Here” – Incubus. Excellence. Now I’m biased since this reminds me of my mother. When we first moved in to our house, I sat in our back yard with this song on my ipod. What I wouldn’t give to have Mom see this place. Then the morning we got married, I climbed up the little cliff behind our cabin, sat perched on a bolder, and again listened to this song. How happy Mom and Dad would have been at the wedding. And hat a great final line to the last verse, the singer equates life to a roller coast and ponders - “Maybe I should hold with care but my hands are busy in the air.”