Desert Island Singles, Part Deux

Again, in no particular order:

1. Joe Cocker, You Can Leave Your Hat On. C'mon, you haven't at least fantasized about either stripping for your partner to it, or being the recipient of a strip tease while listening to it? Liar.

2. John Hiatt, Through Your Hands. Tune gets me in the heart every time I hear it. There is a reason he and Bonnie Raitt have a mutual admiration society going.

3. Ministry, Jesus Built My Hotrod. Forever seared into my memory by the early arrival at a closed frat party by the the love of my life. It mattered because I had an unfiltered Camel hanging out of the corner of my mouth as I looked through the stack of CDs to line up the next couple of tracks. The story she recounted about waiting outside with the stripper and being asked "Which Kappa are you dating?" made it clear that she was already...displeased. The cigarette made the evening even more chilly, until we left early.

4. Nine Inch Nails, Head Like A Hole. At one time, Trent Reznor was an evil genius. That was before the evil took over completely.

5. Josh Turner, Long Black Train. I think it is always unfair to compare new stars to old ones, but I swear, every time I hear it, I think "This generation's Johnny Cash".

6. Squeeze, Tempted. The finest breakup song ever. Good playing, amazing vocals. British Blue-eyed soul at its best.

7. The Clash, Pressure Drop. Only a british punk band with conceptions of grandeur decide to cross into regae, bring it back, wrap it around their own sound and make it work.

8. Blue Rodeo, What You Want. From 'Nowhere to Here', or what I referred to as 'The Divorce Album' after my first listen. It is a great song and you can feel the guy's pain in a very Clintonesque way.

9. Chris Rice, Smellin' Coffee. Who says contemporary Christian = boring? This tune is inspirational and funky.

10. Just about any song from MercyMe. I swear these guys have reached into my brain as inspiration for every song they have written. Either that is somehow a good thing, or I am a really pathetic soul.

11. Adam Ant, Strip. Musical Collaborations are so much fun. Phil Collins played the drums on this track, and I think it really made all the difference.

12. Queensryche, Eyes of a Stranger. Geoff Tate has a hell of a set of pipes on him. The entire album is one of my favorite rock operas, and I had the priviledge of seeing them perform it live once. It took two days before I could hear normally again.

13. Van Halen, Why Can't This Be Love? Where to start with the memories on this? I really don't want to get into a Dave/Sammy/What's His Name debate on this. It makes me think of a lot of fun memories, and I'll leave it at that.

14. The Rolling Stones, Sympathy For the Devil. History lesson ala Mick Jager, who probably witnessed it all. What more to say?

15. Aerosmith, Back in the Saddle. For a year, this song came on the radio the exact time I was getting in the car to leave school. A message?

16. Brian Setzer Orchestra, Pennsylvania 6-5000. Another one of those tunes where if you aren't tapping your foot, you don't have a pulse.

17. Barenaked Ladies, One Week. Getting all the words is a challenge when stone cold sober. After you have had a few? Forgedaboutit.

18. The Cult, Love Removal Machine. Just a great rock and roll song.

19. REM, Superman. Everyone knows the best tracks are the ones that are not listed on the back of the jewel case, right?

20. The Alarm, Love Don't Come Easy. I loved this entire album, but this was the standout song. Bluesy, with a gravely voice tellin it like it is.

21. The Band, The Weight. Its been covered, but never improved upon. A classic in its own right, due to a lineup of legends.

22. The Doors, People Are Strange. I once stripped to this. It was for charity and one of my frat brothers thought it would be funny to switch songs on me. I wanted Bruce Hornsby and the Range's Stranded On Easy Street, which also belongs on this list. No I am not going to tell you how much money I made, other than to say I did well.

Part Three, coming soon.