Desert Island Singles, Part One

Ok, As promised, in no particular order:

1. Black Cow, Steely Dan
Incomprehensible lyrics and undeniable bump with their signature funky twist. With out a doubt, my favorite Steely Dan Track.

2. Learn To Love You, Harry Connick, Jr.
This is THE Harry tune as far as I'm concerned. Killer horns, with just the right swank and the singing of a song as only he can.

3. Glory, Glory!, Underworld
From the one album most Underworld fans completely disavow, it was the only one I find listenable. I also liked "I Need A Doctor", "Bright White Flame", and "Rubber Ball".

4. Newborn, Guadalcanal Diary
Like REM, they hailed from Athens GA, but they were always more playful and irreverant. I always like to describe them as "REM, but liquored up." This song always makes me think of the book "Queen of the Damned".

5. The Likes of You, Guadalcanal Diary
From their last real album, Flip Flop. Really solid guitar riffs and a healthy contempt for a certain type of person who can always find the party when everything around them is going to Hell.

6. Mysterious Ways, U2
Really, not too long ago, it never would have gotten past the censors.

7. If I Fall, Evanescence ...[Update...the name is actually "Cloud Nine"...d'oh!]
Every time I hear this song, I just think "Wow."

8. Cowboy Junkies, A Common Disaster
Longing and lost, with resentment and anger, all in one very neat and tidy package, with Margo Timmins' vocals as a bright and shiny bow for the gift.

9. Dwight Yokum, Long White Cadillac
If you don't tap your foot when this song is playing, then you don't have a pulse.

10. Room at the Top, Adam Ant
Part of a very funky record done in the 90's, the song had a balance of swagger and focus that always makes me turn it up when it comes on.

11. Walk Like A Man, Grand Funk Railroad
Flint boys done good on a song that sums up what any 18 to 20 year old man might be feeling on any given day.

12. Up to Our Hips, Charlatans UK
slow grind with very vaguely suggestive lyrics. Sounds best in my car with the volume turned up high enough that the image in the rearview mirror bounces.

13. Sock to Me, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
Surprisingly, the song did make it past the censors, for a brief time, but like most of his classic songs, you just have to sing along.

14. Hippychick, Soho
If any one has this on CD, let me know. I wore the cassette out years ago. "...Got no flowers for your gun, no hippychick. Won't make love to change you're mind, no hippychick..."

15. Late Night Grande Hotel, Nanci Griffith
Hate her politics, but this song has summed up exactly how I have felt at different times in my life.

16. More Than This, Roxy Music
Another song about longings, but it has a way of worming into your brain.

17. Damn, I wish I Was Your Lover, Sophie B. Hawkins
Yes, I also have heard that she is a lesbian, but shit, this was another song that grabbed me the very first time I heard it, and it never let go. It didn't hurt any that she was easy on the eyes, too.

18. I'm Lost and Then I'm Found, The Godfathers
I never understood why these guys never caught on. If you've never heard 'em, go check 'em out on You Tube.

19. Mandolin Rain, Bruce Hornsby (and the Range)
I've seen him in concert three times. Each time, the guy's skill leaves my jaw on the ground. A very different version of this song each time.

20. 7, Prince or symbol boy or whatever the hell he calls himself this week...
No, I don't really know what the song is about, but I dig the funky crawl its got.

21. Can't Do A Thing To Stop Me, Chris Issak
How many people can do a retro-sounding lounge lizard type track with a vibraphone and make it work? Really?

That's enough for now, boys and girls. And now....the blowtorches please!!!