Top Ten Songs

Yep ... that old chestnut. I brought out this topic on my former blog (long since deleted, but perhaps still available in a mossy cache somewhere).

Cliché? Yes. Annoying? Probably. Easy to answer? No.

This list changes from day to day. Right now I'm burning time until the first pitch of the World Series and am listening to music alone at my office at ear-bleeding volume.

So, here it goes. As "they" say, this is in no particular order, just my top ten tunes. Whenever possible I've included a link to an iTunes snippet.

1. When I Grow Too Old To Dream -- Nat "King" Cole. Is there another song that is as smooth and full of loving adoration as this? No.
2. Aganju -- Bebel Gilberto. This song haunts me, and all I have to say to the musically educated, Phil Ramone set the tone with Joao, and he is a fucking genius. Bebel is even better.
3. Hold of Myself -- Cracker. This has been a favorite of mine for many years. It makes me want to pull up my bootstraps when the going gets tough.
4. River of Tears -- Eric Clapton. Put a gun to my head and demand I name my all time favorite song, this would burst forth.
5. Soulshine -- Gov't Mule. Given a millisecond, this might be the next words out of my mouth before they pull the trigger.
6. Rx for the Blues -- Mike Bloomfield. If you don't dig this tune, never speak to me again thankyouverymuch ... this is the song that epitomizes the smoky blues club at a very drunken 4:00 AM.
7. Yellow Ledbetter -- Pearl Jam. I could listen to this song over and over and over and over and over ...
8. Riviera Paradise -- Stevie Ray Vaughan. This is musically as close to God as one can be. I do not make that statement lightly.
9. Guabi Guabi -- Pork Tornado. No other song has ever made me smile so brightly, to the point of happy tears, as this song. It's a celebration of life, family, sunshine, and all things fuzzy bunnies. It's simply awesome. I sing along at top volume, butchering the indecipherable lyrics all the way.
10. Fugue in G Minor -- Johann Sebastian Bach (the Stokowski transcription, not the original composition for organ). Maybe it's my 13 years of playing oboe, but this song makes me stand up and wave my arms like Keith Lockhart on crack. I love love love this song.

This list, as I'm sure you will agree when you attempt to compile your own "Top 10" list, is akin to choosing which of your children are your favorites.

I feel horrible for leaving so many out of the list. But, tomorrow is another day.