The next 10 songs on my iPod: Round 3

It's been a year and a half since I did this last...

Yes kids, gather round the ol' blog, it's time for everybody's favorite game:

THE NEXT 10 SONGS ON MY IPOD!

(also known as "filler" during these months when I get the wild hair to post every day)

So, I take iPod in hand, set it to shuffle, aaaaaaannnnnnnnd.......we're off!

1. The Pretenders: Revolution 

I love this song. Mostly.
I like the idea of breaking down barriers, and fighting for a cause -- though this song seems to advocate revolting for the sake of revolting, which seems pointless to me.

But the song sounds cool!

2. Jon Schmidt: All of me

Jon Schmidt is a local piano player, and he's incredible. Nowhere is that more evident than on this song -- it's called "All of Me" because, by the end of the song, he's literally playing with his whole arm.
It's something to behold live. When he's done, he does a backflip off of the piano bench, and then throws Hostess Ding Dongs to the audience.

I'm not making that up.

3. Kurt Bestor: Fishing the Sky

Another local musician. He's really fallen off in terms of quality in recent years (it coincided with the inflation of his gigantic ego), but back when he was making good music, he made an album called "Sketches."

His inspiration came from leafing through a sketchbook of Leonardo DaVinci's inventions. He composed a piece called "From Leonardo's Sketchbook." From there he found inspiration in the work of other notable people: John Wesley Powell, Sojourner Truth, Stradivarius, and Thoreau -- who's Walden was the inspiration for this song.

4. The Lion King Soundtrack: Circle of Life

I still maintain that the opening scene of this movie is the best scene Disney has ever created. I love this song for many reasons -- it's a universal message -- but mostly it reminds me of the year I met my wife.

5. Jimmy Buffett: Biloxi

Jimmy Buffett is an acquired taste. He's become more well known in the mainstream music scene in recent years. Unfortunately, he hasn't made good music in at least ten years, and it's been even longer since he made anything great. I found the brilliance of Buffett through constant exposure to him, while working graveyards at a gas station, in a small town in southern Utah. A friend gave me copies of the CD's from his box set "Beaches, Boats, Bars and Ballads," and I played them endlessly to keep myself awake at night. This song is a love letter to the Gulf Coast -- a place I've never been. But I feel like I have.

But that's the brilliance of Jimmy Buffett. He's not simply a singer, but a writer who sings songs. If you like songs with more than the average craft to them, you may like Jimmy Buffett.

6. Chris Thornblad: Stars

Who is this guy? Yes, I'm shamelessly plugging my own music. Thanks to Garageband on my Mac, I can now compose and play my own piano music. This short little piece is actually something I wrote as an intro for a DVD I made of my kids first trip to Disneyland, a couple of years ago.

It's a compilation of "When you wish upon a Star," from Pinocchio, and "The Second Star to the Right" from Peter Pan. Hence the name "Stars."

7. Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes: Up Where We Belong

The classic from "An Officer and a Gentleman." Who doesn't love this song? Would you like to know which movie it reminds me of?

Return of the Jedi (there's a reason).

8. Jimmy Buffett: Margaritaville

In the winter months my iPod overflows with Jimmy Buffett. Some people claim that there's a woman to blame, but I know it's my own damn fault.

9. Bob Marley: Three Little Birds

I guess I've got that tropical vibe going tonight. Am I the only one who constantly mixes up Bob Marley and Jacob Marley? It's that dang Bob Cratchit that screws everything up!

10. Taylor Swift/Def Leppard: Pour Some Sugar on Me (live)

I love Taylor Swift -- I just adore her (more on that in a couple of days -- when I need more filler). And I used to be a big Def Leppard fan. This is from the CMT show "Crossroads," where they take two unlikely groups/artists and pair them up to see what happens. Evidently, Taylor Swift grew up a big fan of Def Leppard, and it was she that suggested this collaboration.

They do many of the most famous songs from both artists, but this is the finale, and they really do bring the house down. Now, in all honesty, I should mention that I think that the line "pour some sugar on me, in the name of love," is the second stupidest line I've ever heard in a song -- the dumbest is "with an iron-clad fist, I wake up and french kiss the morning," from Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses (go here for that rant), but...

I have to admit, this is really cool. Plus, I'd listen to Taylor Swift sing the phone book.