May 15 Playlist

1. Someone That You're With by Nickelback. A real stalker song, but the guitar riff also appeals to me.

2. I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic At The Disco! The song titles have nothing to do with the song, which in this case, like most Panic songs, have nifty turns of phrases that appeal lyrically. The underlying music has a certain cleverness, but doesn't really match the lyrical cleverness. Still a quality song.

3. December 1963 (Oh What A Night) by Return 2 Zero. This a capella cover is fantastic and takes a generally classic song and just tweaks it a little. The best part about the a capella version is that you can hear the lyrics and see why this song just appeals to people.

4. Show Don't Tell (Live) by Rush. Rush have been making music forever it seems. This song, off one of their many live collections from the 1989 album Presto song and released on the live Album Different Stages Live, but like all Rush songs, the lyrics by Neil Peart are outstanding.

5. Slowloud by Slackjaw. Slackjaw was a band I first heard on a road trip with my fraternity brothers from University of Virginia. The band was great, with a great drummer, and solid musicianship. But sadly, they never made nearly as big as that other big Charlottesville group, the Dave Matthews Band. I just liked the title to this song, although it is not one of their best.

6. It's Probably Me by Sting. Aside from maybe Fortress Around Your Heart, this jazzy feeling song by Sting is probably my favority by him as a soloist. I have long felt drawn to the powers of friendship and this is a song about unfailing friendship.

7. Leyenda by Vanessa Mae. A violin prodigy, Vanessa Mae has made both traditional classical albums and the sort of classical/pop crossovers with different influences. Leyenda has a spanish feel, with a great classical guitar segment.

8. One Robot's Dream by Joe Satriani. I have long been a Satriani fan and the underlying hook in this song just holds my attention. One thing about Satriani that is different is that his songs, although largely instrumental, have a real vocal feel to them, with stanzas, a refrain and often a bridge. Despite the guitar focus, Satriani doesn't just fill this song with lots of fret work, but still a good demonstration of his abilities.

9. Diamonds and Coal by Incubus. A sort of mellow song for them, almost a ballad, but not nearly as slow as a "power ballad." Not the best song on Light Grenades, but a solid effort that simply hooks me in.

10. I'm Goin' Home by Hootie and the Blowfish. Again, nothing wrong with Hootie, but this one is included because my oldest daughter, the Peanut, likes it.