Shuffling the Ipod
I figured I'd shuffle my Ipod five times and see what it came up with. Maybe this will jumpstart my sluggish blogging style lately.
Here we go
Shock the Monkey-- Peter Gabriel

It's on Peter's must-own Shaking the Tree collection. This is one of those songs that likely has a deep meaning, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Nonetheless, the song is different then anything else, and gets better every time I hear it. The only thing bad about Shaking the Tree is that In Your Eyes is left off it. Since that is the case, I had to buy the brilliant So, just for one track. Ah well, So is great on its own.

2. Help-The Beatles
The title track from the Beatles album and film, Help is about insecurity and concerns that nearly vanish within the upbeat pop song. As a Beatlemaniac, the album is a must-have, although the song is played so much on the radio that I usually skip it when it comes up on a CD or Ipod.

3. Who Do You Love-- The Band with Ronnie Hawkins
This is an amazing track, recorded live at The Last Waltz. The legendary Hawkins is on fire, and the Band rips it up as usual. First he screams out to Bill Graham in the opening seconds, then he includes names of the Band in the song. Remember, The Band was Ronnie's before they were Bob's. To really understand the greatness of what is being done here, buy The Last Waltz and watch Hawkins take control. If you want to know how crazy Ronnie is, read Levon Healm's book.

4. Telegraph Road-- Dire Straits
Ah yes, the 12-minute song. The album itself was actually something my dad picked up after my freshman year of high school. It also coincided with me buying my first guitar. Almost 10 years later, and I'm still barely passable at it. This version of the song is labeled as a "live remix," but the crowd is practically mixed out of it. Of course, there is awesome guitar work here by Mark Knopfler, but that's true with any Dire Straits song. The problem is, at over 12 minutes, I had to clear time from my schedule just to listen to it. This complilation is called Money For Nothing, but in my opinion, the best album by Dire Straits is Brothers in Arms. I know comparing complilations with actual albums is kind of pointless. Really, the song just keeps going, and I am out of things to write.

5. Ballerina-- Van Morrison
Off the Astral Weeks album, the song, much like the album itself, plays like a dream sequence. The instruments and the use of them in the album are mesmerizing. Although, if you think I'm going to criticize a Van Morrison song, you likely haven't been reading my blog much. I like the song a lot, although I think Sweet Thing is my favorite cut on the album. Van was clearly at one of his high points here, at least musically. I believe this was the album where Van instructed the musicians to "play what you feel." If true, the crude instruction worked to perfection.