Okay, just a few more random songs that came to me after my first post. I promise I’ll stop with the old favorites now. current faves and local music still to come.

Second Hand News - Fleetwood Mac
This one has been with me since high school. It’s another one of those songs that just makes me smile and gets my body moving. Another one of those driving down the open road, singing at the top of my lungs kinda songs. How can I stay cranky when I hear that beat and the words, “Won’t you lay me down in tall grass and let me do my stuff”. Oh yea baby, of course I will.

Pride (In the Name Of Love) - U2
It just so happens that I believe Bono to be likely the coolest person on earth. Aside from automatic cool factor that just comes from being a rock star, this man is an utter and complete inspiration. His humanitarian work (not the least of which is the ONE campaign and product RED) reminds me how much work there is to be done in the world. His speech at the NAACP awards alone is enough reason to fall in love with him. I’m not a religious person, but that gives me chills. That aside, the music of U2 is simply part of the soundtrack of my youth. Their music is interwoven in the fabric of my memories.

Desert Rose – Sting
Okay, so if there is a race for coolest musician, I happen to think Sting could give Bono a run for his money. I mean, all else aside, there’s that voice and those tantric sex rumors! This is one of those songs that gets me out of my head and into my body. I usually run to hip-hop dance-type music, but this is one of my favorite songs to run to. It has this otherworldy feeling for me, lets me let go of my mind and be in the moment.

Songbird - Eva Cassidy
Eva Cassidy is one of the worlds underappreciated musical greats. She died of melanoma at 33, but in her short life managed to record an incredible library of songs, both original and remakes of classic songs. If you don’t know Eva, do yourself a favour and spend some time discovering her. I have a ton of her songs in my library, and love them all for different reasons. This is the first one I ever heard (on the soundtrack of one of my favorite movies, Love, Actually) and it’s still my favorite. It is my special song for Bella and I to dance to when we need to reconnect.

Water Is Wide – Sarah Mac Lachlan, Jewel, Indigo Girls
This is a live recording from Lillith Fair. We already know how I feel about Sarah, and the Indigo Girls have also been a favorite of mine since college. In this song their voices mesh into such beautiful harmonies – and Sarah’s voice at the end. Oh my. This song is one that reminds me that I can’t do it alone, that sometimes I need to ask for help and that because of the relationships I have cultivated in this life, there is always help available.

Closer To Fine - Indigo Girls
What could I possibly say about what this song has meant to me over the years. I discovered the Indigo Girls early in college and was transformed by their music. They represented something different for me musically – and over the years the lyrics to their songs have helped me make sense of my life over and over again.

“The less I seek my source for some definitive, the closer I am to fine”. Wise words indeed.

Rag Doll - Aerosmith
Some songs are favorites not because you listen to them all the time, or even because they are examples of fantastic music. Sometimes a song sticks around because of it’s power to take you back to a place and time. Aerosmith to me is slumber parties with girlfriends, school dances in darkened cafeterias, the sickly sweet smells of Salon Selectives hairspray and Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth perfume. Have not listened to this song in years, but it’s one of those songs that takes me right back to those days from the first few beats. Everyone needs a little musical nostalgia every now and then.