All in All, You're Just Another....

With my final now out of the way, and keeping my fingers crossed that I did well enough to maintain my A for the semester, I can focus on getting my ink. Just over two hours until I get my first tattoo. I am all kinds of nervous and excited. I have been planning my tattoos for years now, just waiting for the right moment to come and push me into getting them done.

Ironically, after all these years of planning, I am changing the position of my first tattoo so that it will mesh better with the tattoos I have planned for the future that will be in the same general area. Looks like I will have a couple themes on major parts of my body, and work that will go on for quite a while.

I will gladly post pictures of the final results later today....but you won't be seeing them unless you are my friend on facebook. Sorry, gotta keep some things personal....and permanent identifying marks are definitely in that group.

Back

Back from my wonderful vacation. The week absolutely flew by because I was having so much fun....and I am already looking ahead to my next vacation, whenever or wherever that may be. One drawback of the vacation is that I gained approximately 8 lbs while I was gone, so if you are going to claim that you saw me somewhere while I was on vacation, make sure you say it was a restaurant or something so that it is almost plausible.

Now that I am back, I'll get back to my song list. I was thinking about writing the posts and backdating the posts so there wouldn't be any gap....but I am very happy to have had this vacation, so I am going to have my blog reflect at least that in case I don't get to say too much more about it here.

Day 20 – A song you can’t help but sing along to

Another simple one for me. I have liked this song ever since I first heard it and while I don't sing the whole song, I REALLY get into the one part that I do sing. So much so, that I can actually scare people who aren't ready for it. :-)

One- Metallica.

Darkness imprisoning me
All that I see
Absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
Trapped in myself
Body my holding cell

Landmine has taken my sight
Taken my speech
Taken my hearing
Taken my arms
Taken my legs
Taken my soul
Left me with life in hell

Day 19 – A guilty pleasure

Yet another song I have seen performed live in the last year. This song doesn't have much in the way of musical merit, but I can't help liking it and singing a couple different parts.

Shots- LMFAO.

If you not drunk ladies & gentlemen
Get ready to get fucked up
Let's do it, Ha Ha
LMFAO
You know what
Lil Jon
Yeah
All of the alcoholics
Where you at
Let's go

When I walk in the club
All eyes on me
I'm with the party rock crew
All drinks are free
We like ciroc
We love patrone
We came to party rock
Everybody it's on
Shots shots shots shots shots shots
Shots shots shots shots shots
Shots shots shots shots shots
Everybody
The ladies love us
When we pour shots
They need an excuse
To suck our cocks
We came to get crunk
How 'bout you?
Bottles up
Let's go round two
Shots shots shots shots shots shots
Shots shots shots shots shots
Shots shots shots shots shots
Everybody
If you ain't getting drunk get the fuck out the club
If you ain't takin' shots get the fuck out the club
If you ain't come to party get the fuck out the club
Now where my alcoholics let me see ya hands up
What you drinkin on?
Jaegerbombs
Lemondrops
Buttery Nipples
Yellow Shots
Kamikaze
Rewindin'
Fucked on that shit
Get me some Gin

Patrones on the rocks and I'm ready for some shots
The women come around everytime I'm pourin' shots
Their panties hit the ground everytime I give em shots
So cups in the air, everybody let's take shots.
If you feelin' drunk put ya hands in the air
And If you tryin' to fuck put ya hands in the air
Now say "I'm fucked up" (I'm fucked up)
I'm fucked up (I'm fucked up)
I'm tryna fuck (I'm tryna fuck)
I'm tryna fuck (I'm tryna fuck)
Shots
Patrones on the rocks and I'm ready for some shots
The women come around everytime I'm pourin' shots
Their panties hit the ground everytime I give em shots
So cups in the air, everybody let's take shots.
I fucked up
La dad a da
La dad a dad a da

Day 18 – A song you never get sick of hearing

There are a ton of songs that I could have used for this. A lot of the songs I like listening to are so good, in my opinion, that I don't think I'll ever get tired of them. So, just like a lot of my posts for this challenge, this song has a definite memory attached to it. I liked this song a lot before I went to see Kings of Leon last summer, but sitting there and listening to it with LM made it a hundred times better. It's somewhat odd that this song always makes me feel good and/or smile considering the lyrics are rather sad. And while I was going to go see Kings of Leon last year no matter what, I have to thank them for having The Stills open up for them....without that, I wouldn't have this exact memory to look back on today.

Being Here- The Stills.

We ride through
These plains of hurt
Through the Southern breathing rock
On a railroad of knots
And there's blood on the lines
Of every page I turn
When the ones you love
Are the ones you burn

Being here
Being here ooh oh
Being here

Somewhere singing songs
About a girl I hurt
I've been everywhere enough
I've been torn apart by the world
But there's apples in the trees
And diamonds in the earth
I've been losing my mind
Somehow it can't get worse

Being here
Being here ooh oh
Being here

And the wind is blown and cold
And I can't escape the tears
One for every broken bone
And a hundred for all the years

Being here
Being here ooh oh
Being here

Day 17 – A song that makes you think of a family member

This one is a no-brainer for me....probably the easiest one I've seen yet. As a kid I used to see guys all over the place who claimed to be Viet Nam vets, looking for a handout with those little toothpick American flags for sale. One day when I was probably around 7 or 8 years old, one of those guys gave me a flag. I thought it was cool and was probably planning on using it for my GI Joe or He-Man forts when I got home. Well, the guy made the mistake of trying to get money out of my dad for that little flag. Long story short, the guy couldn't answer some very basic questions about being in the army and being "in country", and my dad lit him up....verbally.

My father has never talked too much about his time in Viet Nam. I know it's hard for him, and with the little bit I know about what he saw when over there, I completely understand. There are a few different songs that remind me of my dad, but this one is number one by far. Not only does it remind me of my father, it reminds me of what he did for his country, what he has done (and continues to do) for my mother and I, and how much I really love my old man and how I will always be proud to be his son. Even more, this song gives me chills by making me think about what he had to do and see while in the military....all before the age of 21.

Run Through the Jungle- Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Whoa, thought it was a nightmare,
Lo, it's all so true,
They told me, "Don't go walkin' slow
'Cause Devil's on the loose."

Better run through the jungle,
Better run through the jungle,
Better run through the jungle,
Woa, Don't look back to see.

Thought I heard a rumblin'
Callin' to my name,
Two hundred million guns are loaded
Satan cries, "Take aim!"

Over on the mountain
Thunder magic spoke,
"Let the people know my wisdom,
Fill the land with smoke."

Day 16 – A song that reminds you of a holiday

My first thought on today's post was Auld Lang Syne, which of course will always remind me of New Year's Eve. NYE has always been one of my favorite holidays. My friends always make an attempt to get together and do something, whether going out or just staying in at someone's place to celebrate. This past NYE was one of my favorites. We didn't do too much at all, and the group wasn't as big as it had been in previous years....but the people who were there, and the smiles on their faces will stay with me forever. As will my roommate's shirt. I think he knew before the rest of us that Charlie Sheen was going to be fired from Two and a Half Men, because he did his best to dress like Sheen's character from the show.

After a little more thought, I Got You Babe settled in my head. It reminds me of a recent holiday, a movie, and a furry little creature who "predicts" when Spring will arrive. Groundhog day is also quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays. Hopefully I'll get a chance to party with Punxsutawney Phil on February 2nd in the next few years.

I Got You Babe- Sonny and Cher.

HIM: I got flowers in the spring I got you to wear my ring
HER: And when I'm sad, you're a clown And if I get scared, you're always around
HER: So let them say your hair's too long 'Cause I don't care, with you I can't go wrong
HIM: Then put your little hand in mine There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb

HIM: Babe
BOTH: I got you babe I got you babe

HIM: I got you to hold my hand
HER: I got you to understand
HIM: I got you to walk with me
HER: I got you to talk with me
HIM: I got you to kiss goodnight
HER: I got you to hold me tight
HIM: I got you, I won't let go
HER: I got you to love me so

Day 15 – Your favourite TV theme tune

Nothing too in depth here. I just always loved the Airwolf theme when I was a kid, and I still like it today. The theme from Dallas got some consideration for this, strictly because of a commercial that used it a few years ago....but as a devout member of the Redskin Nation, that thought was out of my head as soon as it entered it.

Day 14 – A song off an album that has brilliant cover art

When I first saw the album cover for Saving Abel's self titled album, I really liked it. I thought it was pretty hot without being overt, but I can't really say that I believe it's brilliant art....more so just a way to catch the eye of guys buying CDs. I'm not too sure how well it worked though, considering I bought the single 'Addicted' before ever seeing the album cover.

Now, whether or not the album artwork for American V: A Hundred Highways by Johnny Cash is brilliant or not can easily be debated, this is the one that moves me the most whenever I see it. I nearly used his rendition of 'Hurt' from American IV: The Man Comes Around because I really like the picture on that cover as well, and I love the way he covered that song, but I just can't deny that this picture of him working at what he loved to. And this song isn't too shabby either....

God's Gonna Cut You Down- Johnny Cash.

Well you may throw your rock and hide your hand
Workin' in the dark against your fellow man
But as sure as God made black and white
What's done in the dark will be brought to the light

You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Sooner or later God'll cut you down

Go tell that long tongue liar
Go and tell that midnight rider
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down

Day 13 – The song that contains your favourite lyrics

So many options for this one, considering I generally like songs more for the lyrics than most people. It took me QUITE a while to come up with an answer, and my answer would probably change here and there depending on my moods, but right now, this is the one that I can think of that I like most just for the lyrics. At many times in my life I have felt like a caged animal, so hearing the the first line of this song really caught my attention when I first got this CD.

Right Where it Belongs- Nine Inch Nails.

See the animal in his cage that you built
Are you sure what side you're on?
Better not look him too closely in the eye
Are you sure what side of the glass you are on?
See the safety of the life you have built
Everything where it belongs
Feel the hollowness inside of your heart
And it's all...
Right where it belongs

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you think you know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks?
Would you find yourself...
Find yourself afraid to see?

What if all the world's inside of your head
Just creations of your own?
Your devils and your gods
All the living and the dead
And you're really all alone?
You can live in this illusion
You can choose to believe
You keep looking but you can't find the woods
While you're hiding in the trees

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you used to know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks
Would you find yourself...
Find yourself afraid to see?

Day 12 – A song that makes you laugh

Plenty of options for this one, and most of them came from the same guy. I think this one makes me laugh the most because I know a few different people that have these tendencies.

White and Nerdy- Weird Al Yankovic.

They see me mowin'
My front lawn
I know they're all thinking
I'm so White N' nerdy

Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Can't you see I'm white n' nerdy
Look at me I'm white n' nerdy!
I wanna roll with-
The gangsters
But so far they all think
I'm too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
I'm just too white n' nerdy
Really, really white n' nerdy

First in my class here at M.I.T.
Got skills, I'm a Champion of DND
MC Escher that's my favorite MC
Keep your 40
I'll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin to the contrary
You'll find that they're quite stationary
All of my action figures are cherry
Steven Hawkings in my library
My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
got people begging for my top eight spaces
Yo I know Pi to a thousand places
Ain't got no grills but I still wear braces

I've been browsing, inspectin'
X-men comics you know I collect 'em
The pens in my pocket
I must protect 'em
My ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
Shopping online for deals on some writable media
I edit Wikipedia
I memorized Holy Grail really well
I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL
I got a business doing websites
When my friends need some code who do they call?
I do HTML for them all
Even made a homepage for my dog!
Yo! I got myself a fanny pack
they were having a sale down at the GAP
Spend my nights with a roll of bubble wrap
POP POP! Hope no one sees me gettin' freaky!

I'm nerdy in the extreme and whiter than sour creme
I was in AV club and Glee club and even the chess team!
Only question I ever thought was hard
was do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?
Spend every weekend at the renaissance fair
Got my name on my underwear!

Day 11 – A song that reminds you of your best mate

Another easy one. Although I did not attend the wedding where this song became,to my group of friends, synonymous with my best friend....I have seen him at weddings before and have no problem at all picturing him on the dance floor showing off his sweet moves with this song playing in the background.

Dancing Queen- ABBA.

You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
Ooo.. see that girl, watch that scene, diggin' the Dancing Queen

Friday night and the lights are low
Looking out for the place to go
Where they play the right music, getting in the swing
You come to look for a king
Anybody could be that guy
Night is young and the music's high
With a bit of rock music, everything is fine
You're in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance

You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen
Dancing Queen, feel the beat, from the tambourine oh yeah
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
Ooo.. see that girl, watch that scene, diggin' the Dancing Queen

You're a teaser, you turn 'em on
Leave 'em burning and then you're gone
Looking out for another, anyone will do
You're in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance

You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen
Dancing Queen, feel the beat from the tambourine oh yeee
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
Ooo.. see that girl, watch that scene, diggin' the Dancing Queen

Diggin the Dancing Queen

Day 10 – An awesome driving track

This one is very simple. One song immediately jumped into my head when I read this. I actually haven't listened to this song in quite a while, but then again I don't drive quite the way I used to anymore. When I was a young and dumb driver, this was the one song that got me moving more than any other.

Radar Love- Golden Earring.

The radio’s playing some forgotten song
Brenda Lee’s “Coming on Strong”
The road’s got me hypnothised
and I’m speeding into a new sunrise

No more speed, I’m almost there
Gotta keep cool, now gotta take care
Last car to pass, here I go
And the line of cars drove down real slow
And the radio played that forgotten song
Brenda Lee’s “Coming on Strong”
and the newsman sang his same old song
One more radar love’s gone

When I get lonely, and I’m sure I’ve had enough
She sends her comfort, comin’ in from above
Don’t need no letters at all
We’ve got a thing that’s called a Radar Love
We’ve got a line in the sky
We’ve got a thing that’s called a Radar Love
We’ve got a thing that’s called a Radar Love

Day 09 – Favourite new release (has to be less than 2 months old)

Just reading this challenge made me feel a little bit ashamed. I am usually very attuned to the newest songs out there....but lately, I have been pretty lazy when it comes to new releases. With everything going on in the NFL the last couple months, I have been listening to a lot of NFL network when I drive to and from school or work. If I have the satellite radio going and it's not on the NFL network, then it's usually something 90s based or hair bands depending on my copilot. So, very few new songs have made there way to my ears lately and I might be stretching this two month rule....but I am too lazy to check.

The only two songs that come to mind that would (maybe) fit this are new releases from old bands. First, The Strokes found there way back onto my radio recently with Under Cover of Darkness. I like the song, and it'll probably grow on me a little more as I continue to listen to it. But like most of their songs, I don't see it having any long term hold for me.

On the other hand, the Foo Fighters new song Rope could be one I play for a while. I am always happy to hear new things from the Foo....but this new thing sounds like an old thing, which I happen to really like.

Rope- Foo Fighters.

This indecision got me climbing up the walls
I've been cheating gravity and waiting on the falls
How did this come over me, I thought I was above it all
Our hopes gone up in smoke, swallow your crown

Choke on a kiss, Thought I'd save my breath for you
Choke on a kiss, Thought I'd save my breath for you

Give me some rope I'm coming loose, I'm hanging on you
Give me some rope I'm coming loose, I'm pulling for you now
Give me some rope I'm coming, out of my head, into the clear when you, go,
I, cut, Loose

Day 08 – Your most played song on itunes

No thinking involved with this one, which is a great thing for me tonight since my brain is pretty much fried and I am just ready to lay down and call it quits for the day. This song has been number one for a long time, and I don't see it getting overcome anytime soon as I still like it as much as ever.

Map of the Problematique- Muse.

Fear
And panic in the air
I want to be free
From desolation and despair
And I feel
Like everything I saw
Is being swept away
When I refuse to let you go

I can't get it right
Get it right
Since I met you

Loneliness be over
When will this loneliness be over?

Life
Will flash before my eyes
So scattered and lost
I want to touch the other side
And no one
Thinks they are to blame
Why can't we see
That when we bleed we bleed the same?

Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a tv series

This one took the longest for me to think of so far. I immediately thought of several TV theme songs, but that isn't what this is asking for....so I sat and thought. I tried going over shows that I liked at one point or another, and looking for any song that might remind me of one....with no luck. Then, once I gave up and moved on to something else. This song hit me. It was used as the theme song for a show that I watched pretty often as a kid, much like most people my age I would assume, but it was a very popular song way before The Wonder Years.

With a Little Help From My Friends- Joe Cocker.


Thought you were lookin' at the way I feel
And the warning sign in my eyes
Whoa, I'm gonna take my friends along with me
And then away we go
Everywhere we go we're gonna be on the same road.

Day 06 – A song by your favourite band/artist

I don't think that any band could ever knock Pink Floyd off as king of the mountain for me. Some songs from NIN have a very personal meaning to me, and that is one band I will drop pretty much anything for to go see in concert. Tons of emotion in Trent's words and singing makes the songs wonderful, but seeing it up close in person is absolutely amazing. Muse is another of my favorite bands, and probably has the best chance of anyone to overtake Pink Floyd sometime in my life....but they will have to do a hell of a lot, for an awful long time to have a chance. Floyd put out quality music from the late 60s through the mid 90s, so Muse has a couple of decades til they get to that same level. Believe me, I really hope they do. Muse is by far my favorite active band.

So how do I pick just one song from Pink Floyd, when I can hardly ever listen to just one at a time? If I listen to one, it's usually four or five. So many songs have so many lyrics that hit me hard in one way or another. It's no secret that I have quite a wall up between myself and other people. There are very few people who have ever found their way inside, and a lot of those never would have made it if it wasn't for the album The Wall. Reading everything I could about Roger Waters and his thoughts and feelings about The Wall gave me a lot of insight into what was really going on with me when I was younger, but never realized on my own. Not only was this album my real introduction to Pink Floyd, it's not a stretch to say that it had a huge impact on the person I have become, and I like who I am today a lot more than the person I was on my way to being about 20 years ago. So I will be choosing a song from this album.

At one point or another in everyone's life, you feel alone. No matter how many people you have around you, nor how good your life may be to everyone on the outside looking in. We all have our times of doubt, fear, and loneliness. This song seems to illustrate those times best for me. I may never be able to express them well, but I feel this song about the depressive side of rock stardom does a great job for me.

Nobody Home- Pink Floyd.

I've got a little black book with my poems in.
Got a bag, with a toothbrush and a comb,
When I'm a good dog, they sometimes throw me a bone.

I got elastic bands keepin my shoes on.
Got those swollen hand blues.
I Got thirteen channels of shit on the T.V. to choose from.
I've got electric light.
And I got second sight.
Got amazing powers of observation.
And that is how I know
When I try to get through
On the telephone to you
There'll be nobody home.

I've got the obligatory Hendrix perm.
And the inevitable pinhole burns
All down the front of my favorite satin shirt.
I got nicotine stains on my fingers.
I got a silver spoon on a chain.
Got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains.

I got wild staring eyes.
And I got a strong urge to fly.
But I got nowhere to fly to.
Ooooh, Babe when I pick up the phone

"Surprise, surprise, surprise..." (from Gomer Pyle show)
There's still nobody home.

I've got a pair of Gohills boots
and I got fading roots.

Day 05 – A song from your childhood

A few songs popped into my head when I read the day five directive. One of them was the Snoopy song I talked about in my Day 02 post. That would probably be the one I'd choose for this but since I already mentioned it in one post, I'll choose another today.

My first thought for this was simply, Happy Birthday. Lots of great memories from my childhood revolved around birthdays, and not just mine. I had a couple memorable birthdays as a kid, but a lot of memories I have with friends and family revolved around someone's birthday. But this song isn't just from my childhood, because I have plenty of recent memories involving birthdays too. So I am going to have to disqualify it right there.

Next I thought of the Christmas album that I had from Alvin and the Chipmunks because I know I listened to that plenty as a kid, but I don't have any memories really associated with it....so I moved on past that one too.

What I finally came up with wasn't a song that I listened to a lot when I was a kid, and when I did listen to it, it wasn't by choice. There is a small bar & grill in my town that has been a family hangout since before I was born. My father has a lot of siblings, and most of them lived within a mile or two of this bar when I was young, so it was a convenient meeting place...and the fact that they had cheap beer didn't hurt either. Well, the time I spent in there as a kid was occupied by the pinball machines, pool table, or the jukebox. As far as I remember, this song was the number one played song on that jukebox for YEARS.

Waiting on a Friend- The Rolling Stones.

A smile relieves a heart that grieves
Remember what I said
I'm not waiting on a lady
I'm just waiting on a friend

Don't need a whore
I don't need no booze
Don't need a virgin priest
But I need someone I can cry to
I need someone to protect
Making love and breaking hearts
It is a game for youth
But I'm not waiting on a lady
I'm just waiting on a friend

Day 04 – A song by the first band/artist you saw live

This one is by far the easiest one to answer so far. The first concert I ever went to was at Tiger Stadium, which could be why I like outdoor venues so much for concerts, and it was the Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" tour in 1994. I wasn't a huge fan of the Eagles, but liked them well enough, so when I had some friends show interest in going, I didn't hesitate to say yes.

Now at the time of this concert, Melissa Etheridge was just starting to get really big as a main stream artist, and The Eagles had her open the show for them....but she played nearly two hours before vacating the stage for the headliner. About an hour into her set, we started to boo her. At first it wasn't much, and it was just funny to us....but it didn't take too long for the rest of the crowd around us to join in, and soon thereafter we had the entire section booing her offstage. I guess we weren't the only group there just to see the Eagles.

Going into the concert, I only had one song that I really wanted to hear them perform; Hotel California. It was the one song from them I knew and liked really well. Not only was it the one song I wanted to hear live, it was what they opened the concert with. Excluding that whole Etheridge thing, it ended up being the first song I heard performed live. I was very happy about that, but I seemed to be one of the few at the time. Most people, including myself, were puzzled as to why they would open the concert with their strongest and most popular song, and a lot of others were seriously mad about it. I, on the other hand, was happy with it because after hearing it, I was free to do whatever I wanted without worrying about when they'd play it, and if I might miss it.

"You can check out anytime you like....but you can never leave"

Day 03 – Your favourite album track

Going back to my Day 02 post, where I talked about how much I'd rather take a chance on an album than just buy a single, it should come as no surprise that I have a LOT of albums to choose from for this. There are a handful of bands that I put in my upper echelon, like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, NIN, and Muse, and at one point or another I owned every studio album from those four bands. Here and there over time, I have picked up hundreds of albums....and a good share of those have been stolen from me at one point or another, but that is a story I can tell some other time. Right now I have to choose some favorite albums and songs.

Now with this challenge, I could easily include EVERY album I have ever owned. The best album track may actually come from one of the worst albums I own....all it takes is one great song on the album. That being said, I weigh this one heavily in favor of my favorite albums....and therefore, more toward concept albums like Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall. Aside from those two albums, I'd also have to consider Led Zeppelin IV in the running for favorite album. Black Holes and Revelations from Muse would have to be up there too, considering that is by far the most listened to album for me since I've had an iPod. And Wish You Were Here is my favorite album from start to finish from my favorite band, Pink Floyd.

Other albums that really stick out to me are Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt, which is the only one on this list to have the designation of being stolen from me three times, and American Idiot by Green Day. Both have a couple strong candidates with songs like Don't Speak and Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Unfortunately, I just can't put them in the same category as the others.

Eminem has some great albums, and I'll always be very partial to Appetite for Destruction....but they can't contend either. Heather Nova's Oyster is definitely one of my favorite albums too, and probably comes the closest of the runners up so far....but it's still just a step behind the top front runners.

Seeing that I have named nine possible top albums, I might as well add one more to give me a de facto top ten. The Chronic by Dr. Dre was an amazing album all around, and introduced us to Snoop. There is no way I could leave that out....but again, it's not strong enough to me to be in the top 5.

So now, which of the top 5 do I choose? Or do I just choose which song I think is strongest out of them all, since they are so close in terms of being my favorite album? Alright....I am thinking way too hard about this. I'm just going to list my favorite songs from each, then compare them.

First, I have to mention Map of the Problematique off of Black Holes and Revelations. It is by FAR my most played song on iTunes, but just don't think this album will get the favorite track. Next, I'd have to bring up Dark Side of the Moon because I don't have just one favorite that sticks out. I rarely, if ever, listen to one song off of this album without listening to several of them. Because of that, I just can't give any of them the top spot.

The third album is The Wall. Just like Dark Side, I can't listen to just one song from this album....plus I can't help thinking about how neither of those albums is my favorite from the band. Which leads me to Wish You Were Here. This is my favorite album from start to finish, yet one that I often do listen to just one song at a time from. Have a Cigar and Wish You Were Here are both great songs individually and in the context of the album, but they still can't beat out my favorite album track.

Led Zeppelin IV is regarded by a lot of people as one of the best rock albums of all time, and I certainly agree. This is an album that I like and listen to as much as my mom did, if not more. One of the things that makes this album so good is the way it ends, leaving you on a really high note, and that high note is due to the orchestration and composition of Stairway to Heaven. The song is widely regarded as one of the best in rock, and for me it's easy to see why. The lyrics are great, and the way the song takes you from low and slow to high and mighty. I really can't say enough about this song and, in the end, I didn't really have to go through all of this to decide. With my first iPod I was offered free engraving for two lines on the back. My choice, after about this much debate, just happened to be lyrics from Stairway.

"Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven"