Day 11

11. Put your iPod iTunes on shuffle and write 10 songs that pop up.

I love this because I often just open iTunes and hit shuffle when I'm working. I often skip songs depending on what I'm in the mood for (my collection is pretty acclectic) but this time I'll just write down whatever comes up! As an added challenge, I'll only write about each song for as long as it's playing. Alright, here we go...

• I'm waiting for your call -- T-Bone Walker "Best of T-Bone Walker"
• T-Bone Walker is a great old-school blues guitar player. He has some great blues lyrics about finding the right woman and then her leaving, you know the blues drill. He has a really smooth voice that's like butter to listen to.
• Love Plus One -- Haircut 100 "Ultimate New Wave Party 1998"
• I definitely would skip this one if it wasn't for the writing exercise. I'm not even sure how I have this CD on my iTunes. I do like the "eye-yah-ya-ya" lyrics though. It's always great when you can get away with not actually writing words for lyrics.
• Gloria et in terra pax -- Taize "Laudate Omnes Gentes"
• I love listening to this Taize CD to get into a meditative mood. The songs all repeat short prayer lines in pretty harmony and in many different languages. We visited the Taize site a few years ago in France and it was a really magical experience to sing in so many languages with people from all over the world.
• One Time -- Stoke 9 "Nasty Little Thoughts"
• LOVED this CD when I was writing my Honors Thesis at the end of college. It has a lot of driving rock and snarky lyrics, which kept me on edge and pumped me up to read through my paper for the hundredth time!
• Ciribiribin -- Harry James "I'm in the Mood for Swing"
• Another great 1940s Swing-era crooner. This is a great CD for the old classics and I love listening to it when I cook or when I'm getting ready for a party. There is a great trumpet solo   with nice horns in the background. 
• Boom Boom Pow -- Black Eyed Peas "The E.N.D"
• Apparently, the E.N.D. stands for the Energy Never Dies. That pretty much sums up Black Eyed Peas. I can only listen to one or two songs of theirs in a row otherwise I get too wound up. However, this is one of the great dance songs and so if I need a quick solo dance party, this is a good one to go crazy to!
• Exactly Like You -- Elsie Carlisle "Hits of the '30s"
• Boyd really loves this CD, which I got a few years ago from the library. It sounds just like the stuff you would expect to hear on an old fashion phonograph or radio show. The woman has a high trill-y voice and there is a clarinet and piano accompanying her. It's great to tap into this older era of music!
• River -- Natalie Merchant "Tigerlily"
• Probably my favorite CD of all times and the one I've listened to most often in my life. River was written as a tribute to River Phoenix after he died of a drug overdose. It's a lament song and Natalie has the perfect voice for it. I love her strong, clear voice. It's easy to sing along with and hear the gorgeous lyrics.  
• If There's Love -- Citizen Cope "Album 2"
• "If there's love, I just wanna to have something to do with it. I just wanna feel yours." This is one of my favorite lyrics on the CD. You can just hear the yearning in his angst-y, rock star voice. My sister got this CD while she was working in Alaska for the summer and when she came home, she played it nonstop on the CD player in the kitchen. Soon enough, we all knew the lyrics and came to love the album.
• Don't Ride That Horse -- Old Crow Medicine Show "Big Iron World"
• Love the new old-syle bluegrass music. We saw these guys in concert at First Ave in Minneapolis and I fell in love with the harmonica guy - man! could he wail on the  harmonica! 
• [Bonus!!] Owensboro -- Natalie Merchant "Putumayo Presents American Folk"
• I had to include this one because it's in my top 5 of Natalie's song. It has great folk lyrics singing about working hard, missed opportunities, and hope for glory in heaven.