The rating system I devised in my head that translates into iTunes is as follows:

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars A song that should be deleted from the database.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars A pretty bad song but worth listening to once a year or so.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars A decent song, worth listening to from time to time.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars A great song that almost never gets skipped.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars One of the greatest songs ever recorded.

It’s highly subjective and extremely weighted to the center; I guess it’d create a pretty sweet looking bell curve — then again I have a lot of stuff that should just be deleted so maybe not. Anyway, of the 8,500 songs I’ve only given the coveted five star rating to thirty tracks. Just 30. Less than 1%. I take the “greatest song ever recorded” moniker very seriously.

All of this jibber jabber is basically to say that I’m sharing with you, fine reader, my list of the greatest songs ever recorded. Behold the greatness, alphabetical by artist:

I thought about going through and explaining why each song made the cut, like I did with my celebrity playlist, but I’d rather let the greatness stand for stand for itself.

There you have it. So much awesome you can’t even contain it all. What’s your greatest song of all time? Is it on my list?

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On February 3, 1959, a small-plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, United States killed three American rock and roll musicians: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, as well as the pilot, Roger Peterson. The day was later called The Day the Music Died by Don McLean in his 1971 song “American Pie”.

The unfortunate death of these three musical legends spurred many memorials and tributes over the years, but none as well known as Don McLean’s “American Pie.” So, what a better way to honor the golden anniversary then a YouTube video of Don letting it all out?

Now can someone please tell Britney Spears and Beyonce that the music, is in fact, dead?

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1. Song: The Load Out/Stay
   Artist: Jackson Browne
   Album: Running on Empty

   The song of life on the road and wanting to continue playing after the show is over. I really like the lyrics and how the song shifts into Stay by the Four Seasons. Too bad it’s not available on iTunes.

2. Song: The Wino and I Know
   Artist: Jimmy Buffett
   Album: Living and Dying in 3/4 Time

   My celebrity playlist would not be complete without something from Buffett. I’ve been a Parrothead for at lest a decade and while I celebrate the entire catalog, a playlist calls for a specific song. The Wino and I Know has been my favorite song by Jimmy Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band since the moment I heard the first riff. It’s got fun lyrics, a killer bridge, and a sound that just draws you in. How can you possibly go wrong?

3. Song: The Skies Won’t Fall
   Artist: Foundation
   Album: Foundation

   Foundation is a solo project by Ann Beretta frontman, Rob Huddleston. While Ann Beretta is upbeat and at times hard core, Foundation is soft and acoustic. It’s really hard to pick one song from the only Foundation album in existence (2001’s self-titled debut) but The Skies Won’t Fall is just as good as any. The song showcases the bands smooth sound that just demands to be repeated over and over again. According to Foundation’s MySpace page a new album is in the works which is very cool news!

4. Song: Where the Streets Have No Name
   Artist: U2
   Album: Joshua Tree

   If there is a song that speaks of more hope I don’t know about it. Someday we’ll find the place where we can take shelter from the poison rain. No matter what crap we go through, there is always hope for something better. For me, it’s where the streets have no name. Bono captures that ultimate hope in this wonderful song.

5. Song: When Your Mind’s Made Up
   Artist: Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
   Album: Music From the Motion Picture ‘Once’

   I’ve talked about Once before. The movie is incredible mainly because the music is so good. The song that is brought up every time the movie is mentioned, the one that won them the Oscar, is Falling Slowly. In my opinion, which is what makes up everything I write here, that’s not the best song in the movie/soundtrack. When Your Mind’s Made Up is nothing but pure passion and emotion on the part of Glen Hansard that’s translated to the listener. In the film, Glen and Marketa have finally saved up enough money to record. This song grabs the attention of the sound guy and shows the world (and themselves) that they really have something to be proud of. They’ve made it; they’ve done what it takes to chase their dreams. What’s happened in the past doesn’t matter and what will happen in the future is irrelevant. All that matters at that moment is the music.

6. Song: Blinded by the Light
   Artist: Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
   Album: The Roaring Silence

   Originally written and released by Bruce Springsteen but made popular by Manfred Mann, this song has some of the most intense lyrics ever written. Written about Springsteen’s early career, it’s like a crazy trip through dive bars in Jersey complete with very strange characters and situations.

7. Song: Move Away and Shine (In a Dream)
   Artist: Tim DeLaughter (The Polyphonic Spree)
   Album: ‘Thumbsucker’ Original Soundtrack

   I’m pretty sure The Polyphonic Spree is a cult. I remember seeing them on Conan years ago dancing around in their colored robes playing instruments and hitting beach balls in the air. That’s pretty cultish. Though, just because they are a cult doesn’t mean they can’t make really, really good music. Like another song on this list (that’s what they call a teaser) it’s impossible to listen to anything The Polyphonic Spree does without being put into a good mood (which might be how they get people to join their cult). This song was, more or less, the theme song for a little indie flick that I couldn’t tell you about if I tried. The song, however, is much more memorable. Don’t be afraid to break your comfort zone, get out there and shine. How can you not like that?

8. Song: Call Me, Call Me
   Artist: 菅野よう子 (The Seatbelts)
   Album: Blue

   In case you didn’t know, I’m a geek. I dig the internets, video games, and yes, some anime. One such work that I am especially fond of is Cowboy Bebop. It’s a short, 26 episode series about a group of bounty hunters who are forever broke in the year 2071. Call Me, Call Me plays during the climax of the series and wraps up one of the main characters story lines. It’s such a happy and sad moment that is heightened by the emotion in the song. One of the few songs The Seatbelts do that are in English, Call Me, Call Me is about looking for someone long ago lost, and hoping that they’re alright; something all of us can relate to.

9. Song: Along for the Ride
   Artist: Mates of State
   Album: All Day

   Mates of State is an interesting band. It consists of a husband and wife who play the drums and keyboard respectively. Needless to say this produces a very unique sound. They’ve been featured, of all things, in an AT&T commercial and in a prior post here. The first time I heard Along for the Ride was at a concert on Election Night 2004 in Tallahassee. They played the song with fellow touring group Bishop Allen. Like most of their music, it’s a fun, upbeat, song that is hard not to like.

10. Song: Walk of Life
    Artist: Dire Straits
    Album: Brothers in Arms

    It’s pretty impossible to hear this song and not be put into a good mood. I rediscovered this song after watching Space Camp with some friends a while back. I regret forgetting about it in the first place. It is now my ringtone and every time I get a phone call my coworkers start humming. It’s one of the most contagious songs out there. Good thing it’s a pretty good one.

There you have it, my ‘celebrity’ playlist. Like something here? Don’t like something here? Just want to argue about it? Let me know in the comments below.

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Once is a very simple story about a guy and a girl who develop a non-sexual relationship through their musical talents in an effort to get their lives back on track. Because the two main characters are musicians trying to follow their dreams, a majority of the film is devoted to the two singing. The music for once was written by the two actors, who are actually musicians, in order to complement and represent the script. It’s passionate and hopeful music that help to turn the simple story into a very deep and beautiful one.

In contrast, Across the Universe takes established music, in this case the entire Beetles catalog, and uses it to tell a story. It seemed as if the screenwriter had a very simple concept where a guy falls in love with a girl in the 60’s and went and found songs to make it work. The main characters were aptly named Lucy (in the Sky with Diamonds) and (Hey) Jude. Here, the concept works wonderfully at times and at times feels a bit awkward. Sure, it was interesting seeing Bono sing I am the Walrus, and the song was used as a way to show Jude and Lucy’s trip through the 60’s drug culture, but it felt really out of place. On the other hand (warning, spoilers), the presentation of All You Need is Love at the end of the film fit perfectly with the story line and closed the movie in a very nice way.

Both of these movies approach the musical genre (which I would assume both would fall into for lack of a better term) in such a new and interesting way that it makes the genre worth watching. Granted, this idea isn’t exactly original. Movies like Moulin Rouge have used established songs to tell the story in the past, but it seems both Once and Across the Universe are reinventing the idea.

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The show was great, of course, and even though I was behind the stage the view was great. It was a fun weekend 18 hours seeing old friends and enjoying some great music.

For those who care, you can find the set list here. It was cool seeing some old stuff including Pencil Thin Mustache, which I hadn’t seen in concert since 2003, as well as some others that I had never seen in concert like Bama Breeze, Changing Channels and the new rendition of Floridays. There were also a cool video called Here We Are (you can find it on iTunes) which shows Parrotheads through the years.

Anyway, it was a great show.

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I’ve spent a week setting this thing up and using it, and the overall experience is about as pleasant as having an airbag deploy in your face.

Andy Ihnatko, one of the Chicago Sun-Times’ two technology columnists, penned the Zune review and, as you can see, it is less then pleasant. Throughout the article Ihnatko talks about how the Zune is really just a way for Microsoft to play nice with the music industry — attempting to give in to demands where Apple has stood their ground. The result, according to Ihnatko, is that the Zune serves the industry rather then the user. He even goes as far as basically saying friends don’t let friends buy Zunes.

You’ll find that the Zune Planet orbits the music industry’s Bizarro World, where users aren’t allowed to do anything that isn’t in the industry’s direct interests.

I’ve pulled a few choice quotes for the purpose of my covering the article, but you should really read the whole thing, especially if you are considering purchasing a Zune, iPod, or other device this Christmas season.

Result: The Zune will be dead and gone within six months. Good riddance.

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As we all know, purchasing songs, videos or games from the iTMS only requires a customer to create an account and have a valid credit card. Thus, like most other business transactions, you purchase a good and the price of that good is billed to your credit card. It works the same way at the grocery store, at the gas station or in a restaurant. And for the most part it seems like a pretty good system. Plenty of people have credit cards and they understand the concept of purchasing items with them. So, how, you ask, could Microsoft screw this up? No, first you might ask, what is there to screw up? I mean, the system already works. All you need your customer to do is show up with a credit card? Right?

Full article can be read at Apple Matters.

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A few weeks ago I started the arduous process towards SCUBA certification. This means countless hours of not actually doing anything. Well, not really. I read a book, answered some questions, and dove in a pool for a few hours. Today I went down to DeLeon Springs (think cold water) and spent another few hours underwater performing various skills. I am now one ocean dive away from being a full blown PADI Open Water diver. Look out world, here I come.

Last week I was in the Golden Isles/Brunswick area of Georgia with the sixth graders on their mission trip. It was a lot of fun and the kids did more work then I could have imagined. They built cabins so that future TEAMeffort work teams will be able to come and help out the area. It was a great trip and I only had to take one person to the hospital — that was a first.

Last night was the fourth of July. Fireworks. Bang.

I am currently counting down the days until Intel releases the Core 2 Duo — stupid name I know — processor and Apple puts it in the iMac. When that glorious moment comes, I will be buying a pimped out computer that will then be cooler than yours. I’m a geek, I know.

The week before I left for the mission trip I officially became the Associate Youth Director of First United Methodist Church of Orlando. I’m on the letterhead. Cool huh?

Saturday I leave with the seventh and eighth graders on their mission trip to Asheville, NC. I don’t really have a clue what we’ll be doing. Should be fun though.

I’ve been getting back into Fueled by Ramen music lately. October Fall is a great band. Check them out.

I’m tried of this. This posting is done.

Well, almost. I found this funny and maybe the two of you will also. Check it out: Website Flags.

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