Top Five

Ouch, almost a month and a half since my last post…

Sorry everybody, I certainly don’t mean to leave you all hanging, but sadly (at least for my writing), life has been insanely busy over the past month. My duties at the dance studio have effectively doubled, work has been insane, and most importantly, I have gotten my hot little mitts on Civilization 4 (damn you Sid Meirs for taking all my free time!). Anyway, I’m back with a short post that I’ve been mulling over for sometime now, hope everybody enjoys!

The other night I was explaining to the kids down in Red Wing why I was a dancer, citing things such as its inherent athleticism and world class access to gorgeous, underdressed girls. But most of all, I was a dancer because of the music. I love music more than I can describe, and I can’t play an instrument or sing, which left dance as just about the only avenue left for me to explore my relationship with song. What always excites me about dance is the way a song can carry or drive you along, the way its energy can flow through your body, infusing your cells with the rhythm of the universe. It’s a magical feeling and the addictive quality that keeps me, quite inexplicably, coming back for more.

This begs the obvious question “What is/are your favorite song(s),” a complicated question I always have a tough time answering, since there are just so many good answers. However, I have decided I am up to the challenge, and in an ode to John Cusack’s character in High Fidelity, I have decided to compile my top five in a listing with an attempt at defending my selections. And without further adieu…

#1: “Gimme Some Lovin’” – Spencer Davis Group
Honestly, I have yet to meet somebody that doesn’t love this song. The singing of young Steve Winwood and the driving beat make the sound irresistible. But what really sells it for me is that the song isn’t about anything but having a great time and enjoying your life, and really, who can’t relate to that? The chorus, it seems to me, is the call of the human soul itself: “C’mon and gimme some lovin’!” Pretty much says it all

#2: “Running on Empty” – Jackson Browne
Browne is far and away my favorite singer/songwriter to listen to, mostly because his songs deal with unusual issues and have such a genuine feeling of insight about them. I’ve written about this song before in my column, but it’s a song I find myself coming back to time and again, partially because of the driving riffs and drums, but mostly because of Jackson’s lyrical skills.

#3: “Born to Run” – Bruce Springsteen
I’ve already written an entire post on this song explaining my identification with it, so check it out if you’d like it explained.

#4: “Sooner or Later” and “I Want You” – Bob Dylan
I always think of these songs together since they are found back to back on Dylan’s prolific album Blonde on Blonde, so I thought I would mention them together. The piano in “Sooner or Later” is great, and I love the statement it makes about relationships; that, eventually, everybody looks back and understands why people did what they did and how we’re all victims of the circumstances we find ourselves in. “I Want You” always sounds like the embodiment of what I think of love feeling like: silly, whimsical, and happy yet earnest and sincere at the same time. The song just feels right; a hard essence to capture as an artist, but a thing of beauty to the audience.

#5: “Oh Yoko!” – John Lennon
Sometimes I feel as if the rest of the world is sitting around waiting for me to come up with the energy to make it go, and many times, I wonder if I have enough energy within me to make it all work. This song always reminds me of everything everybody has given me or done for me during my life and helps me decide, yeah, I do have enough passion to keep going. I know, it’s egotistical as hell, but it’s the best way I can describe it. The song also reminds me of the Megs, which is always a bonus.

Honorable Mentions:

• “Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes” – Paul Simon
  His song writing is unreal, and this is my favorite



• “Learning to Fly” – Tom Petty
  A FAR better song than his cliché and overplayed “Free Fallin”



• “I’m Alive” – Cut ‘N’ Move
  Cheese-pop techno at its finest!



• “Jet Airliner” – Steve Miller
  Great riff, great lyrics, great song

Anyway, that’s a little summary of the top of my musical world. I would encourage any readers to comment their favorites, it would be great to read!

I’ll try and do better to keep Minnesotan on the Loose updated in the coming weeks. Happy 2006 everybody!