No point rationalizing it.

Musical taste- what a loaded topic. I think the tendency of anyone with a particular pursuit or interest is to make it flashier, maybe more high-brow. This certainly applies to music. For instance, if you were to ask me, best beloved reader, what my top 20 songs are, I am probably going to tell you what I want you to hear… with a motive.

I want you to like me, but I want you to like the me that I portray to you, never the real me.

Instead, I am going to bare my soul- or at least my iTunes top 20 played songs. Thanks to Uncle Stevie’s column at EW for the inspiration.

• 20. At 17 plays: Learn to Fly- The Foo Fighters. Well, all I can say is it’s a shared music library between the H and myself.
• 19. At 17 plays: The Lucky One- Alison Krauss and Union Station. Her voice truly is what one would expect heavenly beings to sound like. And with a jammin’ boot stompin’ band like Union Station, there’s not much room for improvement.
• 18. At 18 plays: Crooked Teeth- Death Cab for Cutie. I do like Death Cab, I didn’t realize I liked this song that much. Maybe we can chalk this one up to a shared library too? It’s catchy, and has a danceable hook for sure.
• 17. At 19 plays: Reptilia- The Strokes. Yes, I first heard this song on Guitar Hero. Does that diminish the quality of the song or my appreciation of it? I defy anyone that doesn’t want to jump up on their couch and start hopping up in down to this one.
• 16. At 19 plays: Down In a Hole- Ryan Adams. I always loved this song – originally Alice In Chains. Ryan Adams occupies me, though, and this version is second to none. Haunting, sad, like a man literally at the bottom of a hole with no way out, it’s chill-inducing.
• 15. At 19 plays: Rehab- Amy Winehouse. Personal life and gossip rags aside, this girl can SING. And this song is funny, and relatable to anyone with personal demons. Here’s hoping she can kick hers and up the ante.
• 14. At 19 plays: Let Me Touch You for a While- Alison Krauss and Union Station. AK+US makes their second appearance on the list, and it’s a doozy. Any song that includes the line “laugh at that cowgirl as she’s walkin’ out the door” deserves a mention for sheer moxie. Plus it includes some great pickin’.
• 13. At 20 plays: My Love for You is Real- Ryan Adams. One of the few love songs from Ryan that don’t overtly involve heartbreak, this one is hopeful and optimistic, with a tinge of neediness, just the way I like it.
• 12. At 20 plays: Follow The Lights- Ryan Adams. It IS a good song, but I wonder if this one is listened to more because it’s first on the album (of the same name)?
• 11. At 20 plays: Someday You Will Be Loved- Death Cab for Cutie. It’s a good song, and I always get the visual image of a slightly chubby introverted writer wandering the halls of a high school when I listen to this song.
• 10. At 22 plays: Shipbuilding- Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Maybe one of the best anti-war songs ever. And that amazing solo by Chet Baker. But the crowning jewel of this song is Elvis’ amazing vocals, throaty but clear, expansive yet well defined. It’s an ass kicker.
• 9. At 23 plays: What Ever Happened?- The Strokes. Don’t ask. It’s a fun song, but again, I think a winner due to album order.
• 8. At 24 plays: Blue Hotel- Ryan Adams. Ryan wrote this song for Willie Nelson, but I can’t imagine anyone but him singing it… so much so that I have never listened to Willie’s version. I am a purist, I can’t help it… Sample favorite lyric: “and she’s inside me like a secret and I got no one to tell” … The steel guitar in this one edges it up over the top and out like fireworks.
• 7. At 24 plays: Your Heart Is an Empty Room- Death Cab for Cutie. Best beloved reader, you are going to think I disproprtionately worship Death Cab. I DO like them, but this song makes its appearance due the amount of love showered on it by the H. He loves any song that involves fire, dear-hearted pyro that he is. Oh yeah, and it’s a great song about the immediacy of existence when you are a teenager.
• 6. At 26 plays: Alison- Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The H isn’t a big fan, so this one’s all me. God, I love this song. It’s one of those girl songs- you have to be a girl to truly appreciate it. I think that’s because in this song he loves an f-ed up girl unconditionally. Gee, why would girls like that?
• 5. At 27 plays: I Will Follow You into the Dark- Death Cab for Cutie. Seriously, it’s a Grammy winner, and an elegy like none ever set to tunes. I dare you to listen without thinking about your sweetie.
• 4. At 29 plays: Different Names for the Same Thing- Death Cab for Cutie. This song includes the best jamming crescendo, and I eagerly anticipate it every listen… I learned to love this one on a train in a foreign country, so it holds literal veracity in my ears.
• 3. At 31 plays: Soul Meets Body- Death Cab for Cutie. We’re fans. Both of us. The driving strumming on the acoustic keeps you engaged with the sweet harmonies. And really, I would like to live where soul meets body too!
• 2. At 32 plays: Marching Bands of Manhattan- Death Cab. God that name gets long to type. It’s a good one, but I am suspecting that the DC4C plays is due to the oldest owned iTunes… I will! cross reference. I do love the driving repetition and “wall of sound” on this one too. “Sorrow drips into your heart thru a pinhole, just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound. But while you debate half-empty or half-full, it slowly rises… your love is gonna drown”
• 1. At 33 plays: Summer Skin- DC4C. This song kinda creeps me out, especially about peeling skin. Yuck. My high-school friend Cooter and I would sunbathe to the point of peeling and would see who could get the biggest chunk. Ralf.

Don’t be a hater. I seriously considered editing this, to show that I like TRULY diverse music, but I think there are real reasons for every song on this list- when driving, working, relaxing or thinking it’s what I listen to.

And you, best beloved reader? Share with us?