For years, I’ve spent my mornings whistling, humming, or mumble-singing some of the most random songs.

From Broadway’s “Hello, Dolly!” to Slayer’s “Dead Skin Mask,” these auditory passengers seem to have no reason nor rhyme. This blog topic is my attempt to make sense of them.

June 1, 2018

“Layla (Piano Exit)”

Eric Clapton, 1970

I am not sure why this melodic piece bubbled into my conscience, but I’m glad it did. What a beautiful piece!

June 2, 2018

“City of New Orleans”

Arlo Gunthrie, 1977

Heading out for a 5:30 a.m., 65 mile bike ride. “Good morning, America! How are you?” He might be a draft-dodging hippy, but you can’t argue with a handful of his tunes.

June 3, 2018

“In Between Days”

The Cure, 1985

I don’t know why this song came in my mind. All I could remember was the refrain, “I know it was wrong when I said it was true that couldn’t be me and be her inbetweeen without you.”

July 4, 2018

“Toys R Us” (jingle)

James Patterson and Linda Kaplan, 1982

Because I’m still a Toys R Us kid? I have no idea. Not a terrible song to have stuck in your head on a Monday! 🙂

June 5, 2018

“Right Now”

Van Halen, 1991

I was never a Van Hagar guy in high school (that was reserved for the soccer playing, mini-truck driving, short mullet-wearing semi-jocks). Great song (and video!) for my second day as a full-time employee at Centene.

June 6, 2018

“Dissident Aggressor” (Slayer’s Version)

Judas Priest, 1977

“Stab! March!” Maybe this new job is getting the best of me? Need some meditation and prayer. LOL.

July 7, 2018

“Everything Is Free”

Gillian Welch, 2001

God bless Maggie, who gave me Gillian. This song is in my head so often, it deserves a permanent place on the blog.

July 8, 2018

“The Boys Are Back in Town”

Thin Lizzy, 1976

My band does a lounge/rock version of this song. Perhaps I was missing our practice sessions?

June 9, 2018

“(Movin’ Out) Anthony’s Song”

Billy Joel, 1977

I have a lot of early Joel in my noodle. It crawls out quite a bit. This one is a shaker!

June 10, 2018

“You Can Get It If You Really Want It”

Jimmy Cliff, 1972

Great song. Not sure how or why it ended up in my head. Glad it was there this morning! 🙂

June 11, 2018

“Meltdown”

Slobberbone, 2000

There was a time when my old band would have given a testicle to open for Slobberbone. I think this one came back to me because NPR played a snippet of a Tupelo song.

June 12, 2018

“Breakdown”

Tom Petty, 1976

Mike Campbell is a beast. Great song to have stuck in your craw!

June 13, 2018

“Dream a Little Dream of Me”

Fabian Andre, Wilbur Schwandt , and Gus Kahn, 1931

According to Wikipedia, this song’s been recorded by more than 60 artists! Quite the testement. The reason it was in my head was because I wanted to go back to bed!

June 14, 2018

“Leave It”

Yes, 1983

Wow. Were the 80s this vaccuous? The lyric that bubbled up in my craw this morning was “One down, one to go…” I was thinking about my morning routines.

June 15, 2018

“Cabin Down Below”

Tom Petty, 1994

Spooky song. Maybe I’m watching too many Forensics Files

June 16, 2018

“Drive”

Cars, 1984

Check out that badazz synthesizer! Local guitar hero, Jimmy Griffin, plays in incredible acoustic version of this song. It was on my mind.

June 17, 2018

“Handle With Care”

Traveling Wilburys, 1988

My co-worker, Brian, gave me a Traveling Wilburys documentary. Now, I have this lovely song in my head and really want a twelve string Danelectro.

June 18, 2018

“Strange Brew”

Cream, 1967

Our drummer likes to sing this one. We typically begin our set with it. Man, Cream sounds so much better than my band!

June 19, 2018

“Pressure Drop”

Toots & and The Maytals

What came into my head this morning was just the lyric, “Pressure Drop.” I’m so glad to hear the whole song. It’s been a long, long time.

June 20, 2018

“New Speedway Boogie”

Grateful Dead, 1970

“Please don’t dominate the rap, jack…”  I’m pretty sure that I was thinking about a meeting when that line came into my noodle. LOL. I guess it was good enough to stick around until this morning.

June 22, 2018

“Happy Alone”

Kings of Leon, 2003

Yup, they’re rock’s favorite douches, but it’s hard to deny this song, man. It accidentally came on when I was hooking up my new Jabra bluetooth earbuds. Apparently, my ex-wife downloaded this album years ago to our iTunes account, and apparently, it was up on my playlist. Happy accident.

June 23, 2018

“Losing My Religion”

R.E.M., 1991

I never got Michael Stipe’s anxiety-ridden emo-rock style. It always made me feel nervous. I have no idea how this ear worm took hold today.

June 24, 2018

“Pawn Shop”

Sublime, 1992

Love this album. Rode my bike past a pawn shop on Dr. Martin Luther King this morning. Started singing this song in my head.

June 25, 2018

“Space Lord”

Monster Magnet, 1998

“You’ve been drinking my blook while I’ve been licking your wounds…” Spooky stuff to have in your head first thing in the morning. This song gets heavy about a quarter way through. Worth sticking around for.

June 26, 2018

“Imaginary Love”

Rufus Wainwright, 1998

I love me some Rufus. Listened to a bunch a few days ago on a bike ride. Why this one stuck is beyond me. Totally not my favorite, but that chorus! Yummy.

June 27, 2018

“We’ve Only Just Begun”

Carpenters, 1970

If you know me, you know that I have a penchant for watching crime documentaries. Sociopaths and psychopaths fascinate me. I’ve recently gone down an ID Discovery YouTube wormhole, and this morning, it hit me how macabre it would be to juxtapose this song with a murder spree documentary. I probably should talk to my therapist about this!

June 28, 2018

“April Fools”

Rufus Wainwright, 1998

“Oh, what a drag / To be back in St. Pete / On St. Valentines and you sit / In your chair, thinking, ‘Boy, / I’m such a friend…” Making friends out of lovers is what I do best. LOL. Sad face. Sad face.

June 29, 2018

“Feels Like the First Time”

Foreigner, 1977

I woke up grooving on the verse lyrics: I would climb any mountain / Swim across an endless sea-e. Not a bad song. I mean, of course it’s not a bad song. Rather, it has a redemptive quality that is kind of hard to find in some late 70s rockers.

June 30, 2018

“Cowboy Song”

Thin Lizzy, 1976

“Lonesome on the trail!” I think I watched a trailer for a gay cowboy movie on YouTube and this song somehow got stuck in my craw.