songs to download & sing (in no order):
rolling stones, "winter"
i can't hum it, i know one line to it, and it's just about a moonlight mile from van morrison country. and yet when mick sings "i wanna wrap my coat around you," and the gale strings pick up and the guitar bites, i'm reminded why this is the great unheralded stones song.
donell jones, "you know that i love you"
r&b bubblebath.
morrissey, "mexico (live)"
about seven seconds in, when the guitar plays a crestfallen chord, you know this is classic morrissey. be sure to get the 4:44 "eugene" version.
richard ashcroft, "nature is the law"
brian wilson performs backing vocals, which may be enough to get some to go after it. ashcroft called it the best song he's ever written. it's not, but it is damn fine in its imperious way.
shining, "young again"
the two simons from the verve formed a band that once counted john squire among its ranks. now it doesn't. this track isn't original or clever, but it's charming in a wb-theme-song way.
northern state, "man's dollar"
the only track of theirs i really dig. "man's dollar" is redolent of a time when their homeland was actively called "strong island," a time before diddy. but, jesus, is mc hesta prynn's voice tragic.
andrew wk, "we want fun"
"mom and dad just have to face it, we want to have fun and we want to get wasted."
coldplay, "clocks"
the most insidious track from a rush of blood to the head. what if u2 had a keyboard player and stubble?
queens of the stone age, "do it again"
an ill-tempered gary glitter rip, not so very different from marilyn manson's excellent "disposable teens," but more cerebral in a meathead kind of way.
bruce springsteen, "empty sky"
this side of the titular single, the two most understated tracks from the rising, i.e. this and "nothing man," have turned out to be my favorites. ("paradise" doesn't count since its operatic in its quiet intensity.) it slowly builds until a chromatic harmonica rends the air like lightning.

i'd add another song to the list if i knew either the artist or the song. maybe you can help me. it's an r&b track; i've only heard it on wbls. the chorus says something about "when i'm with you," and no it isn't tony terry. it's as bifurcated as truth hurts' "addictive": there's a standard r&b track on top and coursing beneath it is a bo-diddley-styled beat. it's rather brilliant, so let me know if you know.