The Princess's Top 10 Songs of the Moment

The Princess and I had some free time again this past week.  So we decided to collaborate for a second installment of our ongoing musical experiment.  If you haven't seen this post then please allow me to give you a quick run-down of what we're doing.  My music collection contains just over 7500 songs and I keep it all on my portable mp3 player.  My collection has selections from nearly every genre of music, and I am often surprised by what pops up when we shuffle through the whole caboodle.  I've downloaded music at the request of my wife, my kids, and my friends, so I'm not necessarily a fan of everything on there.  So when the Princess and I have the time, we hop in the car and put the mp3 player on shuffle.  Princess has the power of veto, and the first ten songs she approves get published here with my commentary.  This time I changed the rules a bit by making her listen to each song for at least a minute before allowing her to go to the next song.  I really think this provides some insight into her tastes in music and allows her to broaden her horizons a bit.

So without any further ado it is my great pleasure to present:

The Princess's Top 10 songs of the moment.

#1 The Kinks | The Contenders | Lola Versus Powerman and The Moneygoround, Part 1
What a band! What an album! I cannot begin to tell you how I swelled with pride when Princess gave the okay to this song.  There's so much to love about this song, from the bluegrass opening to the rollicking piano line.  This coming from a girl who still would list the Jonas Brothers as her all-time favorite band. Perhaps the next generation isn't completely lost after all.

#2 Garth Brooks | We Shall Be Free | The Hits
I'm confused about why I even have this song in my collection.  Granted I was a teenager in South Dakota during the 90's, and owning a Garth Brooks album was practically compulsory back then.  But   GB never tripped my trigger.  I think I may have downloaded this album in an effort to put some country/rock playlists together for work, but who knows.  Anyway I liked this song better when John Lennon released it as Imagine.

#3 Nick Drake | Bryter Later | Bryter Later
So Princess is now 2 for 2 on her 1970 imports from across the pond.  Drake has grown on me steadily since I was introduced to this album a year or two ago.  I gave a friend of mine a hard time for putting this song on one of his top ten lists, but after hearing it a few times I'm probably going to have to eat my words.

#4 Dominic Miller | February Sun | First Touch
Between this and the previous song, I needed a cup of strong coffee just to stay awake.  I shouldn't have been surprised to see Princess's tastes lean toward laid-back guitar melodies, as she is quite possibly the most laid-back little kid I've ever met.  When the mood hits her she can be the apotheosis of merry tranquility.


#5 Traveling Wilburys | End of the Line | The Traveling Wilburys, Vol 1
One of the most likable songs ever recorded.  Possibly the greatest musical supergroup of all time.  I've never met anybody who doesn't like this song.


#6 Queen | Seven Seas of Rhye | Greatest Hits Volume I
Queen is a tough band to put into a single genre.  This song does a pretty good job of covering the bases of what makes a Queen song.  Freddy Mercury is larger than life with his vocals and lyrics, and Brian May rocks the guitar solos.  I really dig Queen, especially their "epic fantasy" songs.


#7 Kidz Bop Kids | One Thing | Kidz Bop 7
I've had a lot of time to regret obtaining the Kidz Bop albums for the Princess.  Still, they are her most frequent request when we have the opportunity to listen to music together.  Anyway this is a soulless cover of a soulless single from the Canadian rock (*cough*) band Finger Eleven.  


#8 Better Than Ezra | Breathless | Before the Robots
I've gotten to hear this band live a couple of times and I've always liked their sound.  This is one of their more generic pop-sounding songs, but I think that is what appeals to Princess.  Still, my opinion on  Before the Robots is that is was a strong release from a band that has yet to sell out to "big music" despite countless opportunities.


#9 Bad Religion | Won't Somebody | The Dissent of Man
I am completely dumbstruck with this.  My little girl digs her some Bad Religion.  I can forgive every doe-eyed sigh at the synthetic Disneyco pop icon du jour as long as she keeps punk rock alive in her heart.


#10 Eric Clapton | Change the World | Phenomenon Soundtrack
Here Princess shows that she is a girl after her mother's own heart.  I have long since come to grips with the fact that, should Mr. Clapton express an interest, The Trophy Wife would abscond so fast that a cloud in the shape of her body would materialize.  But I can't fault her; he's a hell of a guitar player. Am I the only one who noticed that, for a brief period in the late 90's, every movie was a heartfelt and generally appealing John Travolta vehicle and every song was a heartfelt and generally appealing Eric Clapton single?


So that wraps up this edition.  In honor of baseball season, I give Princess an .800 average for this showing.  Those are Hall of Fame numbers so I'll definitely be happy if she can keep it up.