Top 5 Tuesday

It hits all of us. You've got your MP3 player going or you're driving with the music loud. Something in the bass or the vocals or the mood hits you just right. You get goosebumps. The hair on the back of your neck stands up. Your throat tightens up a bit. You feels your eyes getting damp. Music is one of the those things that makes my life worth living. So this is what I wanted to give ya' this week ...

Top 5 Songs That Hit Me

5. "Taps" : I always have a soft spot for a few things: animals, kids, and old veterans. Taps reminds me of Ft. Huachuca, Arizona and one of those perfect moments. The sun is setting and we're on the old post part (the part that was built during the days of the Buffalo soldiers and now used by officers; beautiful part of post). The Sierra Vista mountain range is blood red and our drill sergeants are explaining what Taps is all about. I remember watching a couple of G.I.'s pulling down the flag and folding it. Just one of those moments that words can't even begin to describe those feelings.

4. "The Star Spangled Banner" : Another one of those songs that takes me back to my military days. Osan Air Base, South Korea (check out this link, it's great .... even has a bar review and explains the "juicy girl" phenomenon in Korean bars). Fourth of July. Drunk on the lawn in front of the barracks and a seriously kick-ass fireworks show set to this song. Young, dumb, and full of cum .... we're hooting and hollerin', singing the lyrics at the top of our lungs. It's those moments when I felt so proud to serve my country. And no, it wasn't the Coronas talking but they certainly helped.

3. "No Woman, No Cry" - Bob Marley : Another Korea story that I've told before. When things have gotten absolutely shitty: I have just gotten dumped by my fiance; I'm being worked to death with little recognition; and I hate Korea. This song lifted me to that higher place and made me truly realize that "everything gonna be alright".

2. "Saint Behind The Glass" - Los Lobos : Of all the crazy associations I've ever made in my life, this has to be one of the strangest ones. One day I was sick home from work in Dayton. Not having cable, missing my family, and having the flu, I was utterly miserable. I flipped passed PBS and caught "Reading Rainbow" with LeVar Burton. He had an episode about Mexican-American culture. Los Lobos closed the episode but first he interviewed them asking what song they'd play. They played this song and described as a song that embodied not only the Mexican-American experience, but the American experience . For some strange reason, I couldn't agree more and I've got goosebumps even now as I listen.

1. "With Or Without You" - U2 : This is the never-fail, give me goosebumps song. What is it about this song? The methodic bassline? The longing tone of the song? Is it the haunting effect of the drums and vocals? The jangly guitar work of the Edge? It's not so much a love song as a cry of desperation. But damnit if this one doesn't always gives me goosebumps. The best version of this song is in the movie "Rattle and Hum" when u2 plays a concert in God's stadium (for you non-believers, that would be Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University).

Now it's your turn. Tell me what songs always get to you or post it on your blog. You know I love music and you can be assured that when you give me some songs, I will go listen to them.