1. Cake, “Short Skirt Long Jacket”
This song reminds me of some friends from college. While you don’t know them, they were pretty funny. You would like them if you met them!
2. Nina Simone, “Sinnerman”
Sure, most people only know this song from its appearance in “The Thomas Crown Affair,” and that’s fine with me. The song is the background for a great bait and switch scene…and who doesn’t love the story of a good caper?
3. Yellow Ostrich, “WHALE”
Last week’s issue of The Lawrentian shined some light on Alex Schaaf ’10 as a “Lawrence alumnus and current Next Big Thing.” I couldn’t agree more.
4. W.G. Snuffy Walden, “Theme from ‘The West Wing'”
So you want to make fun of me for having the theme from a TV show on the list? Okay. But first, it was composed by someone who goes by “Snuffy.” Second, it’s great music for what is probably some of the finest TV ever produced.
5. 30 Seconds to Mars, “Kings and Queens”
I first heard this song and saw the video for it early one morning, and the video featured a lot of pretty cool bikes. That made me like the song, plain and simple.
6. Atomic Tom, “Don’t You Want Me”
Come on, this is a pretty great reissuing of this song. The video is also pretty hilarious; it recreates a bunch of scenes from iconic ‘80s movies. Check it out!
7. Christopher Theofanidis, “Rainbow Body”
This is an orchestral piece that I first heard performed by the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra a few years ago, and I’ve since checked out a couple of recordings of it. Really a great piece.
8. Frank Sinatra, “I Get a Kick Out of You”
Everyone should have a few selections from Frank on their iPod. Seriously, it’s just the classy thing to do.