The Listening Lineup

For lack of a better idea, I've decided to dedicate this entry to the music I've recently piled onto my iPod. For all of you out there who have been dying to know, here's my current arsenal of tunes:

1. Amy Winehouse. This British soul singer has a brand new album out called Back to Black. It sounds a lot like the Phil Spector Wall of Sound music from the 1960s, but songs like "Rehab" give it a decidedly modern edge. I've only heard the album twice and I'm already an addict myself.

2. Arcade Fire's Funeral. I've been reading about this indie Montreal band everywhere, and I finally caved in and downloaded their first album. It underwhelmed me at first, but I'm starting to see why the band warrants comparisons to the Talking Heads and U2.

3. The Beatles. "Nowhere Man" and "Penny Lane," just cuz I like them.

4. Buffy Sainte-Marie's She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina. I love Buffy to death, but she's recorded so many albums that I can't keep up with them all. Today I downloaded this 1971 title, and I'm eager to see how it compares to Buffy classics like Illuminations and Moonshot.

5. Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man." This song has always haunted me. It's featured in the movie Zodiac, and I've been humming it for the past two weeks.

6. Elton John's self-titled album. My partner Drew is a huge Elton fan, so I try to keep him rolling in the classic material from the 1970s. This one starts off with "Your Song," a tune that always leaves a lump in my throat because I associate it with a TV movie tearjerker about a girl who died of Cystic Fibrosis. The tie-in is that she listened to this song on her deathbed.

7. Ferron's "Shadows on a Dime" because it's a fucking awesome song by a criminally underrated artist.

8. Kate Campbell's Songs From the Levee. I've been listening to Kate's beautiful soul/folk/gospel/country music ever since I interviewed her for an article in 2003. I just got around to buying Songs from the Levee, which is her first album.

9. Lucinda Williams's West, a welcome return to form after her mediocre 2003 disc World Without Tears.

10. Nino Rota's soundtracks for Fellini's La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2 and Juliet of the Spirits. His carnivalesque compositions always lift my spirits.

11. Oum Kalthoum. I'd never heard of this deceased Egyptian singer until Rickie Lee Jones recommended her in an article on eMusic.com. It's very sensual stuff.