This week's playlist.... My Top Ten!

I love the (rare) hot muggy weather Vancouver's been recently blessed with (it almost makes me want to move back to the Maritimes for a sticky summer) so I took an extra day off from my air conditioned office to steal some time at the easel this week.

Painting's a 20 minutes on/ 5 minutes off sort of thing for me, as my eyes are only fresh for 20 minutes at a time (and some days I doubt they're any good that long!) That 5 minutes is often spent standing at my laptop (like now,) but Tuesday I spent those extra minutes crafting a playlist for myself.

There's been much discussion amongst my friends the past few years about each of us compiling our own Top Ten songs to be played in the event of our death. (Selections are often hotly debated, but only after a bottle of bourbon hits the table, of course.) Having yet again been raised as a topic of conversation on Friday, I undertook the challenge and burned my own top ten. Surprisingly, it was harder to find 10 songs to list than 10 influential albums (there always seem to be too few songs and too many albums, but songs - as I'm sure most of you will agree - are really getting down to the nitty gritty.)

My list is below and may or may not contain a few surprises (depending on how well or how long you have known me,) is not at all maudlin, and makes for a good afternoon of painting. It's also a lot of fun to dance around to - I’d be happy to be invited to party that included this set list - except for being dead, of course!)

Much to the chagrin of my neighbours and the amusement of the construction workers on my patio, these are my chosen top ten songs in order of track sequence (I guess they'll just have to get used to it because I'll be playing it for most of the summer) --

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got - Bettye LaVette (I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise)

RC's Beliefs - Kingsway & Counterrevolutionaries (Brand New Golden Oldies)

Sweet Jane - Lou Reed (Berlin: Live at St. Ann's Warehouse)

Kiss Me Deadly - Generation X (Generation X remastered)

Bird on a Wire - Jennifer Warnes (Famous Blue Raincoat)

Hospital - The Modern Lovers (The Modern Lovers)

Gold Lion - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Show Your Bones)

Gloria - Patti Smith (Horses)

Bad Reputation - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (Bad Reputation)

A Little Rain - Tom Waits (Bone Machine)

Have you ever made a Top Ten (or even considered it, morbidity aside?) What would you choose that I forgot to consider?