Comes after the storm.

Did I ever tell you about the time I left part of my tongue on the T-bar at Stratton?

That was back in December ’65, when they finally had snow, when Skylight Lodge was full and Christmas was not a bust.

I started skiing in Bobby Hickey’s backyard. He lived down the street. His dad had bought him boards at that hardware store we did not go to. They were nine dollars. They had bear trap bindings, as in they didn’t release, and one day up at the school, after a storm, Bobby let me try ’em.

To say I was instantly hooked would be wrong. But I liked all manner of snow sports. I had a Flexible Flyer, my dad bought us flying saucers, back when they were made out of aluminum instead of plastic, when you went over a bump and they dented. And then he purchased two toboggans. We’d go up to Fairchild Wheeler, the public golf course, and everybody would get on board and by time we got to the bottom, most people would be strewn on the slope above us.

But that was before Bobby and I became friends. And after we did, I implored my dad to buy me skis. Which he did at Mooney’s, the local sporting goods shop. I don’t remember the brand, but I do know they came with bamboo poles, and the toes would pivot and release, assuming my galoshes could generate enough torque. But when you’re young you’re stupid, you believe you’re invulnerable, I never thought I’d get hurt, and I didn’t, until years later, when my rental skis released in mid-air, but that’s another story.

So after getting my own boards, they were red, I’d spend afternoons and evenings at Bobby’s, down the street. There was a floodlight. We’d descend the fifteen vertical feet and make it almost to the house. We built jumps. We made the equivalent of a bobsled run, and then Mr. Conley showed our sixth grade class a movie about Mt. Snow.

I convinced my parents to go.

That was right after the Beatles were on “Ed Sullivan” the third time. That was right after Cassius Clay knocked out Sonny Liston. We all stayed in one room at the Novice Inn, took lessons at Carinthia, a small spot down the road from Mt. Snow which was incorporated into the big area in the eighties, and then we spent the next three days riding the chairs at Walt Schoenknecht’s playground. My family was hooked. So we booked the following Christmas at the Skylight Lodge in Manchester…

But it rained.

This was before snowmaking. We drove up to Vermont hoping the temperature would drop, that what was rain in Connecticut would be snow up north, but this was not to be. It was nearly sixty degrees. The snow was washed away. We were one of only two families at the Lodge. The other being from New York City, not Manhattan, but an outer borough. We made friends with a fourteen year old, who pooh-poohed the Beatles, we were infected by “Beatles ’65,” but he liked the Stones, and the only 45 around was “Charlie Brown,” which we played over and over and over again.

And I’ll never forget that trip back to Connecticut. It was so foggy my father opened the front door of our Oldsmobile to find the center line. Funny how you feel so safe in the back seat, like your parents are oh-so-powerful and can do no wrong. But it was only later that I realized my dad could not relinquish the steering wheel, that he had to plow on no matter what the circumstances, until one day in ’88 when he told my mother to take over, the multiple myeloma was causing too much pain, he had cancer, but this was before he was diagnosed.

So, after being blown out at Christmas my parents refused to go to Vermont during February vacation. We went to the Concord, which had its own ski area. Two T-bars and two flat slopes, but that did not hold me back, except for the final day, when it rained, you never know what the sky will bring on the east coast.

But feeling guilty for dashing my dreams, that March we went to Stratton.

Well, not really. We went to Sargent Camp, in New Hampshire, it was owned by mother’s alma mater, Boston University, and once again, my parents were planning for a bust.

But this time there was snow. We drove across the state line to Stratton. I convinced my mother and sisters to descend from the top via the Wanderer, almost every ski area in Vermont has a novice run from the top. My mother fell and scraped her nose, no one would forgive me, this is one of the last times I led the rest of my family on an adventure.

But the trip was a success. So the following Christmas, we tried the Skylight Lodge once again.

Now essentially it was a dormitory, with bathrooms down the hall. Usually my parents drew the line at detached loos, but for some reason this time they were amenable.

And the following morning…

Our boots were frozen.

Life is a learning experience. As is skiing. We did not know not to keep our boots in the back of the station wagon with our skis. You need them warm. But we put them under the car heater and we drove up to the mountain and there we separated. I was on my own adventure, they went to the bunny hill.

Now at that time there were two ways to make it to the middle of the mountain. One was the Suntanner chairlift, the other was two T-bars.

T-bars. They’re rare these days. No one wants to work. Except in Europe, where they were devised and still survive. For the uninitiated, they look like upside down “T”‘s, and they pull you up the hill. Two people at a time. Do not sit down, that’s anathema, you immediately fall. The key is to put the wood under your butt, hold the center pole and…

There are two kinds of T-bars. One on a rope and one that’s an aluminum pole, with a spring inside. The former was invented first, the latter was supposedly an improvement, but the latter is so much harder to ride. Especially alone. You end up gripping the bar arms crossed, holding on for dear life as it pulls you uphill.

This is what happened to me that day at Stratton back in ’65.

Now going back to the Concord, in February of that same year, being bored with the two runs I noticed…that if I put my face on the T-bar it would stick ever so slightly. It was a cool sensation. I enjoyed it. So when I was riding the T-bar at Stratton I decided….

Now there was a temperature difference. At the Concord, it was near freezing, about thirty two degrees. At Stratton, it was in the single digits.

I licked the T-bar. There it is. I’ll make it that simple. I could not ride it alone with the bar behind my butt, I was gripping the pole with my arms and I remembered my experience at the Concord and I stuck out my tongue and…

It immediately froze to the aluminum.

I tried to pull it away.

No-go.

Now I’m eleven years old, alone on the lift, far from mommy and daddy, in an era long before cellphones, what was I supposed to do?

The longer it stuck there, the worse it would be, right?

And if I got to the top and was still attached…what would the operator do, assuming he noticed and comprehended my problem?

There was only one solution, I had to take action, I had to pull my tongue off the T-bar.

Which I did.

RIPPPPPPPP!!!!

The worst things happen fast. I jerked my head away and I immediately noticed, stuck to the aluminum T-bar, a piece of skin about the size of a quarter.

Holy moly! Had I permanently disfigured myself? Would I still be able to speak, never mind eat? Was this a turning point in my life?

And I’m starting to freak, and lord knows what causes me to spit, but I do, and there’s blood all over the snow.

Then I spit again and get the same result.

So I figured I’d better save my plasma, and I got to the top of the lift and skidded down the off-ramp and immediately hightailed it for the lodge, eager to investigate the damage, to discover if I would survive.

And when I got in front of the bathroom mirror I found…

A big red spot in the middle of my tongue. The bleeding had almost been stanched, but I was absent part of my being, I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about the whole damn thing, I was alive, but was I forever damaged?

I didn’t see my parents until lunch. I don’t think I told the exact same story. I think I said the T-bar had stopped and jerked and my tongue had become attached inadvertently. Never underestimate the power of a person to obfuscate, no one tells the truth, they always place themselves in the best light.

My father laughed. My mother did not display compassion. I’d just had a life-altering moment and all I got was…

A shrug.

But I never heard the end of it. My father would make jokes about it for years. He cut out a cartoon from the paper, of a little kid stuck to a lamppost. That’s one thing about families, the way they put each other down, the way they jockey for position, the way they never forget anything.

And I never forgot that December day back in ’65. It comes to mind on days like today, when the snow has stopped blowing and the temperature drops and it’s close to zero and if you don’t watch out…

You’ll be stuck to a pole in the middle of nowhere with no means of escape.

Old man winter is a harsh master.

But his briskness makes you feel so alive.

When you’re not afraid you’re gonna die.

Sometimes you have to be reminded where you came from.

I grew up in Connecticut, when it used to snow, when every November you put on snow tires, before all season radials, before anyone had four wheel drive. You’d walk to school, the thought of being kidnapped never crossed one’s mind, if anything you planned to run away. I did that once, packed a suitcase, got as far as the front lawn, down the slope, hidden from the house, my mother didn’t come after me, she knew I would be back.

I was.

I remember the snowdrifts topping the trees on the side of the house. I always wondered thereafter, was there that much snow or was that before the trees matured?

I’ll never know.

We had galoshes. The big breakthrough was clodhoppers. Boots that went above the ankle. We had a veritable cornucopia of outdoor gear and we’d go out and roll in the snow and come back in an hour and strip ourselves down, take a bath, and if we were lucky our mother would make us hot chocolate, long before it came in a mix.

And then I went to college in Vermont, during the dark ages. There was one snowy television channel, no radio other than the college station, one movie theatre in town and if you were lucky the films they played on campus every Friday and Saturday night appealed to you. Usually they didn’t. This was long before the cinema was taken over by high concept drivel, Marvel stars, if a film was in English it was a surprise. But they were minting snobs at Middlebury College. Not that they did such a good job, because after we graduated money became more important that education and my classmates were not so good at making it.

But we were hearty, we survived.

Nights far below zero, when we wore the same jeans we partied in during the spring.

There was no food in the dorms. You had to hike out to the SDUs, aka the “Social Dining Units.” Today, people would Uber over. But we walked. Before the age of hoverboards, back before skateboarding was revolutionized by polyurethane wheels.

Hey, did I ever tell you that story, about skateboarding after the revolution? You see I was part of the first wave, when Jan & Dean implored us to grab our boards and go sidewalk surfin’ with them. Then the boards had steel wheels, and it was nearly impossible to go around a corner. But in ’75 I was in California and an acquaintance showed me the new equipment and I went for a ride down the Mammoth Mountain parking lot and a few hundred yards down I realized I’d have to walk back so I stepped off the board and…

That’s right, I stepped off. And I immediately hit the pavement. Took the skin right off my palm, ripped right through a turtleneck and long underwear, Duofold to be exact, and my ski pants too.

I don’t think I’ve been on a skateboard since.

Oh yes, this was long before synthetics. Most people bought long underwear at Sears. It had a waffle pattern. But if you were a skier you went for the state of the art, the aforementioned Duofold, which featured two layers of cotton, one perforated to trap heat. But we were still damn cold, it was years before anybody invented fleece.

But what I remember most about those cold winter nights was the isolation.

No one’s isolated anymore. You just pick up your device and dial in, text a friend, surf the web. You might be alienated, but you’re connected.

We were completely alone.

I was just reminded of this walking through a snowstorm.

You forget how the flakes sting your eyes. How you have to put your head down and focus on the destination. And make sure not to slip. There are all these skills that are second nature when you live in the hinterlands, but are completely forgotten when you reside where it rarely precipitates, never mind snows.

And then there’s the quiet. The snow absorbs all the sound. It’s just you and the elements.

Except for the occasional car. Reminded me of my mother driving me to school one night, for some activity I do not remember. Her Ford Falcon did a 360 a block from home. What did she do? Keep driving. She took me there.

My mother will be ninety on Sunday. She’s seen so much.

And I’ve seen so much too.

They call us old farts, they tell us to get with the program, they don’t want to hear how it once was.

But we remember. When life was different.

I won’t say it was better, but it was harder, and difficulty yields character.

There was no foam on the playground. If you hadn’t been dumped on the seesaw you never went on one.

And sledding oftentimes ended with bloody lips or noses. You were constantly cracking into something. But that didn’t stop you. Because life was about the thrill. Make everything safe and you end up with dullness. I don’t know what’s caused the obesity epidemic, could be fructose corn syrup, but one thing’s for sure, we were constantly moving back then. My mother wouldn’t pick us up from school on a rainy day, never mind a snowstorm. I’d be trudging along, getting soaked, thinking of that warm abode at the end of my trek.

So I found myself out walking tonight. Everybody else waited for a ride. I was the only one. I was alone.

And I regretted my decision instantly. I could not see where I was going.

But I pulled up my hood and it blocked the wind. And I watched out for automobiles because I was breaking the cardinal rule, I was not wearing white at night, mostly black, could a driver see me?

I doubt it.

And then I got cold. And I was reminded of walking back to campus from the Alibi. The bar where beer was a quarter and drinks were a buck and you could not get a DUI because no one had a car, you took the shoe leather express back home, to an overheated room, back before the energy crisis, back before Jimmy Carter implored us all to put on a sweater.

And sometimes you were with a buddy. And sometimes you talked, but most of the time you were just too damn cold, you focused on the destination.

So I focused on where I was going.

But then I noticed the roads were covered, but the sidewalks were nearly clear. I remembered how snow stuck variably, depending upon the surface. That was always a question way back when, was the snow gonna stick, was the ground frozen?

We’d only been playing football on it weeks before.

And during a storm most people stay inside. So despite being in civilization, almost no one was on the sidewalk. And that’s when I remembered, all those nights in Vermont, walking, walking…

When I went to college it was a sentence. You weren’t trolling for a job, you were just doing your duty, fulfilling your parents’ expectations. And one thing we did for sure was to live up to our parents’ expectations, they were serious people, not our friends, and they could and would rage and exact penalties…

Then again, most faux pas were not visible. Little was trackable. You were on your own.

Except for your grades.

But you grow up and realize grades are irrelevant. That school does not square with the game of life. You’re set free and you try to figure it out. If you play for safety you never really live.

Because living is dangerous. You can slip in the snow. Break a bone.

But those with character get up and keep going. Not because anybody is watching, but because if you’re not moving forward, if you’re not eating up life every day…

You’re already dead.

Stuff happens to interrupt your plans.

The more you look into the future, the more you’ll be interrupted by the present. Screw be here now, screw mindfulness, just know that life is about unexpected interruptions, and the older you get the more they relate to health. While you’re thinking about achievement, nature is throwing a wrench into the works. You can try to stay on track, but recovery is a more useful skill than the ability to plan.

The older you get the less possessions mean to you.

When you’re a kid you need the latest toy, the newest cereal, you’re all about accumulation. Get older and not only is your stuff an impediment, suddenly it doesn’t get you high like it used to. You treasure experiences, if you can remember them. And now this is impacting the younger generation, with so much of our lives being virtual. Kids are the first to give up cars, they don’t need their license. They’re willing to live in shoeboxes in cities, in order to have community, maybe child is truly father to the man.

People believe the news they want to.

The right wing has turned the “New York Times” into a joke. The establishment is up for grabs. Bedrock is a fictitious place for Fred and Barney, we live in a Tower of Babel world, not only do we listen to different music, watch different TV shows and pray in different houses of worship, we don’t even agree on the same facts. This is not about fake news, this is about a schism in society, which no one is willing to address as they’re busy pointing fingers at each other.

_______________________

History is prologue.

Why did the Democrats believe they could defeat Donald Trump when no Republican could come close to doing so?

_______________________

The divide is not between the ethnic groups and the whites, but between those who live in the metropolis and those who live in the country. Read this story by Eduardo Porter:

“Where Were Trump’s Votes? Where the Jobs Weren’t”

Oh, that’s right, it’s in the “Times,” so it must be untrue.

The truth is the “New York Times” runs this country. It sets the agenda for the Republicans. It’s the only news outlet with boots on the ground everywhere. The “Wall Street Journal,” the right wing paper of record, cut so many reporters that its paper resembles a pamphlet, it’s not quite as irrelevant as the “Los Angeles Times,” but it’s moving in that direction. Remember Tech 101, the outlet that doubles down, despite being excoriated all the while, wins in the end. The “Times” just has to stay the course. I have not forgiven it for missing the election. It’s too rooted in old school journalism. But like Amazon, it dominates. Come on, what would they have to talk about on Fox News if it weren’t for the “New York Times”?

_______________________

Music is niche. And movies too. There’s nothing we’ve all got to see. The purveyors have been so busy chasing bucks that they’ve given up on appealing to everyone. But the truth is society is dependent upon universality. The last time we had that in music was with Adele’s “21.” But “25” just wasn’t good enough. As for refusing to be on Spotify… Ain’t that a modern musician, bucks are primary, cultural impact is secondary. How did we get here, where who you are and what you have to say is secondary to how much money you make?

_______________________

Incentive is being squashed by the billionaires.

The best and the brightest don’t want to work in fields with a ceiling, they all go into finance and tech, to our society’s detriment. You work sixty hours a week and you make a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Your compatriot works as hard and makes ten to twenty million. You feel like a chump.

As for those pooh-poohing the wealthy, that’s fine, but stop poor-mouthing. If you’re wearing your downtrodden economic status as a badge of honor, you’ve missed the memo. Everyone’s on their own in America. It’s a greased pole, it’s hard to get ahead, and that needs to be fixed, but just because you’re poor you’re not better than the rich. Why does everybody need to feel superior to everybody else? The truth is we’re all in it together, we’re all dependent upon each other. It’s just that you can’t go anywhere or buy anything without someone saying “it must be nice.” Hell, I got an e-mail from someone who said they couldn’t afford $200 for a phone upgrade. To quote Bob Dylan, they want to drag me down into the hole they’re in. But I’d rather try to climb the ladder, however difficult that might be. Put me down, think you’re better than me, but the joke is on you. He not moving forward is being left behind.

_______________________

The educated abhor the rich and the poor abhor the elite and no one’s got any idea what the other thinks.

_______________________

Protocol is everything. How dare Bob Dylan not acknowledge his Nobel. Remember when it was a badge of honor to question institutions? What happened to that precept?

_______________________

There’s always a vocal minority that can’t accept progress.

If I write about streaming services my inbox fills up with missives saying Spotify is gonna kill music. Last I checked, the internet allowed everybody to play, supposedly Napster was gonna kill music, but now the problem is there’s too much of it!

_______________________

Ticketing is becoming even more opaque.

Even talent agencies are in the ticketing business. No one respects the customer, art is secondary to commerce, the artists have been neutered and the businessmen have won. Remember when you signed a deal and delivered your LP and the label had to release it, no matter what it sounded like? Those days are done, because the investment in marketing is just too large, and the suits know better. Why do we live in a society where the suits always know better?

_______________________

Nobody in power sees the cliff ahead.

The NFL could not see ratings tanking and Hillary Clinton could not see the public embracing Trump (never mind Bernie). As the seer once said, “Don’t follow leaders, watch the parking meters.”

_______________________

You don’t admit fault, you double-down.

This is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s a badge of honor to admit your mistakes, to say you were wrong. But the truth is the naysayers are so busy playing GOTCHA! that you must fight back and repel them at every turn, something the Democrats have not learned. The Republicans define the debate, the Democrats play catch-up. Is this any way to run a country?

_______________________

Looks rule.

If Ivanka Trump were ugly would everybody be singing her praises?

_______________________

Your biggest enemy is you. Just ask Roger Ailes and Kanye West. You may think everybody’s out to get you, but the truth is you’ll be brought down by your own doings.

_______________________

The big get bigger and no one does anything about it.

Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google run tech. The goal is sell your company to one of the four. But since the companies are so venerated, since techies are the new rock stars and can do no wrong, no one is raising their finger and saying “Wait a minute here…”

Your Top Songs 2016 – Spotify

Actually, it’s MY top songs.

I just opened the Spotify app on my iPhone (a 7, you did see the $650 rebate for the 6, right? Verizon had it, AT&T too, I got a brand new device for essentially nothing…well, I upgraded to a Plus, and accounting for the bigger size and the upgrade fee and the tax I was out two hundred bucks, no big deal, and the best thing about the 7 is the BATTERY, you do know that the iPhone battery fades after about 18 months, which is one more reason to get a new device, and if you have AppleCare you get a new battery if your device starts to fade, just saying…)

So one thing I loved about iTunes, which I never use anymore, is the play count. I find it fascinating to know what I play most. But Spotify lacks this feature. But it turns out the Swedish streaming company has been keeping track in the background, and now I’m confronted with the tracks I listened to most.

And here’s where you judge me. What is it about music fans that they love to put down what others listen to?

But I’m gonna take a risk.

In order…

1. “Good To Be Alive (Hallelujah”
Andy Grammer

Some tracks just make you feel good!

And when I find one I play it over and over again, could be ninety minutes straight, the length of a hike in Will Rogers Park in the Santa Monica Mountains. We live in a pop era, and sometimes it’s fun to just join in!

I think I finally found my hallelujah
I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life
Now all my dreams are coming true, yeah
I’ve been waiting for this moment

Feels good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)

Woo-hoo, yeah! I’m not the most optimistic person, but when the right track is playing I believe life is beyond worth living, I want to eat it up, take advantage, surf the zeitgeist, share my stories, I love this track!

2. “It’s About Time”
The Beach Boys

This was a complete surprise.

“Sunflower” was the comeback album that wasn’t. The follow-up gained traction, but “Surf’s Up” is nowhere near as good. “Sunflower” is the last truly great Beach Boys album, and it’s not dependent upon Brian for its high quality.

“It’s About Time” is a tour-de-force, listenable throughout.

The lead is sung by Carl Wilson, who had one of the sweetest, most mellifluous voices of all time.

And the lyrics…

I used to be a famous artist
Proud as I could be
Struggling to express myself
For the whole world to see
I used to blow my mind sky high
Searching for the lost elation
Little did I know the joy I was to find
In knowing I am only me

They do it for the adulation, but it doesn’t solve their problems, we’re all equal, and when you’re in touch with your own greatness, when you finally feel secure, the world makes sense.

3. “Mountain” Tonic

This is another hiking song. It just makes me feel good. I’m alone with the song, but I feel part of something bigger, like standing on a mountaintop and experiencing nature.

4. “Wasted Time” Keith Urban

I prefer the earlier stuff, “Stupid Boy,” “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me,” but this, another hiking song, is full of twists and turns, different instruments, it’s a blend of country and Top Forty and it too makes you feel good.

5. “Sorry” Justin Bieber

The comeback story of the year. Which makes Scooter Braun the manager of the year. How they dug deep and came up with this, I don’t know. Bieber makes music just a cut above everybody else. I know, I can’t believe I just said that, but I did! He chooses the best collaborators, and I’d rather listen to this than anything on Adele’s “25,” an album that sounds good but just doesn’t grab you.

6. “Rainbow Ends” Emitt Rhodes

From my absolute favorite album of the year, this is the title track.

I hate the era we live in, where there’s so much noise that greatness doesn’t penetrate without a huge push.

But if you’re a boomer, if music used to rule your life, listen to this album, it all works, the sound, the story, an unexpected gem.

7. “Helpless” Phillipa Soo, “Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton”

“Hamilton” is a sleeper. Like a book. It’s been hiding in plain sight, but you’ve got no idea how big it is. I realized this when I read that Melinda Gates listens to it in her car, then I kept reading in interviews that people were listening to the recording.

The “Hamilton” mania has just begun. The “Mixtape” will help spread the word, but really it’s all about the original recording, where the lyrics shine, you can hear them, and there’s melody and…

I would like to change your life…

Isn’t this what we all want to hear?
“Hamilton” will change your life, it will enrich it, make you happy you’re alive.

8. “God, Your Mama, And Me” Florida Georgia Line with the Backstreet Boys

Never underestimate the power of vocal ability, the Backstreet Boys put this over the top, it makes you feel so good to listen to, just try not singing along.

9. “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” – SeeB Remix   Mike Posner

My musical highlight of the year was the Glenn Frey memorial at the Forum.

But number two is seeing Mike Posner at the Grammy Museum. I went to hear this, because when you love a song\ you must go to the show, but the stories put it over the top, Mike is intelligent, he’d thought about the issues…how refreshing!

10. “Play It Again” Luke Bryan

Probably my favorite song of the second decade of the twenty first century.

Criticize me all you want, I don’t care. A song with gravitas and elation all wrapped up in one? SIGN ME UP!

11. “Dog On A Chain” Emitt Rhodes

The album’s opening cut.

Seemingly every baby boomer is divorced, you’ll resonate with the lyrics.

12. “Dust” Parquet Courts

I didn’t realize I listened to this this much!

13. “Let Me Love You” DJ Snake, Justin Bieber

Another Bieber gem, incredible!

14. “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” Mike Posner

The original acoustic iteration. It’s just as good as the sped-up remix, maybe better.

15. “My Shot” Lin-Manuel Miranda, et al  “Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton”

This is dense, there’s a lot of story and wisdom dropped.

But the essence is…

I am not throwing away my shot

We all have dreams, I hope yours still burn bright, you’ve got to need it, some people get it.

16. “Statue (The Pills Song)” – Didrick Remix   Smith & Thell

An instant classic, you’ll get this immediately.

17. “We Don’t Know” The Strumbellas

Sometimes you’ve got to see an act to get it. That was the case with the Strumbellas. After seeing them live, acoustic, at the Grammy HQ, I couldn’t stop listening to this.

18. “Alexander Hamilton” Leslie Odom, Jr., et al  “Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton”

The opening number.

It tells the story, sets up the play, and them comes the key line, the one that stops the show, the one that makes the audience erupt.

My name is Alexander Hamilton.

I get chills while I write this.

Lin-Manuel Miranda delivers it almost sotto voce, it has so much meaning, whew!!

19. “Oh Canada” Missy Higgins

Zero traction, I don’t get it.

20. “Helpless” Ashanti & Ja Rule “The Hamilton Mixtape”

When you love something you just can’t get enough of it.

21. “Lively Up Yourself” Bob Marley & The Wailers

This is a surprise too, but even though I don’t smoke dope a reggae track can infect your brain and make you unable to switch the channel.

22. “The Water Lets You In” (“Bloodline” Main Title Theme) Book of Fears

The second season of “Bloodline” was better than the first, every time I cued up the Netflix show and heard this…it set the mood, just like Alabama 3 did with “Woke Up This Morning” on “The Sopranos.”

23. “Stranger In A Strange Land” Leon Russell

Probably my favorite cut by him.

2016 has been a year of loss.

But the music lives on.

24. “My Own Worst Enemy” Steven Tyler

Better than anything Aerosmith has done in decades.

But that didn’t seem to matter.

25. “Love Yourself” Justin Bieber

What a year he had!

26. “How Do I” Wendy Waldman

She keeps chugging on, despite the spotlight being on the younger generation. Wendy’s gone back to college, to get her degree, her dad would be proud, but he’s gone, this song is about him.

27. “Isn’t It So” Emitt Rhodes

The first track off of “Rainbow Ends” that hooked me.

28. “Simple Man” Bad Company

Sorry Mike Posner, you’ve just been bumped to number three, now I remember how great that Bad Company show was, truly incredible, made me realize who I am, the guy who got hooked by the sound to the point it steered my life.

Freedom is the only thing means a damn to me

The ability to think what I want and do what I want as long as it doesn’t negatively affect another.

I don’t want to be in your business and I don’t want you to be in mine.

I just want to live for the music.

29. “Mountain” (Acoustic 2016) Tonic

From this year’s acoustic “Lemon Parade Revisited.”

Not quite as good as the original, but almost, which is why I played it so much!

30. “Pure” Hey Violet

I thought this would go somewhere, it didn’t.

Proving you can work with the best people, have the best team and still not break through.

Yet.

31. “Somebody Else” -Alt Edit  The 1975

Better than the original.

You keep reading about the band but don’t know where to start.

Start here.

32. “Hand In My Pocket” Alanis Morissette

The hope from the Great White North, can’t anybody come down and save us once again?

And what it all comes down to…

She could never follow it up.

But when I hear this my mind jets back to 1995 when she went from nowhere to everywhere and putting her disc in the deck boosted my spirits when they needed it.

33. “Tomorrow Never Knows” The Beatles

Since launching on streaming services, Beatles songs have been played over two billion times!

This is the John Lennon spectacular from the album that just had its fiftieth anniversary, it sounds as experimental and fresh as today, even more so!

34. “Stay Downtown” Cole Swindell”

It’s so hard to say no.

You remember being together, it would be so easy to get together one more time.

But then you’d end up exactly where you were before, the place that made you so unhappy, you’ve got to move on.

35. “I Want To Tell You” The Beatles

Did George Harrison invent riff rock?

36. “Cold Water” Major Lazer, MO, Justin Bieber

The artist of the year, hands down.

37. “Gone Tomorrow (Here Today)” Keith Urban

The second best cut on “Ripcord.” It’s so damn POWERFUL!

38. “Faithless Love” live  J.D. Souther

From the expanded edition of “Black Rose,” J.D.’s best album.

There’s nothing like a song sung by the original writer…

39. “Renegade” Styx

Huh?

Now you’re completely flummoxed. As was I. Until I remember it was in the trailer for the second season of “Narcos,” I watched it over and over again and then had to play the cut over and over again.

40. “Stupid Boy” Keith Urban

To this day most boomers don’t know country is the new rock and roll.

This is the cut that started it all for me a decade back.

Stay through the guitar solo, you’ll be closed.

41. “Fragile” Prince Fox, Hailee Steinfeld

Actresses are not supposed to make good records.

But Hailee Steinfeld did.

42. “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” Luke Bryan

The best cut from “Kill The Lights.”

I can listen to this every day. Really.

43. “Karn Evil 9 1st Impression, Pt. 2” Emerson, Lake & Palmer

And now Greg Lake is gone too.

He was not a lucky man.

And never forget he sang with King Crimson.

I can’t compute this past year, with all my heroes passing, it’s so strange.

44. “True Devotion” live BoDeans

Better than the studio take, from one of the best double live albums ever, “Joe Dirt Car,” finally on Spotify.

45. “Time Out” Joe Walsh

From “So What,” the follow-up to “The Smoker You Drink…”

I usually play “County Fair,” I’m surprised this is so high on my list, but it’s great.

46. “Fix” Chris Lane

Another country song I discovered on Spotify.
This is infectious, really.

47. “Habit Of You” Keith Urban

The third best song on “Ripcord.”

48. “Here’s To The Farmer” Luke Bryan

The title cut from his surprise EP, this is the best cut on it.

49. “What It Means” Drive-By Truckers

Which is why a protest song must be made by one of the Spotify Top 50, this is great, but it ended up inside the hermetically sealed Americana echo chamber.

50. “Part Two – In My Own Way” Ray LaMontagne

The Pink Floyd song you’ve been waiting for.

51. “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” Bob Dylan

My favorite Dylan cut, with wisdom dropping from every phrase.

If you want to know why he won the Nobel…

This is the track with “He not busy being born is busy dying.”

And if my thought-dreams could be seen
They’d probably put my head in a guillotine
But it’s alright, Ma, it’s life and life only

Ain’t that the truth.

I’ve revealed my inner truth, you should see the hatred in my inbox, but you cannot be afraid, because…

It’s life and life only.

52. “Restless In Mind” Wendy Waldman

Just listen to those chords!

My favorite late period Wendy Waldman track, it’s genius!

53. “The King Must Die” Elton John

“Tumbleweed Connection” is his best LP.

But I always find myself playing its predecessor.

And it contains “Your Song,” but the ones I play most are “Sixty Years On” and “The King Must Die.”

Every once in a while I hear from Elton, he’s so conversational, so personable, so regular, but…

He’s probably the biggest rock star of the seventies. And he’s soldiered on.

If he’d died way back when he’d be Elvis.

Or close.

54. “Drink A Beer” Luke Bryan

The cut that closed me on Luke.

55. “Sugar” (feat. Francesco Yates) Robin Schulz, Francesco Yates

Another Spotify discovery.

56. “Hot Summer Nights” Walter Egan

“Magnet And Steel” is the one that gets airplay, but this is my favorite cut by him. I play it on…THOSE HOT SUMMER NIGHTS!

57. “Dear Prudence” The Beatles

Now my favorite cut on the White Album, and I used to slide right by it, still high on “Back In The U.S.S.R.”

58. “Prayer For You” Wendy Waldman

“The sun’s sinkin’ down behind the haze and the trees
Just another L.A. day”

Play this as the sun is setting. If you’re in L.A. or if you’ve been there, you’ll get it.

59. “Where Are U Now” Jack U, Skrillex, Diplo, Justin Bieber

This began the Bieber comeback.

60. “Back Where I Come From” Mac McAnally

Kenny Chesney had the hit, but the original is better.

Mac’s never broken through, but that’s not because he’s not talented enough.

61. “Adore” Jasmine Thompson

Hypnotic.

62. “Cant Get Enough” Winger

Yes, Kip, who was just nominated for a Grammy, in some classical category!

This slid right by me, but I went to a friend’s bachelor party at the Hollywood Tropicana and the women wrestled to this and…

Well, I’VE LIKED IT EVER SINCE!

63. “Moonage Daydream” David Bowie

The first of his cuts that closed me. I’d been in London, he was triumphing, he meant nothing in the U.S. but I bought “Ziggy Stardust” and played it over and over again and saw the tour at the Boston Music Hall and…

Memories are made of this.

64. “Noise” Kenny Chesney

His new album is a disappointment after “The Big Revival.”

This sounds good, but is ultimately meaningless.

A “B.”

Kenny usually does better than this.

65. “How About That” Bad Company

From the wrong version of the group, featuring Brian Howe on vocals.

Still, this always makes me feel GOOD!

66. “Dust” Lucinda Williams

Lucinda’s like Bruce, what I hate most about them is their fans! It obscures their greatness, these people endlessly testifying.

But I certainly do like this.

67. “Back Where I Come From” Kenny Chesney

The hit take.

68. “Dark Necessities” Red Hot Chili Peppers

Stop making albums. Just drop a track like this every couple of months.

69. “Spirits” The Strumbellas

Another song you can’t get out of your head.

70. “I Want It That Way” Backstreet Boys

My second favorite cut by them, from the smash album “Millennium.”

Another Max Martin, Swedish triumph.

71. “Paradise City” Guns N’ Roses

Once upon a time Axl and his band of merry drug addicts meant something.

Ignore the reunion tour, that’s a dash for cash.

This was the cut that put “Appetite” over the top, how many times did you watch the video on MTV?

72. “Fly To The Angels” (acoustic version) Slaughter

A completely forgotten band.

But that first LP is a pop metal classic.

This is the best cut.

73. “Meadows” Joe Walsh

The opening cut on side two of “The Smoker You Drink…”

I thought I’d never hear it live and then a couple of months back at the All For The Hall benefit Joe’s sitting on a stool strumming an acoustic guitar and I realize…HE’S PLAYING MEADOWS!

This is what we live for. These moments. Hearing our favorite songs live.

74. “True Devotion” BoDeans

The studio take.

75. “I and I” Bob Dylan

A wise man testifying, with one of the world’s greatest bands, one of his many peaks.

76. “When The Stars Come Out” Chris Stapleton

Country boy comes to L.A., love the references.

77. “Before She Does” Eric Church

The opening cut of “Caught In The Act: Live.”

If you doubt the power of country music, LISTEN TO THIS!

78. “Come On Get Higher” Matt Nathanson

I’d never heard it! And then I discovered it on Sirius and came right home and played it over and over again on Spotify, oh, what a great world we live in!

79. “Back Where I Come From” Kenny Chesney

From his live album, one of the truly great country ones, this track’ll reach in and grab you.

80. “Spring Is Here” Wendy Waldman

The LP disappeared in a divorce, I stole it on Napster, I put it on my Rio went out on a cold spring evening and danced around elated.

Reaches me each and every time.

81. “What Do You Mean?” Justin Bieber

More Bieber! The one Howard Stern kept making fun of. That’s your goal, to become part of the cultural conversation, then you know you’ve really made it.

82. “I Remember You” Skid Row

They opened for GNR at the Forum during the “Use Your Illusion” tour.

I was there.

83. “Surf City” Jan & Dean

The live version from “Command Performance,” a vinyl album I played so much it turned grey.

If this doesn’t make you want to move to California…

You’d rather live in a place two years behind where you have no fun.

84. “Back Where I Come From” (live) Mac McAnally

When I like a song I just can’t get enough of it!

85. “Suga Suga”  Baby Bash, Frankie J

Songs no longer disappear, they’re waiting online for you to discover them.

86. “Adore” acoustic Jasmine Thompson

I want to hear all versions.

87. “Liar Liar” Aubrie Sellers

New country with the soul of the old, featuring great instrumentation to boot!

88. “Brace For Impact (Live A Little)” Sturgill Simpson

The Grammy nomination made him famous. Will people grab hold?

Doubtful. Because it’s just that hard to penetrate these days.

This is real music made by someone who needs to make it and we haven’t had that spirit here since…

89. “Baby Seat” Barenaked Ladies

You can’t live your life in the baby seat, you’ve got to grow up, this is the song that closed me on BNL.

90. “Nobody To Blame” Chris Stapleton

Honesty. Humbleness. The ingredients of classic country. All embodied in this cut.

91. “A Little Is Enough” Pete Townshend

Forget the Who tours, I’d like to see Pete solo.

This is the best cut on “Empty Glass,” I sing it in my head ALL THE TIME!

92. “Stop Where You Are” Corinne Bailey Rae

Her new album did not have a hit single, but this song resonates.

93. “California Girls” The Beach Boys

Testify all you want about “Good Vibrations,” THIS IS IT!

Do you have any idea what it was like to hear this emanating from your transistor back in ’65?

94. “The Way It Is” Tesla

Another forgotten band, this song resonates so… I could do twenty minutes on it if we were face to face.

95. “Old Time Love” Wendy Waldman

The opening cut on side two of her debut “Love Has Got Me,” this song made me a fan.

96. “A Hard Day’s Night” The Beatles

I’m telling Alexa to play this for me ALL THE TIME!

97. “How Many Friends” The Who

From the disappointing “Who By Numbers.”

I distinctly remember listening to the cassette as I drove to the Salt Lake City Post Office to drop off my law school applications before the deadline.

How many friends have you really got?

That love you.

That want you.

That’ll take you as you are?

Very few.

98. “Love Song” Tesla

The hit from “The Great Radio Controversy,” but I like “The Way It Is” better, but I like this too, remember the video?

99. “The Real Me” Pete Townshend, et al “Pete Townshend’s Classic Quadrophenia”

What a revelation to hear real strings!

100. “Just Your Fool” The Rolling Stones

It’s hard to complain when the Stones make their best album since the seventies, a truly authentic gem.

101. “Brand New Day” Sting

He executed a publicity tour-de-force, he came across as so intelligent on the Stern Show, there were stories in all the old fart media, but…

No one cared about his new album.

But I still care about “Brand New Day.” If only he could cut one track as good this. That’s all we ask for, one track.

And I’m sure your Top Songs are completely different from mine. But if I turned you on to anything, I’m happy, you turn me on to great stuff, when you’re not telling me what a clueless idiot I am, but…

When I hear the above songs in my headphones…

I don’t care.