Return Of The iTunes Top 25 Most Played Songs List

1. Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad (And Faraway From Home) (Peter Mulvey, Kitchen Radio)
2. Roseville Fair (Bill Staines, The First Million Miles)
3. Southern California Wants To Be Western New York (Dar Williams, Mortal City)
4. A Better Wife (Erin McKeown, Grand)
5. Laika (Moxy Früvous, Bargainville)
6. Siren Song (Brave Combo, No, No, No, Cha Cha Cha)
7. The Battle of the 5 & Dime (Cafe Noir, Window to the Sea)
8. The Christians and the Pagans (Dar Williams, Mortal City)
9. The Fairest of the Seasons (Nico, Chelsea Girl)
10. Rise (Peter Mulvey, Kitchen Radio)
11. Question Mark (Peter Mulvey, Rapture)
12. James! (Erin McKeown, Grand)
13. Sweet Is The Melody (Iris DeMent, My Life)
14. Goodbye - Goodbye (Oingo Boingo, Boingo Alive [Disc 2])
15. Don't Worry About The Government (Talking Heads, Sand In The Vaseline [Disc 1])
16. The Stanford Jonah (University of California Marching Band, Here's To Thee - The Cal Band Centennial Recording, 1891-1991)
17. Mystery Spot Polka (Brave Combo, Polkas For A Gloomy World)
18. My Tears Are Nothing (Brave Combo, The Process)
19. Denton, Texas (Brave Combo, The Process)
20. Fall Away (Catie Curtis, Crash Course In Roses)
21. Lonely Sinking Feeling (Cowboy Junkies, Lay It Down)
22. Lord, I Have Made You A Place In My Heart (Cry Cry Cry, Cry Cry Cry)
23. Arrival (Dar Williams, The Honesty Room)
24. Our Little Town (Greg Brown, One More Goodnight Kiss)
25. Infamous Angel (Iris DeMent, Infamous Angel)

The list hasn't changed all that much since its first appearance here a couple of months ago -- the biggest change being due to the introduction of Peter Mulvey's Kitchen Radio into my listening rotation.

Kitchen Radio just might top my list of Most Totally Perfect Complete Albums, narrowly edging out Deb Talan's A Bird Flies Out (sorry, Shelby). I first saw Peter Mulvey seven years ago, as an opener for then-emerging-phenomenon Dar Williams; we most recently saw him last November, playing in a small coffeehouse in San Jose. He clearly deserves far more than the small-coffeehouse circuit, and I hope that he gets it -- but then, like when I go to a Dar Williams concert now, paying more money to sit farther away from the stage each time, I'm sure that I'll be lamenting for the Good Old Days.

My officemates are less fascinated with my music collection than they once were; I guess the novelty value has worn off. Still, when I shut down my computer at the end of the day, I always seem to be disconnecting a listener or two ...

(Folk music bonus question: what in the heck happened to Iris DeMent? She was on the track to fame for a while -- gaining mainstream recognition, switching her record label from Rounder/Philo to Warner Brothers -- but now she's more or less disappeared, not doing much for the past eight years beyond playing on a collection of compilation albums. She's someone who shouldn't go out languishing in the 'Various Artists' bin!)

Posted by Kevin at June 24, 2004 11:15 PM