It’s Friday. Even better, it’s the Friday before a three day weekend. My plans aren’t huge, but they will be fun nonetheless (Unitarian happy hour tonight at N. 3rd, party tomorrow night), and I’m really (REALLY) looking forward to sleeping in on Monday morning.

So, the rules for the Friday Random Ten. Set your pod or other digital music device a’shufflin’ and report back the first ten songs it pulls up. There will be no skipping or omitting of songs, no matter how much they reveal your kitschy or odd musical tastes. Come, you were the one to put it on there in the first place.

1. One Big Holiday, My Morning Jacket (It Still Moves)
2. Ready, Steady, Go, The Meices (Empire Records)
3. Viper Drag, Papa John Kolstad (Beans Taste Fine)
4. All Over the Map, Ellis (Tigers Above, Tigers Below)
5. Circle, Sarah McLachlan (Fumbling Towards Ecstacy)
6. Long Way From Home, Rory Block (Confessions of a Blues Singer)
7. Better After All, Jonatha Brook (Back in the Circus)
8. Martha My Dear, The Beatles (The White Album)
9. Tom’s Diner, Suzanne Vega (Solitude Standing)
10. Brother Christopher, Reverend Tor Band (Whatever it Takes)

Favorite Song: One Big Holiday by My Morning Jacket. When this one started playing this morning, I was walking through the clammy drippy air that’s hanging over the city this morning towards the trolley stop. My heart was singing the blahs, and I just wanted to go back to bed. Then I switched on the pod, pressed shuffle and it dealt me this song. And I started to feel better.

Least Favorite Song: All Over the Map by Ellis. I picked this song because I’ve never heard it before and have absolutely NO idea where it came from. It wasn’t a bad song, just unfamiliar, which can sometimes be the kiss of death just as equally as legitimate dislike.

Personal Connections: I ain’t got none today. Shocking, I know. But really, I can’t have a story about every artist on the pod, now can I.

Favorite Artist: Rory Block. The first time I heard her, I think on NPR (maybe a Prairie Home Companion?) I needed to own her music. I needed to be able to play it whenever the urge struck. She has a throaty, powerful voice that helps me shake free the calcifications of self-doubt that sometimes rattle around my soul.

If you need more Random Friday than I’ve got for you, check out some of these guys:
Howard
Luna
Mac
Ben
Mark