Bagpipes in the evening wind...

I kid you not.

I became aware of the faint sound of bagpipes coming in through the cracked-open window during a break in the sound of the latest Heroes episode. I paused the action and went outside, and sure enough, the sound of bagpipes was slicing through the wind!

I cannot describe adequately the combination of it being dark, of being outside, and of hearing bagpipes! It was eerie, but in a good way. (Then again, I've no general aversion to bagpipe music; in fact, I like 'em. I would imagine someone who is not familiar with the skirl of the bagpipes might disagree with my assessment.)

I took a walk around the house to get a fix on the source and guessed that there's a concert of some kind going on at the church that's not far from our property. I hear the pipes right now through the open window as I write this.

* * *We laid my dad to rest today, next to my mom. My parents' best friends - bless 'em - attended the church service and funeral and then prepared a post-funeral repast at the house of a third mourner, the granddaughter of another friend who owned a house not far from where my parents lived.

I also agreed to translate 3,000 words for my best client, for tomorrow noon. I don't plan to get much of that done tonight; instead, I plan to cut short my viewing of Heroes and get a good night's sleep.

After I spend some time outside listening to the sound of bagpipes soaring through the trees!

Cheers...

Best of...

On the drive up here, I toyed with the idea of compiling my own list of "the 100 best rock and roll songs of all time," along the lines of Lucas Davenport's list as given in the John Sandford novel Broken Prey.

On the surface, it's an easy enough list to compile if the criteria for picking titles aren't defined. But if you want the list to reflect some thought and not just some top-40 deejay's idea of a weekend's oldies program, it's not so simple. Here are a couple of the questions that I asked myself with regard to the compilation of such a list:

• Do you have to like the song?
  This may sound like a silly question, but clearly, if you're trying to compile a list of the best songs, might it not conceivably contain songs that you were simply indifferent to? I believe this to be the case (though if it's more than a handful, you should probably consider compiling a "best of" list in some other category).


• Does it have to have been a song that became a #1 hit?
  Clearly, a song must've made it to the radio to be heard, but did it have to reach the top of the chart in order to be considered "best"? I don't think so.

Ultimately, though, I think it boils down to personal taste.

Herewith is my start of a list of my "top 100" R&R songs:

1. Route 66 (John Mayer)
   
2. Devil With A Blue Dress On (Mitch Ryder)
   
3. Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart (Janis Joplin)
   
4. I Shot The Sheriff (Eric Clapton)
   
5. My Little Runaway (Del Shannon)
   
6. Johnny B Goode (Chuck Berry)
   
7. Kansas City (Fats Domino)
   
8. Cathy's Clown (Everly Brothers)
   
9. Gloria (Van Morrison)
   
10. We Built This City (Jefferson Starship)
    
11. Windy (The Association)
    
12. The House of the Rising Sun (The Animals)
    
13. Fun, Fun, Fun (The Beach Boys)
    
14. I Won't Back Down (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers)
    
15. Hurts So Good (John Mellencamp)
    
16. Long Cool Woman (The Hollies)
    
17. ...?

Yeah, it's gonna be one of those introspective nights. Comments and suggestions welcome.

Cheers...