About a month ago, my long time blog buddy CK asked me to put together a playlist of 10 songs for his music podcast Sound Check. If you follow me at all over on Twitter, you’ll know that I’m a huge supporter of the show. So of course, I said “yes”.

If you love good music, then you really need to check out the show. CK does a lot of classic rock, music from the 80’s and 90’s, and he throws in some new stuff from time to time. There’s a lot of listener involvement in the show and requests make up a good portion of the show, and CK encourages everyone to take part. In short, it’s really the best music podcast around and I encourage you all to take a listen.

So back to the playlist…

I started adding all of these songs that I wanted others to hear. Seeing as my episode – Episode 103 – was going to be in October, I thought, “Okay, I’m going to find 10 of my favorite spooky songs” to add a theme to the episode.

That list lasted about five minutes.

So I scrapped that last and decided that I was going to put together a list of my all-time favorites. So I started adding songs and the list got to 10…then 20…then 30…then 32 songs! Um…yeah, this was going to be a problem. You see, I can’t just pick ONE favorite song, I’m just not capable of doing it. And yes, I have a core group of favorites, but there were other songs that I wanted to share. And some of the songs I wanted to share had already been played in previous episodes, and seeing as I didn’t want to repeat myself, I had to take them out. Hmm…that’s a problem.

This list last lasted about five days.

That’s when I decided that I was going to add some of my favorite songs, some of my favorite artists, and some songs that I love that Sound Check listeners may not have heard before. Twenty or thirty revisions later, I finalized a list and sent them in and here we are…Episode 103 of Sound Check, the very first installment of the Check List series. Huzzah!

The songs below the cut are all of the songs that you’re going to hear in the episode. I’ve given an explanation of why I picked each song. You’ll also find a list of songs that didn’t make the cut that I REALLY wanted in the episode, but had to cut them for one reason or another. There were a lot of my all-time favorite songs that I didn’t add. I started out with these songs, but I have to say, the entire process was organic and it really took a life of it’s own. I plan on doing a blog post here in the next few with my list of all-time favorite songs, so if you’re interested to know the ones I cherish more than anything else, you can keep checking back. A few songs from this list are included in this episode, but like I said, I either didn’t add them because they had appeared in a previous Sound Check episode or I took them out because I didn’t want to disrupt the “flow” of the show.

So I hope you all enjoy the episode. I’d love your feedback on the music and the show in general. You can leave one here or over at the Sound Check homepage. And thanks again to CK for inviting me to do this. It was a blast!

Click the cut below to see more about the songs I picked…and didn’t pick.

The songs below are in the order that they are played in the episode. So if you don’t know the name of a song, just refer to the list below. :)

Franz Ferdinand: Bite Hard: I’m a big FF fan, and I had originally decided to use “No You Girls”, but went with this song instead because I loved the way it began and knew it would make a great episode opener.

Spoon: I Turn My Camera On: This is the song that is usually running through my head when I’m out taking pictures. It really gets me going. You could say that it’s my “photography theme song”.

Bill Withers: Ain’t No Sunshine: Bill Withers is from an area about an hour from where I was born and raised. Love the fact that he’s a fellow Mountaineer. This song is an absolute classic. A hundred years from now, people will still be loving it. I love the desperation and soul in the the words and the delivery. “I know…I know…I know…I know…”

Van Morrison: Brown Eyed Girl: I always sort of thought of this as my personal theme song. I remember singing this very loudly with my girlfriends when it would come on. We’d dance around in stores, in our rooms, wherever. We were all brown eyed girls. It makes me feel good. It cheers me up. You can’t help but love it.

Bonnie Raitt: Love Me Like a Man: “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt is #2 on of my list of all-time favorite songs. When I was putting my list together, I found that there were a lot of slow, sad songs and I didn’t want the episode to be too melancholy, so chose this one, which has been a favorite for years and years. Bonnie kills it. I like it because it’s sexy and direct to the point. This is what we want, men!

Joan Jett – Do You Wanna Touch: I’m a child of the 80’s…so of course I love me some Joan Jett. This song kicks ass. And it fit really well in the little four block that I included it in.

The Georgia Satellites: Keep Your Hands to Yourself: Just one of those songs that I love to sing out loud when it comes on the radio. I love how cheeky it is.

Bad Company: Feel Like Makin’ Love: HUGE fan of Bad Company. I had originally wanted to include “Ready for Love”, but didn’t want too many slow songs. Went with this classic instead.

Alison Krauss and Union Station: Ghost in This House: Being from WV, I’m a big fan of bluegrass.I was raised listening to it – from my Dad’s records to singing in the church. It was everywhere and it’s one of those genres that I really hold dear to my heart. I’m also a big fan of progressive acoustic and Americana, which AKUS also fits into. I can only describe Alison Krauss and Union Station as absolutely brilliant. This is is my favorite song from them. I had the pleasure of seeing them in concert a couple years ago and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I’ve never, and probably will never, attend a concert on that level. My hubby and I were able to meet the band afterward, with the exception of Alison, and they were so nice. If they ever make gay marriage legal, I think my husband may leave me for Dan Tyminski, who is pretty much his idol. They are true legends in the bluegrass world. Shenandoah originally sang this song, but AKUS perfected it.

P.S. I kid about my husband. He’ll kill me if I don’t point out how very un-gay he is. Not that he has a problem with that, of course. :)

Steve Earle: Guitar Town: One of the very first songs that came to mind when I was putting the list together, but I didn’t include it. It just sort of organically added itself back in during the course of putting the playlist together.

Whiskeytown: 16 Days: One of my favorite singers in the world is Ryan Adams, so I knew that he was definitely going into the list. I wanted to add “Come Pick Me Up”, but decided at the last minute to change the song to “16 Days” from his time with Whiskeytown. I think Steve Earle was the deciding factor. This complimented “Guitar Town”.

Don Williams: I Believe in You: One of those artists that I was born listening to, was raised on, and still love to listen to today. My husband likes to sing “Til the Rivers All Run Dry” to me from time to time, which is really one of the most romantic things I’ve ever heard. Personally, this is my favorite Don Williams song. It sort of explains how I look at the world around me and how I go about my daily life and what’s most important to me: living right and using the common sense God gave me, doing the best I can, accepting those around me, and loving those in my life…namely my husband and my son. The world would be a much better place if everyone would listen to this song at least once a day and try to live it.

Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock: It Takes Two: The one song that will get me up out of my seat and shaking my butt real quick. The song is 21 years old and it still kicks ass. It is classic.

Peaches: The Boys Wanna Be Her (Gary Glitter Mashup) This is my favorite workout song. When I really want to sweat, I throw this on repeat and just go to town. I love the original, but the mashup just knocks my socks off. I’m a big fan of Peaches. She reminds me a lot of 80’s Joan Jett.

Beck: Go It Alone: Big fan of Beck. He’s brilliant. I couldn’t decide between this song and “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime”. It literally came down to the flip of a coin. This song won, which worked for me, because it rocks and really fits with the other songs in the playlist. Also, it has Jack White on it…and I do love that man.

Raconteurs: Steady As She Goes: I’m a huge fan of Jack White, and instead of going with the obligatory White Stripes song, I decided to go with something a little different. The Raconteurs are one of his side groups and I think this song is just fun. Also, this has been my favorite cell ring tone for my like two years. Well, this and Beck’s “Girl”, which really is the most perfect ring tone ever.

AC/DC: You Shook Me All Night Long: Come on…it doesn’t get any better than this song. It was my anthem “back in the day”. We’d go into a club with my friends and always request this song.

Fleetwood Mac: The Chain: One of the bands that my older siblings introduced me to as a very young kid and of my favorite bands now. “Rumours” came out the year I was born…as did Star Wars, which pretty much makes 1977 the best year on record…ever. Stevie Nicks has always reminded me of my older sister Becky. When I was little it always confused me. The similarities are uncanny. Another one of those “will see in concert before I die” bands. “Dreams” is my favorite Fleetwood Mac song, but this is the one I chose for the episode. Buckingham and Nicks rock my socks.

Bell X1: Eve, the Apple of My Eye: Heartbreaking, pleading, and beautiful. In my head, I have the absolute perfect video for this song. Imagine my utter disappointment when I saw the actual video…with people with giant apples as heads. Oh, Bell X1. You really should’ve come to me first! My vision was very Rococo and full of Greek tragedies. “How Your Heart is Wired” is also pretty damned amazing.

Sarah Bareilles: Gravity: This is a fairly newer song, but it’s in my top 10 favorite songs of all time. There’s so much emotion. I cried the first time I heard it. I had reservations about adding it at first, because it’s so slow, but in the end I decided it was too good NOT to include.

Counting Crows: Murder of One: I’ve requested this song on Sound Check before…and CK has played it…but I’m a HUGE Counting Crows fan and couldn’t justify NOT including just one of their songs into the episode. This is one of my favorite Counting Crow songs.

Keane: Is It Any Wonder: Technically, “Bedshaped” is my favorite Keane song, but I wanted to include something upbeat from Keane to keep my playlist from being too slow for your listeners. I don’t want them to think I’m depressed all the time! This is one of my favorite bands in the entire world and right up there near the top of my “will see in concert before I die” list. Also, this song has a very U2 “Achtung Baby” feel to it, which I love.

Dixie Chicks: Godspeed (Sweet Dreams): This is the song I used to sing to my son when he was little. It’s still my special song to him. There has never been a time, not once, that I haven’t just broken down in a big ball of emotion when I’ve listened to this song. I really feel like it was written for my son.

Songs that didn’t make it that I really wanted to include:

Chris Isaak: Wicked Game
Patsy Cline: She’s Got You
Bob Seger: Night Moves
Jann Arden: She’s Got You
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: Dream a Little Dream of Me
Snow Patrol: Run
Nickel Creek: When You Come Back Down
Don Henley: Heart of the Matter
Etta James: Sunday Kind of Love
The Eagles: Witchy Woman
Black Crowes: Twice As Hard
Crowded House: Don’t Dream It’s Over
Johnny Cash: Cry, Cry, Cry
Mindy Smith: Hurricane
Mindy Smith: Come to Jesus
Dusty Springfield: Spooky