What's on my MP3 player lately?

A few weeks back, I upgraded my music player from the Lyra to a newer MP3 player.... I couldn't resist the appeal of a 2GB player at roughly the same cost that I paid for the Lyra a year ago (with about 8 times the capacity too).

It came with 10 songs preloaded -- and I haven't learned yet how to remove them. They don't show up as files on my drive when I plug it in. They may be somehow ROM'med onto this thing. I'd give my eyeteeth to just move them off and listen to them later.

But here's my current group of songs. For those I've already listed in previous columns, I won't put in additional comments.

• (Every Time I Turn Around) Back In Love Again -- LTD with Jeffrey Osborne
• (Get Up I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine -- James Brown
• A Man I'll Never Be -- Boston. I've had this one on there since Brad Delp's unfortunate passing, and the song has much more poignancy for me than it previously did. I guess we, the fans, all saw him as a man he felt he could never be ... so very sad. But I liked this song before then, and that's why it's on here.
• Ah! Leah! -- Donnie Iris
• Alive & Kicking -- Simple Minds
• Are You Experienced? -- Jimi Hendrix. Because quite honestly, sometimes you just need a little surreal psychedelia to make your day complete. Getting it out of the way early on the treadmill helps!
• Baker Street -- Gerry Rafferty. Have always liked this song. Odd choice to have, but it works for me.
• Bitch -- Rolling Stones.
• Boogie Wonderland -- Earth Wind and Fire.
• Boogie Woogie Choo Choo Train -- The Tractors.
• Cool the Engines -- Boston.
• Cradle of Love -- Billy Idol.
• Dancing in the Moonlight -- King Harvest. A great song, full of wonder and magic and lightness of heart. Great for Mondays!
• Dazz -- Brick.
• Deeper and Deeper -- The Fixx.
• Dixie Chicken -- Little Feat. Give me one reason NOT to have this on here. I'll politely listen to the suggestion, but I offer no guarantees.
  
• Eruption/You Really Got Me -- Van Halen.
• Every Little Thing -- Carlene Carter. During the early 90s when I listened primarily to country, I liked her music. Her family connections just added to it. This one was a favorite -- upbeat, playful, and fun. At the time, it had some personal significance (especially the line, "I love you so much I hate you"). Sometimes a song work for reasons only you yourself can understand; this is one of them.
  
• Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic -- The Police. 26 years since its release, and it's still one of the best pop songs ever. Ever. Ever. It never sounds dated or old to me. Brings a smile to my face, and that's reason enough for its inclusion here.
• Far Cry -- Rush. Their new one. Two words: kicks ass.
  
• Gemini Dream -- The Moody Blues.
• Go Faster -- The Black Crowes.
• Hair of the Dog -- Nazareth.
• Hearts on Fire -- Randy Meisner. Another one that works for me. Don't know why, and I'm not going to analyze it.
  
• Home and Dry -- Gerry Rafferty. I like Gerry Rafferty's music. This one might not have been quite as big or well-known as "Baker Street" (like who doesn't know that sax solo?), but I loved it back then. And now.
• I Feel Free -- Cream.
• Invisible -- Alison Moyet. Ah yes, one from my days when my world revolved around MTV. They were touting her as one of the biggest things coming out of the UK, and she was going to make a huge splash here in the States. Naturally, as was often the case with them, their prediction flopped. But this was a great song. A great vocal with raw power and emotion. There's a great internet station I listen to out of Canada, and they play it a good bit. So I found it online, bought it, and have enjoyed it ever since.
• It's In The Way That You Use It -- Eric Clapton. Clapton is God. And in 1986, so was Tom Cruise as far as this teen girl was concerned. The Color of Money. Great song that has stood the test of time.
  
• Jailbreak -- Thin Lizzy. I mentioned on another post somewhere that this one had been in my brain for a while and I've even skipped other songs just to get to this one in my workouts. A great song.
  
• James Dean -- The Eagles.
• Jealous Again -- The Black Crowes.
• Leave It -- Yes. A fantastic song. It works for me.
• Let Me Love You Tonight -- Pure Prairie League. A great shuffle beat, kind of reminiscent of beach music. And I love Vince Gill, who does lead on this, and then went on to a big career in country. Another one of those '70s Summer Songs that make me happy.
• Lights Out -- Peter Wolf.
• Love Will Find A Way -- Pablo Cruise. Pablo Cruise -- one of the great underrated bands of the 70s and early 80s. And I loved this song.
• Midnight At The Oasis -- Maria Muldaur. Because everyone deserves at least one Guilty Pleasure Song.
• New York Groove -- Ace Frehley.
• Oh Yeah -- Yello. Every righteous dude and dudette needs this song for a workout.
  
• On and On -- Stephen Bishop. Another GP song. And works well for a cooldown song.
  
• O-o-h Child -- The Five Stairsteps. A completely beautiful song, and if I need a pick-me-up, there it is. And surprisingly it works well sometimes in the middle of a workout.
• Peace Frog -- The Doors.
• Radioactive -- The Firm.
• Redneck Friend -- Jackson Browne. It's a great song. What can I say?
• Remedy -- The Black Crowes.
• Renegade -- Styx. Great beat, and I love it.
• Rock the Casbah -- The Clash. It just flippin' rocks.
• Rock You Like A Hurricane -- The Scorpions
• Rocky Mountain Way -- Joe Walsh. You can't see me but my head is bobbing to this song and I'm doing the (supposed) devil sign (you know, pinky finger and index finger, with middle two against the palm. When I saw the Eagles in concert years ago, I went in an Eagles fan, and came out a Joe Walsh fan too. He just rocks.
• Romeo's Tune -- Steve Forbert.
• Running on Empty -- Jackson Browne.
• Sexyback -- Justin Timberlake. I confess to Almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault... but I love the beat. I shall pray 50 Hail Marys each day for 50 days for such a transgression.
• Shining Star -- Earth Wind and Fire.
• Sir Duke -- Stevie Wonder.
• Smoking Gun -- Robert Cray. I have always loved this song. So I figured why not put it here?
• Stone in Love -- Journey. Why this one wasn't on their Greatest Hits album, I will never understand. This song kicks!
• Stuck In the Middle With You -- Stealers Wheel.
• The Boys Are Back In Town -- Thin Lizzy.
• The Other Side -- Aerosmith.
• Tom Sawyer -- Rush. Because Rush flippin' rocks, and so does this song!
• Vehicle -- The Ides of March. Because I felt like it. Because the song rocks, 37 years later. Because Stone Cold said so.
• War -- Edwin Starr. Because sometimes you have to have a song to get your brain and emotions and heart fired up.
• Well All Right -- Blind Faith.
• Werewolves of London -- Warren Zevon. What can I say? I love this song, and I think I was on a Color of Money soundtrack kick.
• Whatcha Gonna Do -- Pablo Cruise. See "Love Will Find A Way."
• Whatever Gets You Through the Night -- John Lennon
• Who Will You Run To? -- Heart. Another that makes perfect sense to me, even if it doesn't make any sense to anyone else.
• Winning -- Santana.

So that's it. That's the list.