Music: Friday Random Ten

This week with arbitrary self-audited "coolness factor!"

1. "Them Bones" Alice In Chains -- I once had a co-worker claim Jerry Cantrell was the modern-day equivalent to Mozart. Come on, he's Salieri at best. 7/10

2. "The Magnificent Seven" The Clash -- What'da we got for entertainment...? An 8 out of 10.

3."Cinderella" Cracker -- Featuring a stand-out guest vocals by LP—think Janis Joplin with a better voice. I saw Cracker in NYC a few years back, and they brought her out for the encore to do this tune. Tremendous. Unfortunately, none of her own material was ever close to this good. Extra coolness point for being a "hidden" track. 8/10

4. "Shine A Light" Stones -- Nice gospel-ly deep cut from Exile. 6/10

5."Solar Sister" The Posies -- One of my favorite bands, and a good song. Extra point for the lyric that inspired the great album cover for Frosting on the Beater. 8/10

6. "Couldn't Stand the Weather" SRV -- Music doesn't get any better than this. One of my all-time favorite songs. A standard for me when auditioning hi-fi equipment. A timely selection, as tomorrow marks the 15th anniversary (wow) of his tragic death. 10/10

7. "Black Coffee in Bed" Squeeze -- Pop used to really be musical back in the day. Harmonies, canons, "ooo"s and everything. 6/10

8."Born On The Bayou" CCR -- One of the only things I ever got off Napster. And thank god, because it's the best song Creedence ever did, and it's not on 'Chronicles,' which means nobody under 50 owns it, and you can never find it in a jukebox. 9/10

9. "Magnolia" Screaming Cheetah Wheelies -- Would Mike Farris ever win American Idol? Bo Bice couldn't hold his jock leather "lead singer pants". This guy is in the pantheon of hard southern rock vocalists. 8/10

10. "Full Moon, Empty Heart" Belly -- Always makes me think of a particular scene from 'Homicide'—the greatest TV show ever. An extra point for being part of one of the greatest TV/film song placements of all time (a list-worthy topic for another time). 7/10

Total of 7.7 out of 10 overall. That's a tough score considering both a 9 and a 10 were in there. This is off my iPod mini, so it already is a condensed selection of 800 or so "better" songs.