I Don't Like Mondays came on the radio um, let's see, three days ago and I was amused to hear that it sounded wrong without my skip just before the first chorus. Never mind that I haven't played that album in decades--when I did, I played it again and again and again. The Fine Art of Surfacing and A Tonic for the Troops. Look Sharp! got played over and over, too.

Back then we had to work for our music. Records had to be TURNED OVER and you couldn't buy your favorite SONG for crying out loud. Unless it was a single and those were the most work of all because where is the plastic thing to stick in the middle? It went missing shortly after my sister and I played C.W. McCall's Convoy several dozen times one afternoon. After that we got a handful of the snap-in kind that fit inside the 45 but they were hard to keep track of, too.

I put a cd/mp3 player in my car a couple of years ago and not a moment too soon. I figured I would burn a whole bunch of mixes for my listening pleasure, but I found they were not as wonderful as I'd thought they'd be. I guess if an artist goes to the trouble of putting together an album, I want to hear the whole thing through, at least once. After that, I do appreciate the forward button so that I can hop over the dross.

Here's a list of hands-free albums (in addition to those mentioned above). You can stick these in the player and just let them repeat for days. I know this for a fact.

Traffic and Weather, Fountains of Wayne
soundtrack to Rushmore
Devolver, The Waybacks
Blind Man Walking, Cadillac Sky
When I Go, Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer
Costello Music, The Fratellis
Slow Turning, John Hiatt
American Idiot, Green Day
Gently Weeps, Jake Shimabukuro

Feel free to add to the list!