What's a song you'd want to hear while stargazing?

California Stars by Billy Bragg and Wilco

When Woody Guthrie's surviving children picked Billy Bragg and Wilco to interpret and record songs that Woody wrote but never performed, they made the perfect choice. The two Mermaid Avenue albums are among my most treasured. They embody Woody's artistry, his restless spirit and his genius..

What song makes you want to forgive someone? - It's almost impossible to explain the compulsion to drink that active alcoholism causes. It's pathological, not logical. Presented with a mile-long list of reasons not to, an alcoholic who isn't in recovery will always choose the bottle. This song by Mary Gauthier includes the line "Birds fly, fish swim, I drink" which perfectly captures the nature of a real drunk. It's been nearly 17 years since I had my last drink, but there are plenty of stark reminders not to judge those still trapped in addiction.

What song makes you want to dance alone in your room? James Brown had a tough retirement, there is no doubt. For many years though, he was the epitome of energy and hustle. He was unapolgetically Black and Proud and man, what a creative force. It's tough for me to dance these days, arthritis and other old man shit has me all janked up, but hearing the horns of The Famous Flames and James unmistakable voice gives me the chills and wee bit of energy.

What's a song you associate with your hometown? Although my hometown was founded in the pre-colonial era and has a rich history, we are know for one thing, and that is our close ties to the American war machine, specifically the Special Forces command and the 82nd Airborne Infantry Division. Kids around here grow up to the sound of artillery and the sight of paratroopers falling from the sky. I saw a big jump last week over Sainte-Mère-Eglise drop zone. Barry Sadler was an active duty Green Beret when he recorded this song in the 1960s. He lived in the same neighborhood as my high school girlfriend, about one mile from the Ft. Bragg gate.

Share a song that sounds like your ideal Sunday morning. If there was a soundtrack for me life, a couple of Eagles songs would certainly be on it. They've been background music for 50 years. Some classic rock songs wear out eventually and you never want to hear them again, but others just become part of you.

What's your favorite song to listen to while doing chores? I will go to my grave insisting that the best chore album of all time is Back in Black by AC/DC - played really loud. After all these years, I know every second of every song. Listening to it while cleaning house is an old, old ritual.

Share a song that sounds like your favorite childhood memory. - One of the albums that got played a lot in our house "for the kids" was the wonderfully subversive tune, "Little Boxes" written by Malvina Reynolds and made famouse by the inimitable Pete Seeger who put the song on Billboard's Hot 100. It's a song about the banal evils of conformity, following the rules and not making any waves. It's had a lasting effect on my view of the world and I'm exteremly happy that it's still getting played in the 21st century.

I was a farm kid in the 70s and 80s. When I hear Pete Townshend's guitar play those unmistakable chords and Roger Daltry's voice sing this song, I've felt like I could take on the world. The Who and the Kinks were the more intellectual bands of the British invasion with more and better imagery than some of the pop stuff from the lads from Liverpool and their dirty London Cousins.

*"Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals I get my back into my living I don't need to fight to prove I'm right I don't need to be forgiven

Don't cry, don't raise your eye It's only teenage wasteland"

What song would you use to describe your current relationship? Jackson by Johnny Cashand June Carter Cash - Before I met my wife, I lived a life with too much of a whole bunch of stuff that's not good for you. Most people would consider me reformed today. I love the good natured way Johnny and June sing this tune, knowing Johnny's rough life prior to their marriage.

What song best matches the energy of today? We Are Family by Sister Sledge - Just to prove I'm not a music snob, I'll readily admit to having a few disco favorites and this is one of them. It captures today's mood because my son, who lives 1,000 miles away, is coming for a visit. Even though Wonder Woman and I weren't married until he was an adult, we're still family and they adore each other, which makes me happy.