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2001-06-02 | 8:57 a.m.

For years I have talked about making the perfect CD. But I never did because frankly, that's not my thing. I never was one to chase down rare vinyl or make mix tapes. Back when I was still a kid, I realized there wasn't ever going to be enough money for me to collect both books and music, so one of them had to go. (But you should see how many books I have.)

Anyway, now that I'm all over BearShare like a bad smell, I've finally started trying to compile the perfect collection of songs. Was even planning to track down the CDs to make it a first-class recording. But it's much harder than I ever expected to decide on the songs. The goal is downright elusive. What happens is, I'll find a song I really like, or one that I've been searching for, and then I'll listen to it 2 or 3 times to see if it merits inclusion on the Best Ever CD, and then I'm tired of it. So I go off looking for something else.

Of course, there are some songs I never get tired of. They have entered my musical pantheon. But there are not enough of those to make even one tape. So I have to keep searching around.

Maybe this is why people who make mix tapes make so many. My friend Rory used to make all our party tapes and there would always be a few perennials mixed in with his latest favorites. Maybe that's the way it's supposed to work.

Okay, fine. I'll rethink my strategy.

As a rule, I tend not to play favorites. I never say, My favorite color is this, or my favorite food is that. So as you might expect, I don't have a single favorite song. But my all-time favorite songs at the moment seem to be Bobby Bland's "Poverty," Elvis Costello's "I Want You," and the Pogues's "Navigator." If I try to add even one more song, it turns into a 20-way tie. And I can't even explain my attachment to these songs in critical terms. It's just pure emotion. Just luuuuuurve, baby.

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