John Cusack in HIGH FIDELITY is always doing top 5 lists about certain situations.  As this is a blog and I have no original thoughts, I thought I'd list the five songs that define me as a person.

5.  "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant," Billy Joel.

I actually lived behind an Italian restaurant for six months in my twenties (no, it wasn't an Olive Garden, thanks).  Ate there all the time as they were exceptionally good.  Does admitting I love Billy Joel give me poser status?  Well, fuck it.  I really identified with the post-teen angst of this song, as at the time I  discovered it I was swiftly learning that life after high school wasn't what I expected it to be.

4.  "Rainbow In The Dark," Dio.

I karaokied the fuck out of this song a few years back.  There's nothing like a really bad song that's written and performed with such passion that it makes it a cheeseball classic.  Who knows what the fuck Dio was singing about, but he MEANT it, goddammit, and it demands attention.  Or something.

3.  "Rhinestone Cowboy," Glen Campbell

My uncle owned a hamburger joint in Houston when I was just a little kid (Roznovsky's Hamburgers, for any Houstonians out there - the original one) and I played this song over and over and over on the jukebox.  I knew it by heart and would sing it to the patrons whenever it came on.  I was a weird little kid.

2.  "The Flowers Of Guatemala," R.E.M.

Easily my favorite R.E.M. song.  They've only performed it a few times live.  Apparently Michael Stipe wrote it after his grandfather died and it has a special meaning to him.  I love the soundscape of it, intimate one moment and epic the next.  This is a video of someone's missionary trip to the region, and the only one I could find on YouTube, sorry.  I'm not too tech-savvy.

1. "Real Love," The Beatles

Yeah, this ain't nothing more than a mash-up, but it bears the significance of being the first song that I danced with my wife.  It could have been worse... it could have been the goddamn "Macarena."

What's your Top Five?