10 songs off my ipod.

I switched on my ipod (the little cheap one - I say cheap, but £35 for a 2GB pansy is outrageous - a faithful companion over the past few years. My first was a gracious gift, the second replaced it when I got mugged in London...), made sure it was set to stun shuffle and here we are:

1. Mel Torme - New York, New York
This is Mel's version of the song from the musical On the Town from 1949, which had Frank Sinatra in it. It is probably my favourite song at the moment to sing along to - the Bronx is up, but the Battery's down. I've no idea where any of the places in New York are, I shall have to visit them one day soon.

2. Kylie Minogue - Celebration
This could be a low point of the list, but Kylie's perky enthusiasm is cheering, I find. Indeed, she is organising a celebration to last throughout the year. She probably looks upon this period with a slight sense of bedazzled shame and yet secret pride, much like the time when I used to wear lime green jeans.

3. Tom Jones and Jools Holland - St James Infirmary Blues
Tom and Jools are a match made in heaven, and thankfully in recent years Sir TJ's soulful side is emerging to eclipse the Vegas hip-swinging (not that I have a real problem with that, Tom Jones at the MGM Grand is the best concert I've ever been to). This for me is the definitive version of a song everyone of a certain age has covered - I'd love to go to New Orleans, they make the blues seem so jolly.

4. Dolly Parton - 9 to 5
I actually love Dolly - I don't have many heroes, but Dolly is definitely one of them. She's a long-time philanthropist and all-round (boy, is she all round) good egg and the lady can sing. I've always thought she looks like Michaela Strachan in the middle of anaphylaxis.

5. Glen Campbell - Learnin' the Blues
I'm a bit partial to some Glen Campbell too - I like music that I can sing along to and The Highwayman or Rhinestone Cowboy are suitably stirring. I've got a greatest hits of Campbell's though that shows him delving into a spot of big band - Learning the Blues is here, as is an amazing big band cover of Johnny Cash's I Walk the Line.

6. Cliff Richard - Something's Going On
Don't judge me - I bought this album when I was drunk once. I thought I had told the story, but a quick search of ALBOWIEB says no. That's really the story, actually, but I'm sure I could string it out to 300 words. I really like this song, it's got a poppy, brassy vibe to it that really doesn't deserve to be on a ruddy Cliff Richard album.

7. The Puppini Sisters - Old Cape Cod
I am quite partial to sand dunes and salty air, as well as the odd quaint little village here and there. Perhaps that is why I like this song. The Puppini Sisters are a good investment, especially their album that has a harmonised cover of Beyonce's Crazy in Love. Old Cape Cod always makes me want to be somewhere else, it transports me to a paradise of relaxing walks, sitting on the beach and reading books in cafes.

8. Buddy Greco - The Lady is a Tramp
I love a bit of Buddy, and I think we've probably established before that this is perhaps my favourite song in the world ever. It epitomises swinging cool to my unrefined self and always makes me want to be a jazz singer without fail after every listen. That said, I did want to be a mythical Chinese warrior after watching House of Flying Daggers this morning. The one thing I can't understand - is the lady actually not a tramp, and the singer is being mean about people who don't like his girl? I've never been able to understand that. A few dozen more listens might help.

9. Lion King cast - Hakuna Matata
'Pumba - not in front of the kids'. This song takes me right back to my childhood - there is also Cruella Da Vil, Under the Sea and the Ugly Bug Ball somewhere on my Shuffle, all turning back the years with their catchy melodic ways. Disney films have always been iconic milestones for kids since the 40s that I don't think today's generations will experience in the same way. I remember going to see Beauty and the Beast at the cinema, and the Happy Meal toys coming out.

10. Paul Anka - Wonderwall
Paul Anka's Rock Swings album is amegazing - admittedly the only thing I have from the Anka pantheon (or planktheon, if you will), it features a host of rock songs big bandified, which was quite vogueish for a month or two in the middle of the noughties there. Wonderwall, Eye of the Tiger, Hello, Jump - some incredible tunes, all skillfully translated to brass and double bass.