Five-by-Five: a peek into my musical psyche

I love music. I love discovering new music. I love listening to tunes that make me feel a bit better about the world, that make me sit up or stand a little taller, that bring me joy, that make me escape. Here are five tunes that answer to that description.

The Hold Steady have so many incredible tunes. And they're every bit as amazing live as you'd expect. I absolutely love the horn parts on "Two Handed Handshake". A somewhat hidden tune on 2008's Stay Positive.

Goose with "Black Gloves" from their 2006 album Bring It On. Damn, that riff just gets me moving.

It was only a few months ago that I posted the song "Crank" by Catherine Wheel. I promised that I'd post the Rob Dickinson acoustic version and I guess now's the time.

Alice Cooper "Clones (We're All)" from 1980's Flush the Fashion

The Jam. I had a really hard time picking one tune, but I went for "Town Called Malice" from their 1982 release The Gift. I guess that means that I'll put up more Jam in the future. Strawberry or Blueberry maybe.