Top 10 Sleep Songs

So I didn't get to post last night because my daughter would not stay asleep. It was like she was jacked up on some kind of stimulant.

As I lay on her bedroom floor, trying to lead by example, I started to formulate a list of songs with sleep in the title.

None of these are lullabies and very few could be put in the category of "soothing" but a few of them do tap into the frustration that I (and probably many insomniacs) felt last night.

Search "Sleep" on your iPod. I bet you have at least ten songs to make a completely different list. How do they rank against these? I leave that to you to make your case. Here's my Top Ten.

10) "Talking In Your Sleep" - The Romantics - aka their other hit. This catchy little number came up quick during the process and lodged itself in my head.

9) "Sleep!" - Big Black - not exactly what I would wish for my child or any other. But this whole exercise was a catharsis really.

8) "Sleep Tonight" - Rolling Stones - an overlooked song on an underappreciated album, this one probably comes the closest on the list to my paternal tone as I occasionally rubbed my wired child's back

7) "Sleeping With The T.V. On" - Double Dagger - I love this song from their last EP, Masks & I regret not making it out to their final show here in Chicago.

And hey, by coincidence my last post references falling asleep with the t.v. on, which is something I personally never do. Weird.

"Remember that night when my mouth forgot how to work? And you said 'we are most beautiful when we struggle'. Well, sometimes my life has more beauty than I can handle."

6) "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" - Beastie Boys - thank you Beastie Boys, now I have two catchy choruses running through my head and my daughter is still restless and it is quarter past one.

5) "Sleep Is The Enemy" - Danko Jones - it is sure starting to feel that way. This is a tough track off their last truly masterful album.

4) "I'm Only Sleeping" - The Beatles - thanks to Terri Hemmert's Breakfast With The Beatles program Sunday mornings on XRT, my son can usually identify who is handling lead vocals on a Beatles track. So the Fab Four get the #4 spot because this one might make it on a mix cd soon.

3) "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" - Nirvana - I realize that this is a Leadbelly tune. But I was first introduced to it during the Unplugged session. Ever since the reissue of Nevermind came out I have been pining for Nirvana. I held the $79 4LP set in my hands today and gave it some serious consideration before opting to pay $20 for a Le Butcherettes album. Having a Reckless Records in the Loop has made my lunch hour a dangerous and seductive thing.

"My girl, my girl..." - please go the f*ck to sleep!

2) "When You Sleep" - My Bloody Valentine - I remember reading how Kevin Shields and Co. were trying to capture the sensation of having just woken up from a deep sleep with the vocals on Loveless. They certainly nailed it.

1) "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" - The Tokens(?) - I am not 100% who did this tune originally. This is the one that I know and I have heard about a gazillion times. We put it on the first mix we made for my son because he was so into animals at the time. How many car rides have I belted out this song? Impossible to count, really. But in the end, it gets the top spot because it is truly a unique and rocking good time. Just try and keep up with all the crazy stuff they throw in there.

Hush, my darling don't fear my darling, the lion sleeps tonight.