There were over 200 submissions in our frisson contest the other day. The Byrds set goes to Jill G in Florida for her incredible essay about "Luka" by Suzanne Vega. Ten honorable mentions for exceptional paragraphs-- each of which could easily have won-- by Ivan (Brel's "Le Port d'Amsterdam"), Jeff B ("All Along the Watchtowner" by Hendrix), eel ("How Soon Is Now" by The Smiths), Shawn T ("It's All Over Now Baby Blue" by Them), Michael D (Bob Marley's "Redemption Song"), David C ("How Soon Is Now?" by The Smiths), Damien G (Smiths' "How Soon Is Now" again), Bob W ("East/West" by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band), Tom ( Radiohead's "Paranoid Android") and Steve W who went with a live Dylan version of "Like A Rolling Stone" from a 1966 concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Thanks everybody who spent the time and effort on those amazing entries. I loved reading them!

Jill gets her boxset and tonight's LNMC pick:

I am on an airplane at the moment to get me from the America's Future Now conference in DC to my home in LA, but we stuck are on the ground. The delay has well exceeded the four hour mark and we are cranky and hungry. I thought that posting a song about an airplane flying at cruising altitude might make it so for us, a la "The Secret".

Mr. Tambourine Man

I love this Gene Clark penned gem about loneliness. Got a favorite about being alone?

R.I.P. Dennis Hopper.

PS Our sister site Newstalgia has for its Backstage Weekend Offering, Phil Lynott's Grand Slam from 1984.

(guest blogged by AndyK)

Let's Go Away For Awhile from Pet Sounds

Long before Thomas Frank got the inspiration to write his latest book, The Wrecking Crew, there was a group of studio musicians known by that name. Many of you are probably thinking, "Never heard of 'em." But let me assure you, you've heard The Wrecking Crew, and you've probably heard more times than you can count!

In the '60's, while the faces on the album covers were on the road, these guys (and one gal) recorded the music that ended up on your (or your parents'- and even your grandparents') record players. Members of The Wrecking Crew provided the instrumental music for recordings by The Beach Boys, The Byrds and Simon and Garfunkel, as well as Bing Crosby, Herb Alpert, The Carpenters and Elvis, just to name a few. They recorded scores for films and television shows. They recorded advertising jingles, too.

You probably recognize three of The Wrecking Crew members from their solo careers: Glenn Campbell, Leon Russell and Dr. John (Max Rebennack). You might not know the names of drummer Hal Blaine, who appeared on 39 #1 singles between 1961 and 1976, or guitarist Tommy Tedesco, once pegged by Guitar Player magazine as the most recorded guitarist in history.

You might be wondering why I linked this Beach Boys instrumental. Here's why: There are 12 musicians on this recording. None of them are Beach Boys, and only one isn't a member of The Wrecking Crew.

If there really were UFOs, wouldn't Ron Paul be doing better in the race for the Republican nomination? The Byrds did a lot of songs about UFOs back in the sixties, this one, "Hey Mr. Spaceman," from Fifth Dimension, the ultimate psychedelic album, the best known.