YAY, another music related Top 10 Tuesday! To clarify, this is the Top 10 list of SOME songs that I most associate with my hockey experience for whatever reason. Give me a break, I can’t control what my mind associates with random music. This is not a list of essential hockey songs or even essential road trip songs. This list doesn’t even mention some of the albums I never leave home without like, Guns N’ Roses (Appetite for Destruction), Metallica (black album), Kings of Leon (Only by the Night), Kanye West (Graduation), Nirvana (Unplugged in New York), Heart (The Essential Heart – didn’t see that one coming, did you?), just to name a few. You also won’t find bands that you are guaranteed to hear at the rink like Stompin’ Tom Connors, or, for Toronto fans, Nickelback to no end. Enjoy!

10. Chris Isaac – Wicked Games

In high school, normal people sit in class and pass notes to each other, but my friends were not normal people. My friends used to sit in class and draw pictures and make up “spicy stories” about the local junior hockey team. Between periods, they’d catch me in the hallway or by the lockers and give me their latest creations. I really don’t know what the motive behind these pictures was. Anyway, years later, living in Toronto, I was going through a box of my old trophies and awards, when I came across a blue folder. In it were dozens of pictures, and stories, and even a homemade flag that the girls had made for me back in grade eleven. Rereading the stories made me laugh because in some of the steamier scenes music was used to set the mood. Wicked Games by Chris Isaac was the most popular choice, but other tracks included, George Michael (Father Figure, Careless Whisper), and Smashing Pumpkins (Ava Adore, Eye).

9. Border Cross/Country

Back in the day, we used to have this tradition that involved us insuring that country music was on the second we crossed the border into the States for our hockey road trips. Not sure why, but I think as 19 year olds we reasoned that country music is American, and we were in America. Usually we played Gretchen Wilson’s Here for the Party, but eventually Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy (Big and Rich) became a popular choice, and even made it on to the Philly ’07 soundtrack. Which reminds me of a text conversation I had with my mom while I was in Calgary. Me: I see cowboys! Mom: Don’t save any horses.

8. Def Leppard, Hysteria

Back during the NHL Lock Out I had to resort to supporting the next best thing in the American Hockey League. On a trip to Cleveland, Ohio to see the, then, Barons take on the Milwaukee Admirals at the Quicken Loans Arena, I was already beginning to burn through my list of people willing to go on hockey trips with me. I had to resort to scouting from the bottom of the barrel, and by that I mean I had to take my sister (that’s right, Alex!). She was still in elementary school at the time, and in her Japanese phase. Thus, she would only listen to odd metal from Japan and nothing else. She even listened to it on her iPod while she miserably watched the hockey game – who does that!? (She had only come along because she wanted to go shopping.) Naturally, being the older sister, I had to make it my mission to irritate her mercilessly during the entire five hour car ride. This involved me fully blasting Def Leppard’s Hysteria while dramatically singing along and busting out the finest upper body dance moves you’ve ever seen. If that didn’t annoy her enough, I deviated from Def Leppard every once in a while to play My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas, and ONLY My Humps! Fave Tracks: Women, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Armageddon It

7. Justin Timberlake, Future Sex/Love Sounds

Justin always seems to be in the car whenever I need to flee a situation. Initially, this album reminds me of fleeing Nashville in a great haste after an unpleasant evening locked away (in fear) in my hotel room, after a would-be John attempted to do God-knows-what to me for a(hopefully very large) fee re: Will NOT have sex for carbs or money! I think it was in my attempt to make myself feel better after such a startling night that made me turn to Mr. Timberlake’s music until Nashville disappeared in my rearview mirror. Coincidentally, SexyBack seems to be the theme song to all of my hockey related dramas and shady activities. Fave Tracks: FutureSex/LoveSound, SexyBack, Chop Me Up

6. A Night at the Roxbury soundtrack

There was a time when this soundtrack never left my car. This was the time before I started flying to my further games, and would find myself driving for twelve plus hours overnight. Generally, I would listen to poppy, fun music when I needed to stay awake. Now I’m just so used to not sleeping that I could really listen to anything and be wired for weeks. One night around four AM, while we were en route to Milwaukee for an Admirals game, we approached a toll booth somewhere around Chicago with the soundtrack blaring. We were all really hyper! I’ll never forget the look on the toll worker’s face when he saw what appeared to be a skuzzy, mobile dance club pulling up to his window. Fave Tracks: This is Your Night, What is Love?, A Little Bit of Ecstasy.

5. Britney Spears, Blackout

Like most people, the first time I heard Blackout I thought it sounded like monotonous garbage. However, my friend insisted that it was actually good, and forced me to listen to it non-stop during a November 2007 road trip to Philadelphia. I have to admit that I quickly became addicted to Britney’s crazy period album, and am instantly reminded of the Flyers and life on the road the second I hear it. Consequentially, all Philly roadies were tag lined It’s Philly, Bitch after that trip (re: Gimme More). I even have a humourous misheard lyric from her song, Toy Soldier, that I cannot for the life of me sing correctly. The line is, “I’m like a fire bottle bustin’ in your face.” Except I don’t hear “fire bottle,” I hear “Flyer.” I know, so vile, right? Anyway, my co-pilots have also noticed that I drive faster when this song is on, and put the song on repeat whenever I have to hightail it to a game. Fave Tracks: Toy Soldier, Break the Ice, Gimme More, I Got A Plan (Get Naked), Perfect Lover (uh huh uh huh uh huh uh huuuuuuh)

4. Bush(X), Sixteen Stone

Sixteen Stone is one of those amazing albums that you completely forget about until you stumble upon it while going through your old CD collection. Back when Bush first began, they had copyright problems in Canada because a Canadian band named Bush already existed. For years, Bush was known as Bush X in Canada until the other band allowed them to have the name just prior to the release of their third album. I don’t know about you, but I personally think Bush X is WAY more bad ass, but whatever. I don’t know if it’s worth anything, but my copies of Sixteen Stone and Razorblade Suitcase have Bush X on them. Anyway, back to hockey. This album has left one of those vivid imprints on my memory that immediately makes me recall driving around Detroit (Big Beaver Road *Beavis and Butthead laugh*) for my very first NHL solo roadie to see the Preds take on the Red Wings in 2006. I was really nervous for that game, and the fact that I was by myself. It was another one of those big moments that changed the way my game was played forever. Fave Tracks: Everything Zen, Comedown, Little Things, Machinehead, Glycerine.

3. Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend

On our inaugural trip to Philadelphia, my friend made a two disc compilation in honour of the momentous occasion. The playlist included a variety of gems from Dick in a Box to Layla. However, she also included a few tracks that irritated me to no end like the one mentioned above. After our first game at Wachovia Center, we somehow found ourselves lost and on a continuous circuit around the airport. My friend decided to taunt me with Avril Lavigne’s Girlfriend which only contributed to the irritation level of the situation. It became the driving equivalent of circus music. Every time I saw the exit, I would miss it for some ridiculous reason. I quickly changed the lyrics to “Hey, hey, you, you, I don’t like your airport! No way, no way, I think you need a new one!” After spending a good forty-five minutes trapped around the airport, Avril’s terrible song is probably the first song I think of when I remember my time in Philadelphia. P.S. How did I manage to miss this song in Top 10 Tuesday: Puck bunny music at the office?

2. Super Cool Junior Hockey Gangsta Mix

Growing up in Kitchener there are really only two things to do if you are underage – hang out at the Tim Horton’s and go cruising up and down King Street. Our post Rangers game tradition involved walking over to Timmy Ho’s on Ottawa, grabbing a hot chocolate and a toasted coconut donut, then heading out for a drive around town with the windows down and the “tunes” blasting! Of course, in high school, the only music worth blasting is intrusive “deep thug” (I coined that term). Such tracks included: Xzibit (Get Your Walk On), 50 Cent (In Da Club, If I Can’t), Nelly (Pimp Juice, On the Grind), Ludacris (Game Got Switched – I hate it when there are too many rookies, not enough pros!, Southern Hospitality), Cam’Ron (What Means the World to You), N.E.R.D (Lap Dance), etc. We would occasionally change up the pace and throw on a couple Nsync slow jams (This I Promise You) to embarrass ourselves. On one evening of post game cruising, we were being followed by another car which turned out to be carrying none other than the players themselves! Back then I was never one to back down from a challenge to race. That was before Ontario approved immediate loss of licence for reckless speeding, and I realized my whole hockey livelihood would be at risk! Needless to say, I smoked ‘em.

1. Coldplay, A Rush of Blood to the Head

Milwaukee was my very first non-OHL road trip, and being a massive event for the future of my hockey addiction, its soundtrack is the most memorable. At the time, I was listening to a lot of Coldplay. That was long before the band started to irritate me with their new stuff – ugh, Viva La Vida and other douchey songs that make me want to slit my wrists. I do like Violet Hill, though. Anyway, Coldplay’s album, A Rush of Blood to the Head makes me immediately remember driving around the Brew on my off night in town while a massive snowstorm was just beginning (we ended up getting three feet that night). I can still see the snow swirling around on the pavement as if I were there right now in the dead of January. Perhaps, my memory of this night is so vivid for another reason. Maybe it was a foreshadow to my life that I’m supposed to remember. The night before, I saw my first game at the Bradley Center. The Admirals were taking on the San Antonio Rampage (now affiliated with the Phoenix Coyotes). The night after this incident, I saw my second and last game of the trip wherein the Ads played host to the Hamilton Bulldogs. Do you see the connection? I guess we’ll know more about this by week’s end! Fave Tracks: A Rush of Blood to the Head, The Scientist, Warning Sign.

Bonus Track: Arctic Monkeys – Do Me A Favour

It’s the beginning of the end. The car went up the hill and disappeared around the bend. This song was the overall theme song from the 08-09 hockey season. I was listening to it a lot after Christmas when I knew that I was going to switch teams to Phoenix at some point in the near future. Other awesome tracks by the Arctic Monkeys: 505, Teddy Picker, Still Take You Home, Dancing Shoes, Mardy Bum