Where do you store your songs? I'm not talking about the iPod or your carrying case or your custom made shelving unit, but where do you store the songs you've heard?

I store them in one of three parts of me: my head, my heart, and right here.

The songs I keep in my head are usually one of two things: Intellectually stimulating, or like a tart with an empty flavor but a tangy aftertaste. These can be sampled in songs like Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" or Neutral Milk Hotel's "Oh Comely," but can also be snippits of Amy Grant's "Baby, Baby" or Ricky Martin's "SheBANGS." They either kick ass so hard it's Thursday or just riverdance across your face until you litterally start swatting at nothing.

The songs I keep in my heart are the most diverse group, but they are comprised of songs that hold a memory, remind me of a person, or are typically songs from soundtracks. Examples: Every time I hear "Worlds Apart" from Jars Of Clay, I remember being in the Upper Room of BCC learning the video, standing in the circle, and watching Pastor Petey follow Toby's every move...clear as day. Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" reminds me of Japan. It reminds me of a very unusual and rough time in my life where very few things made sense, but it's stored right in the ticker. Glass Tiger's "Don't Forget Me" reminds me of Micheal J. Fox in Doc Hollywood every single time. Yeah, it's right in the ticker.

Then there are the songs I store in here. These songs typically envoke a reaction that cannot be contained and is commonly catching. More often than not these songs are soul or blues in nature. This place is almost too hard to be described. It's something deeper than the heart and even moreso the gut. These songs tend to be a driving force in my life and take me to a place where nothing else exsists. I store songs like Peggy Lee's version of "Black Coffee," Jimi Hendrix's "Wind Cries Mary," Buddy Johnson's "Rollin'n'Shufflin,'" or anything Otis here. Songs that go deeper than the intellectual stuff, that drive, that hurt, that do more than what's within the bounds of propriety.

I don't know where I got it, but it's where I store my songs. It's where the music comes from that's really playing when I dance.