Thanks to my good friends at Apple, I have undoubtedly the most bitchin' digital music transporter around. 30GB holding over 3500 songs, baby. Here is a sample of some of the songs I am listening to as of late, to inspire or to simply set the scene wherever I am in India.

"Man In A Suitcase" by The Police. Tales of a traveling sod as told through a great pure pop song. The background airport / train station noises in this song are apropos sounds for my transport from Tokyo to Hong Kong to Delhi.

"Beauty Way" by Eliza Gilkyson. Her low, rough voice talks about how she's kind of sick of some negative qualities she's developed, too.

"Buildings and Bridges" by Ani DiFranco. A fun, plucky guitar song that's great to listen to while looking out the window of a moving train.

"Cure for Pain" by Morphine. Love the bass saxophone.

"I'm Looking Through You" by Steve Earle. A cover of The Beatles song . . . much better with Earle's slightly twangy Texas voice and bright mandolin.

"One Good Year" by Slaid Cleaves. One of the better Texas writers of the just plain sad song. Give me one good year.

"Jack of Speed" by Steely Dan. From their Two Against Nature album, it's a smooth piece for after hours. No collection is complete without Steely Dan, period.

"Amelia" by Joni Mitchell. Excellent soothing tune for a late night on an international flight, when I can't sleep. The 1976 album from which it's from, Hejira, has been called a "lyrical bass fantasia." I don't know what that means, but all of the songs have a depth of maturity that was lacking in her goofy hippy songs of earlier years.

"The Weight" by Cassandra Wilson. This version is like smoky port to The Band's sour mash whiskey original version. The bongos and deep bass drum add colorful percussion to the two acoustic guitars.

"Amazing Grace" by Lisa Tingle. An Austin musician, who sings the best rendition of this song I've ever heard. No instruments, just her raspy, strong voice that might indicate she's got nothing in her life but two packs of cigarettes and Jesus.

"Take My Hand, Precious Lord" by Mahalia Jackson. The First Lady of Gospel sings this old spiritual very slowly, accompanied by piano and an ever-present organ. Her soulful vibrato can bring you to tears.

"L'Enfant" by Vangelis. I first heard this song from the great 1982 Mel Gibson/Sigourney Weaver movie "The Year of Living Dangerously." It's a cross between classical and electronica.

"Dansa Negra" by Yo-Yo Ma. From his newest album, he collaborates with South American musicians to play traditional and non-traditional Brazilian music. The song features a dueling cello and piano for a cultured call-and-response exchange.