Patti, Natalie, and the Boss

With Bruce Springsteen slated to do the halftime honors during this year's Super Bowl in Tampa, I thought it appropriate to dredge up one of those minor life decisions that, because of my obsessive personality, takes up an inordinate amount of my time.

My iPod Shuffle is a few years old and, by today's standards, a relic. Imagine how disheartening it is for me to see that all the songs saved in my player would barely register on the space indicator bar of my kids' Nanos. As a result, I can't afford to make playlist decisions cavalierly.

This led to a bit of a dilemma for me when trying to decide which version of "Because the Night" to add to my music portfolio. I had to choose between Pattie Smith's, Natalie Merchant's or Springsteen's version of the song. This may be sacrilege, but even though technically "the Boss" was the first one to record it, I've never been a fan of his rendition. The 1978 song that was made famous by Patti Smith from her album Easter was actually written by Springsteen.

Full post at The House Next Door.