Here’s a meme-in-waiting, inspired by an email from a musician friend tonight: if you were to choose 12 songs from an artist’s or band’s back catalogue to release in an introductory collection, which songs would they be? I’m not necessarily talking about their “greatest hits” or even their most popular songs (although those can certainly appear); instead, I want a list that’s representative of the range and history of the artist or group. Naturally that means the person or group must have been performing for a while—let’s say they’ve released the equivalent of at least four albums—and it presumes the list author has somewhat more than a passing familiarity with the act. (Matt, here’s a chance to plug MEC! )

To kick things off, here’s a (probably controversial) intro to Spirit of the West, a group that’s gone through many stylistic and personnel changes.

• Rocks At Thieves’ Bay (from Spirit of the West)
• Political (from Labour Day)
• Not Just A Train (from Save This House)
• (Putting Up With) The Joneses (from Save This House)
• Ship Named Frank (from Go Figure)
• Guildhall Witness (from Faithlift)
• Christmas Eve (from Open Heart Symphony)
• Frankfurt I’m Sorry (from Open Heart Symphony)
• Canadian Skye (from Weights And Measures)
• Our Ambassador (from Weights And Measures)
• That’s Amore (from Hit Parade)
• Enough, Already Alright (Hello Cleveland) (from Star Trails)

I’ve no idea if they even read this blog, but I’m going to tag a few folks nevertheless: Matt, katierin*, and Heather. And hey, if Anne, Ed, John or anyone else wants to chime in, there’s a comment form down there….