Five years blogging

As of today -- my first post was on Jan. 27, 2004 while political reporter at the Cape Cod Times, making the Political Notes column published Mondays a continuous online offering from the paper.

First post was about ubiquity of rock n' roll theme songs in presidential campaigns and a few suggestions along those lines --

Will any of us ever again hear John Mellencamp's "Small Town" without thinking of Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, he of the po' boy roots in South Carolina who went onward and upward to Grishamesque fame as an exceedingly well-compensated trial lawyer?

Or U2's once powerful rocker, "Beautiful Day," rendered threadbare by John Kerry's determined overuse?

Or, going back a few years, the Clinton-Gore team's branding of Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" to the point it is nearly impossible to hear the tune without conjuring up images of Al and Tipper shedding their erstwhile disdain for rock n' roll to Munster-dance across stage.

In the interest of adding diversity to campaign theme songs, some suggestions for aural alternatives. More to follow as circumstances warrant ...

For Joe Lieberman -- "Living on a Prayer," Jon Bon Jovi; "Happiness is a Warm Gun," "If I Were a Rich Man," the Beatles; soundtrack to "Fiddler on the Roof"

Howard Dean -- "We're Not Going to Take it," Twisted Sister; "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word," Elton John' "I Musta Got Lost," J. Geils Band; "Money for Nothing," Dire Straits; "Yesterday," Beatles.

Wesley Clark -- "Billy, Don't Be a Hero" (by one-hit wonders from early '70s who returned to much-deserved anonymity); "I Love a Man in Uniform," Gang of Four

The Rev. Al Sharpton -- "Play That Funky Music," Wild Cherry; theme from "Shaft," Isaac Hayes; "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," Temptations

John Kerry -- "The Ballad of John and Yoko," Beatles (agreed, list is top-heavy with Fab Four); "The Ballad of the Green Berets," Sgt. Barry Sandler; "Bat Out of Hell," Meatloaf

John Edwards -- "Southern Man," Neil Young; "Walking on Sunshine," Katrina and the Waves

Dennis Kucinich -- "Start Me Up," Rolling Stones; "People are Strange," the Doors; "Four Dead in Ohio," Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Nirvana