Perusing the headlines today makes me wanna hit the Xanax bottle and crawl back in bed with a fantasy novel. How can you read "Scramble led to mortgage plan rescue (NYT)," "Ailing sentiment hits dollar and global stocks (FT.com)," "Dollar slumps to record low against euro on U.S. sector woes (Forbesm.com)" and not feel a hangman's knot in your stomach?
How does one cope? Well, besides thoroughly self-medicating yourself with drugs and escapist novels, the only other option is good music, and, in my case, blogging and writing. So let's get past the gloom and doom and have a little fun — if you can call it that — with songs that speak to our country's current economic woes.
Top 10: Songs about the economy
1. "Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)," Randy Newman
2. "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?" Bruce Springsteen
3. "No Depression," The Carter Family/Uncle Tupelo
4. "Working Man Blues," Merle Haggard
5. "Storm of Worry," Sonny Landreth
This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2008.