The orchid is the most diverse flowering plant on the face of the planet with over 25,000 known species. Although the majority of orchids grow in tropical regions, they can be found in every earthly climate except for Antarctica. It's an odd dichotomy that a plant found throughout the natural world is so hard to grow at home. And people who grow orchids tend to be passionate about it, because it takes in-depth knowledge and dedication to succeed. The orchid has deep symbolism that a songwriter can put to good use. Orchids represent beauty, grace, femininity and delicateness, but they're also symbols of virility, luxury and love. For this playlist I've selected 10 songs that sing the praises of the orchid.

What would you add?

Orchid Songs

1. Blue Orchid - White Stripes

2. Bleeding The Orchid Without - Smashing Pumpkins

3. River Of Orchids - XTC

4. Orchid - Oppenheimer

5. Queen Orchid - Hellbats

6. Orchid / Lord Of This World - Black Sabbath

7. Orchids - Stone Sour

8. Black Orchid -

Jerusalem conjures images of deep religious conflict. This is not surprising considering that power has changed hands 44 times in the city's history, and it's been completely destroyed twice. The history of Jerusalem is much too ample to convey in a blog post, but you should know that it's a major holy city for the world's top three monotheistic religions -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This fact makes the city very popular for pilgrims from across the globe, in addition to being a real working city of almost 800,000 people.  Jerusalem attracts great numbers of religious people and history buffs, and its rich history make it a great subject for song. This playlist includes a dozen popular music tracks that were inspired by Jerusalem.

What would you add?

Jerusalem Songs

1. Jerusalem - Steve Earle

2. Without A Shout (Jerusalem) - U2

3. Silent Eyes - Paul Simon

4. Jerusalem - Sinead O'Connor

5. Jerusalem - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

6. Oh Jerusalem - Lauryn Hill

7. Jerusalem - The

I enjoy a good cover song, and I've always thought of them as a way to get a new perspective on an old song. For our "Classic Albums Remade" playlist series we recreate a classic album using only cover versions of each song that appeared on the original. It works best when you use an album that is loaded with one great song after another. So far we've remade Led Zeppelin IV and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. For our third remake we've selected what is arguably one of the greatest and most important albums of the 1980s -- U2's The Joshua Tree. Some of the cover songs here are true to the original and others not so much, but what I came away with more than anything is an understanding of how well-crafted The Joshua Tree is. 

Classic Albums Remade: U2 - The Joshua Tree

1. Where The Streets Have No Name - Pet Shop Boys

2. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Marva Wright

3. With Or Without You - Jennifer Hope

4. Bullet The Blue Sky - Richard Cheese

5. Running To Stand

Just in case you don't get out much let me fill you in on something. Cupcakes are taking over America. It should be stopped. At some point over the last 3 years, cupcakes have become all the rage. Everywhere you look there's a new cupcake bakery selling single serving gourmet treats. I'm not sure why the fad has taken off, but I would guess that all the cake reality shows have something to do with it. I must say, I liked it better when cupcakes used to be for children, and were something a family made together. Although I'm not sure how long the fad will last, I expect it to disappear as quickly as it came.  The word "cupcake" has also been used as a term of endearment, and for this playlist we look at 10 tracks that use the word somewhere in the song title.

What have I missed?

Cupcake Songs

1. Cupcakes Taste Like Violence - Jeffree Star

2. Cupcake featuring Rico Love and TA - Fat Joe

3. Cupcake - Jiggsaw

4. Cupcake Wednesday - None More Black

5. Cupcake (Feat. Gayle) - Oseeola

6.