Going through the photographs on my Facebook pages — trying to get them in some sort of order — I thought of some of the great songs that relate to pictures, and the memories they bring to mind. And the boxes of photographs on the floor of my office — holidays, family, friends, musicians I’ve met, places I’ve been are a constant reproach to me: I have to get them into albums or books or — well, anywhere except piles on the floor!

There’s a lifetime here in thousands of images, and in a few years they’ll mean nothing. And that’s the thought that permeates these wonderful songs.

Without further ado, The Kinks, with one of the best grooves you’ll ever hear in a pop song — followed by a brilliant commercial that used the songs in a novel, artful, and totally captivating way:

And here’s a live-in-Japan take with Paul Simon’ smashing song “Kodachrome.” Has there EVER been a more arresting first line in a song? And RIP Kodak, by the way.

Finally, good ol’ Ringo Starr (now 71, by the way) with his best known known song and his All-Starr band of rock veterans — a prize if you can recognize more than three of them, and I could also use the drummer’s phone number!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o3lqfdS3Lc