Jukebox Hall of Fame: Eight Miles High

Containing guitar riffs that David Crosby once called an homage to John Coltrane's "India," "Eight Miles High" by the Byrds is about as close to perfection as one might get in terms of texture, lyricism, brevity and energy. It still stands up. Around 9:45 a.m. today, I stopped in Bryant Park to enjoy a large barrel of Joe and the sights of Manhattan coming to grips with yet another dreary Tuesday.

No hockey until October for Manhattan. (The Devils are in Newark, thank you very much.) Cold. Threat of rain. Pretty much the April baseball weather that I imagined New York might have when I was dreaming of being in the big city or any city that would have me.

Forgive the 8-year-old kid for wanting something better. And on a day with few distractions and little purpose, this moment in the park, with the Byrds roaring in my headphones, I was able to experience that something better, or at least something different.