We had a lot of great responses to our contest to give out an autographed copy of Jay Bennett and Edward Burch’s new album, The Palace at 4am (Part 1). The artist who got mentioned more than any other was Tom Waits, which seems appropriate. Our panel of judges struggled with the decision, but they finally decided on a winner. The autographed cd goes to Alicia, who cracked us up with her response to the question, “What is your 4am music, and why?”

Alicia: 4am is the time of day reserved for the worst of all music. No, leave Miles on the shelf. Instead, put on “Cold Hearted Snake” and draw out the SSSSSSS sound forever. It’s the time to play pure shit and enjoy it. ‘Cause that’s the time the beer usually finds it’s way back up, and the ugly guy finds his way to my bed. Why fuck up the vibe with good music?

Another great entry that had us laughing out loud:

Dave: REO Speedwagon’s Hi-Fidelity, The Handsome Family Through the Trees, and Sly [and the Family] Stone’s There’s a Riot Going On.There’s only 3 reasons to be awake at 4am: 1)Music to clear the party – Kevin Cronin vocals clear the room, I don’t know why. 2) Music to drive to at 4am alone – Brett & Rennie, mmm, dark roads & antidepressants. 3) Music to keep my woman awake to – Sly, porn-style.

And the following were others that we especially liked:

Drew: My 4am music is by Matt Johnson of THE THE. Just when you are coming down from a wild night out, you stick on THE THE, and Matt’s twisted lyrics and scary music start messing with your head. You wonder if someone slipped something into your drinks that might make you psychotic!

Emlyn: Drifty tunes or something that goes well with blue lights or shady rooms – especially with the sounds of the river flowing outside my window. A song that takes me away like hypnosis and gets me out of myself and lets me sleep. “Blue Moon” by Elvis is drifty 4am. music for me.

Alex: I once read a quote from Neil Young about the album Tonight’s The Night in which he said, “It’s not something you put on when the sun’s out, it’s what you put on when the night is dying.” Considering the dreary, drifting sound of that record, I can’t think of anything better to fall asleep or pass out to at 4am.

Thanks to everyone who participated. It was fun. We hope to have more contests soon. We love giving stuff to our readers. Remember: Glorious Noise loves you!