Having followed David Simon backwards from the Wire, I've been working my way through the Homicide: Life on the Streets season sets these last couple of months. It's an excellent show with a fine cast and, much like the Wire, quite different from the usual police procedurals.

I'm currently on the Season 3 box and last night found that the second episode I was set to watch began by saying 'Previously on Law and Order'. I had read brief mention of the crossover episodes between these two shows where one show starts a story that is continued in the other show but not thought too much about it till last night. I gave what was effectively Part 2 of a story a couple of minutes before deciding I'd rather try and read up online with what happened in the Law and Order episode first, or see if it might be shown on tv anytime soon.

Incredibly I have discovered today that the Law and Order episode was shown on Hallmark at 8pm last night (and then again at 2am this morning). Out of over 400 episodes of Law and Order, the one episode I was interested in was shown on tv just 10 minutes after I'd abandoned watching its Homicide follow-up.

What are the chances?

Hope this sort of post is permitted but in case anyone is interested HMV have lowered the price of the Complete West Wing box set to just £49.99. That's just £7.14 a season or around 32p per episode! For those, like me, who've already seen it but would happily watch it all over again that's quite a bargain.

For those who've never seen it, I'm sure there are many here who would highly recommend it in the brief moments when they're not praising the Wire.

Don't think I'd ever heard the name till yesterday. Then:

1) I go to visit my parents who had tales to tell of their recent holiday in Lanzarote where they whiled away most of their evenings at a place called Charley's Bar and enjoyed the music of the band that played there every night enough to buy the band's DVD of covers and traditional Irish songs they play.

Before long I'd heard the full history of this band and asked if I'd heard of any of them because one of them had played with Ronnie Wood (who hasn't he played with though?), and another with the Waterboys. This last one was Sharon Shannon, a name I hadn't heard before even though I do have several Waterboys albums.

Inevitably the DVD was soon put on, and I got a running commentary on each of track up till The Galway Girl, which my dad said was an old traditional song but I suggested was much more recent, being under the impression Steve Earle wrote it. I soon began to doubt where I'd pulled that bit of information from, so backed down and said Steve Earle had definitely done a fine version that I have at home on one of his albums and which is currently on the Magners ad.

2) I get home to find the new Word issue had arrived. In there I found not only Sharon on the cover CD but also a review of her greatest hits album inside. If only I'd gone home first, had a wee read of Word then gone to my parents I'd have been much more informed, or at the least trusted my own knowledge more.

3) Turns out I have another version of Galway Girl, from the recent 'That's Proper Folk' compilation, which I have ripped but not yet listened to.

I've sneakily interspersed a 5 song randomiser through this post. Hope this doesn't incur the wrath of Hepworth.

I'm getting married in a couple of months, and my wife-to-be has given me the responsibility of picking potential songs for our first dance. It's proving a difficult decision to make. No song really stands out as having a connection for us both, as we have quite differing tastes in music, hence it's been left to me to come up with a selection that we'll then pick from together. My criteria are something short, sweet and slow - the shorter the better.

My music collection is extensive but it's very heavily weighted towards misery - perhaps because I was single till the age of 28 - with not much that is cheery and romantic. I still have this feeling that any day now shuffle play on my computer or iPod is going to reveal a hidden gem of a song that I've forgotten about or never noticed/heard before but which will be perfect.

So far shuffle isn't helping much. Right now, it's playing Tom Waits 'Gin Soaked Boy' - a hearty little song but not one to dance to. Hearing Tom's voice does, by association, make me look forward to watching another episode or two of season 3 of the Wire tonight though, after the football whilst my other half is watching Big Brother. Gratuitous Wire reference: check!

Often I find a song that sounds sweet but on closer inspection of the lyrics isn't especially appropriate or romantic. My favourite singer is Sarah McLachlan, but as much as I love her voice and music, it's hard to find a song of hers that is happy and uplifting. The couple she has done about being loved up are amongst my least favourite of her songs.

Shuffle-play update 2: - Aimee Mann - Build That wall. Aimee's another favourite of mine, but not exactly the sort of song collection in which happiness abounds.

Anyway, so far, I've picked out the following as possibilities, all of which I think would be fitting:

The Beatles - Something.

It's the version on the Love album that's on my shortlist, including the previous Gnik Nus track as I love the way it merges into the start of Something, but stopping before Something then merges into Nowhere Man. I don't want to be dancing to the lyrics 'he's a real nowhere man, living in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody'. I used to be a nowhere man, till I met my fiancee.

Bright Eyes - First Day Of My Life

This one has some significance, to me at least. It's just over three years since we first met, and after our fourth date we parted company with our first big and proper hug (first kiss for us, and first kiss for me ever, was after we'd got home from seeing Coldplay in Glasgow on the same day as Live Earth - and they say that day changed nothing!!) and went our separate ways home. I had the Bright Eyes album on in the car as I drove home that evening. I'd known this song for some time, but that night as I was filled with delight that I'd finally met someone special and not scared her off after four whole dates, this song suddenly stood out and rang true. My girlfriend does know the song, as I made her a mix CD for our first Valentine's together and put this track on first. She wants a song that's more well known, but I've yet to definitely ditch this as an option.

Shuffle-play update 3: The Chemical Brothers - Hold Tight London. Erm, sweet song but no, and not just because it's 6 mins long. Interestingly (possibly), when we moved in together we merged our CD collections - though with her few dozen and my 2800 albums it was less a merger, more a hostile takeover - and the Chemicals 'Surrender' album was one of the few albums it turned out we both had.

Thea Gilmore - Crazy Love

This was also on that mix cd I did for her. Van's original is also a possibility, though I do prefer the sweeter vocals of Thea's version.

Sigur Ros - Hoppipolla

My favourite band. I'll get their music played at some point on the day. This being one of their shortest and most joyous songs is the best contender for a slow dance to, and is also another from the mix CD.

Shuffle-play update 4: Johnny Cash - Train Of Love. My girl's name is Kate, and JC does have a song called Katy Too but it's about liking lots of girls including Katy. Don't think that would go down too well. The Byrds have a song called Precious Kate, that is mostly fine and affectionate and positive lyrically ('it is my desire to capture all your love') until the chorus keeps mentioning California earthquakes.

Ramones - Baby, I Love You

If not the first dance, then this is definitely going to be on the list the DJ gets of songs to play.

(Shuffle-play update 5: Clannad - Almost Seems (Too Late To Turn). If I suggested a song with a title like that, I'd likely get the same cold, hard stare I get when I jokily suggest the likes of 'Everyday I Love You Less And Less' or any Morrissey song.)

What songs have Word readers used or seen used for this at weddings? Any tips/recommendations/horror stories anyone has to share?