Kicking it old school-- "Stay Awhile" by Journey and REALLY old school-- "In the Mood" by The Glenn Miller Orchestra.
ZPZ - 'Village of the Sun'/'Echidna's Arf' (Part 1) [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0sNHZN1lSU[/yt] ZPZ - 'Echidna's Arf' (Part 2) [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvUaJbosZj4[/yt]
Listening to "Sæglópur" by Sigur Rós. The lyrics are so simple, but they--and the whole song--have the feeling of a beautiful, miraculous event. Not unlike watching the mine rescue and seeing all those men pulled to safety. http://www.lyricsmania.com/s%E6gl%F3pur_lyrics_sigur_ros.html
Ooh, I didn't know that Steve Vai was in that band. That's awesome, such an amazing guitarist, just a shame he never learned how to write decent songs.
He's not a full-time member, but he's sat in for a few shows. I know what you mean about the songwriting--his process is often more a kind of track construction than it is songwriting, really--but sometimes it takes long enough to pick your jaw up off the floor that you don't mind it quite so much.