Continuing an annual tradition, the Dropkick Murphys are playing a string of seven shows to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at Boston's House of Blues. To preview the event, bassist/vocalist Ken Casey shared his top five St. Patrick's Day memories with Spinner. As an added bonus, he gave us his five favorite Irish songs of all time. Grab a green beer and join the celebration.

1. Taking my kids to the parade in South Boston for the first time is one of my favorite memories. I took my daughter when she was three and then brought my son when he was two. We always watch it on Broadway and C Street, where there's a Dropkick Murphys mural on the side of a building. There's always a bunch of people there so it's probably a little crazier than when I went as a kid, but my children handle it well. You've got to teach them early not to be intimidated by crowds. Our fans are so cool; they just want to shake your hand and hang out, so it's not like the Beatles -- or should I say Fall Out Boy -- with all the high-pitched screams.

2. Any St. Patrick's Day as a teenager was great because that's when it seemed the craziest. The parade has a couple of faces: In the morning it's a family event, and then it gets rowdier as the afternoon goes on. I like that side of it as well. I would never want to confirm or deny that I was part of it, but there were a lot of people getting into a lot of trouble in those days. It's harmless trouble, though, so you get away with a lot more. I seemed to have a nose for being in the wrong place at the wrong time for many years, but you have to be a real a--hole to get arrested on St. Paddy's Day.

Given Beck's latest album, a pairing with Danger Mouse entitled 'Modern Guilt,' we thought now would be a good time to ask Beck to list his five favorite guilty pleasures. But he gave us a list of his five favorite non-guilty pleasures instead. "I think there was a misunderstanding," he insists. "I thought they asked me to pick my five favorite things." And so, he did.

1. 'Lost Boys of Sudan,' a documentary by Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk: This is a documentary that I saw about four or five years ago. It played on television and it was just something that struck me. I'm not sure why. There's something compelling about [it]. Obviously there's this heartbreaking story of these kids who are caught in the middle of a political upheaval, grew up in these refugee camps and were sponsored to go to America and be integrated to the American educational system. The thing that I was struck by is the way these boys, who had grown up together, really took care of each other. It's interesting to see them coming into an American culture, which is just completely alien to them. We grew up in it so we're used to it, but at the root of who we are as human beings -- it's probably pretty alien to us. It kind of shows you that we're all strangers in this whole modern landscape.

3. 'Mingering Mike,' a book by Dori Hadar: Some guy discovered some records at a swap meet. He stumbled unto these records that looked like lost jewels, and when he looked inside the record wasn't a record -- it was a piece of cardboard. He was really disappointed because he thought the music on them would've been incredible. It looked like the artwork was all handmade.

As he unraveled the mystery, it turned out that in the early '70s I believe, this individual, Mingering Mike, had created this alternate universe where he was a huge music star. He created this whole universe that was his own in which he had 50 hit albums. He made all the albums -- all the album covers, all the song titles, all the information. There just wasn't any music.

So this book collects all the various records that he made and it did remind me of artists that work in "outsider art." I was always drawn to people like Henry Darger and Daniel Johnston -- these people who just created their own creative world where they didn't really need to be part of any infrastructure or anything; they're just completely out on their own. They can create anything they want for their own amusement, and there's something valid in that. There used to be more of that in American life.

4. 'Juliet of the Spirits,' a film by Federico Fellini: That's the first Fellini film I saw. I was actually taken to see that in the movie theater when I was about 12, and it was like nothing I had ever seen. I didn't quite understand it but I loved the imagery and the atmosphere of the film. I was extremely aware of it being of a different time and place and mentality of what I'd grown up in. It was a mixture of color and something somewhat celebratory, but also a bit of dread. That movie was a little spooky, too. And then later I got to see 'La Strada,' 'La Dolce Vita' and a lot of his other important films, but that movie has always stayed with me.

5. 'Shuffering and Shmiling' by Fela Kuti: I really could've picked any record from that period, from the early '70s to the mid-'70s. What is really interesting is that his records tended to be two songs. Each side of the record would be a 20- or 25-minute song. There's something powerful about that, where a song can go for that long. It gains a momentum and a life that you really don't get in a three-minute pop song. It really plays with your perspective of time.

It's interesting that lot of younger bands now are taking influence from the African musicians. When I was about 19, I got to go see Thomas Mapfumo perform. He performed outdoors at a festival for maybe three or four hours -- it seemed like that -- and the song just went on and on and on. There was something that was just so open and hypnotic about that music. I know as a performer it's hard to get an audience to "let go." When that happens, it kinda makes you realize why you do what you do. But that's what that music is intended to be. It's music that hopefully can unmoor you from your own life and perspective, and just kind of drag you in with its current. I wish I could've seen one of [Fela's] shows.

TV on the Radio are best known for their seamless fusion of doo-wop, post-punk, jazz and beyond. With their psychedelic videos and collaborations with Antibalas, Celebration and David Bowie, it's not all that apparent that the Brooklyn-based experimental art-rock quintet would have a soft spot for the good ol' pop music. Drummer Jaleel Bunton and vocalist Kyp Malone break down their current favorites for Spinner.

1. Usher, 'Caught Up': If this song doesn't make you want to dance, then you should probably just continue pulling the wings off butterflies with your pal Darth Vader. --Jaleel Bunton

2 . Amy Winehouse, 'He Can Only Hold Her': This my favorite Amy Winehouse song. Somehow it's just perfect. You can dance to it, you can cry to it, and you can sing along to it. --JB

Evanescence's Amy Lee loves her some Halloween, which, if you ask us, is pretty convenient given she has a voice that could wake the dead. To that end, Lee, who just lent her pipes to a version of 'Sally's Song' on the 'Nightmare Revisted' soundtrack, and who is currently in the throes of writing new songs of her own, sat down with Spinner to reveal her Top Five favorite horror films just in time for the holiday.

1. 'Nightmare Before Christmas': I have to watch this movie at Halloween, and the fact that I get to be a part of it [on the 'Nightmare Revisited' soundtrack], as an uber-fan, is great. I watch this movie with my family every year. When this movie came out it, inspired me creatively. I was a big art nerd.

2. 'Halloween': You have to watch this movie, and the original is the one to watch. I've been watching this movie for so long and I have so many memories of being scared. Also, with the older movies, you feel like you're in a different time. I liked the new one a lot, too. My husband is a giant Mike Myers fan and even he liked it.

Nebraskan Josh Rouse credits his newfound breezy, feel-good sound to his relocation to Spain. But that's not all the countryside has inspired. Rouse developed a passion for the country's cuisine, especially tapas. The seasoned singer-songwriter, who releases a greatest-hits collection this week, titled 'The Best of the Rykodisc Years,' unveiled to Spinner his Top 5 favorite tapas dishes.

1. Sepia a la Plancha: Sepia is a type of calamari cooked with olive oil, garlic, parsley with a squeeze of lemon on top.

2. Croquetas: Bechamel mixed with either jamon, chicken or cod. They look like chicken nuggets but they taste better.