Routine and ritual are very important to me. Medication has calmed that down a bit, but they are still important to me.

They’re important to you, too, though you may not be aware of it. Your milk probably has its proper place in your refrigerator, for example, and bedtime means a specific group of activities in a specific order. Holiday celebrations are nothing but ritual. Let’s stick flaming candles in a cake! Bring a tree in from outside so that we can hang shit on it! Routine and ritual keep us grounded, keep us moving forward when we’re too tired (or bored) to think about what comes next. Our lives are one long ritual de lo habitual, as Jane’s Addiction might say.

So I was surprised to find so few songs in my playlist with “ritual” in the title. Maybe you can help me out and add some in the comments section. I’m listening.

“The Headmaster Ritual,” The Smiths.

“Ritual,” Ghost.

“Ritual Fire Dance,” Czar.

“The Ritual,” Quiet Riot.

“Ritual Dance,” Michael Hedges.

“Invocation & Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin,” Frank Zappa.