Matt,
I know what you mean about getting wrapped up in a song. For me it's more the lyric than the melody, but I feel your pain.
I too am learing the importance of variations in rythmn. Up 'til now, seems like everything I do is in 4/4 time.

I figure if I want to produce music that people will dance to (line dancing I imagine), I need to compose around dance steps...Two-Step, Waltz, cha-cha... so I really need to pay closer attention to how the beat influences the mood.

I'm hoping it will keep my music from falling into a rut.

If music be the food of love, why is it so hard to keep my family fed?

Pete
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pageartist.cfm?bandID=734566
http://cwmusicpf.zoomshare.com/