Random Summer iPod Playlist

1. Van Halen, "Right Now" (1992): I've liked Van Halen since I was a pre-teen in the early 1980s. David Lee Roth was the better lead singer, but I like this cut with Sammy Hagar as frontman.

2. The Temptations, "My Girl" (1964): This cut came out before some years I was born, but a jam is a jam. Good lyrics, smooth sound & harmony by The Temps (pictured). "My Girl" gets my vote as the best soul song of all time. Too bad today's R&B is nowhere as good as the classics.

3. Cherrelle, "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On" (1984): Good '80s funk-infused soul. Rihanna and Cassie wish they could jam like Cherrelle did back in the day.

4. Silk, "Happy Days" (1992): This '90s soul cut, which came out when I was in college, was heavily influenced by mentor Keith Sweat. I can see the "happy days are here again" hook being a presidential campaign theme song sometime in the future.

5. Joss Stone, "Spoiled" (2005): This British soul singer, whose songs are usually pretty solid, is performing here in Chicao next week

6. Missy Elliott, "I'm Really Hot" (2004): See, I do have some hip hop on my iPod.

7. Alanis Morissette, "You Oughta Know" (1995): The Canadian singer gave us an anthem for female anger about relationships. Ha ha!

8. Aesthetic, "Defected" (2000s): House music from an Estonian-based producer. Underground, so it was hard finding a link. Hey, it's not like house music here in Chicago (the originator of house music) but it works.

9. The Strokes, "You Talk Way Too Much" (2003). Catchy "alternative rock" cut, and the song title is what my conservative uncle might say after I've outdebated him on some issue. Hee hee. Although the linked video is a faster version of the actual song.

10. Bob Marley & The Wailers, "Three Little Birds" (1977): I don't like reggae as a genre, as it generally all sounds the same to me. That is, except Bob Marley, the Jamaican legend.