1. Surfin’ USA (demo) – the Beach Boys – Thoughts of Camp Bisco have been imagining a warmer gentler climate. This is just a thumping piano and a lone vocal (sounds like Mike Love to me) and it is timeless as always.
2. 6 Foot 7 Foot – Lil Wayne – Reminds you why Weezy is so big. a) he can rhyme and b) he can rap. Here he does both and includes a real good backing track. Listen to the way he raps along with it, finding beats I can’t even hear.
3. Number One Hit – R. Kelly – This is more more like. Deep soul plus smart metaphor.
4. Whenever – The Black Eyed Peas
5. Summer Love – Eric Benet – Soul so smooth it sounds like jazz.
6. Mourning Train To Memphis – Christopher Paul Stelling – It is always the way he picks the guitar (a tattered old beaut btw), sometimes, like here, he crushes on every level. A great song.
7. All That Glitters – Sweet Soubrette
8. Learned To Surf – Superchunk – Which they should but never shall.
9. Welcome To the World (feat Kanye West and Kid Cudi) – T.I. – I know I dissed this big time last week. I got it wrong. The “Here my day” hook is addictive and the rhyming is excellent. As good as “Monster? No. But certainly as good as “Power”.
10. All Summer Long – Kid Cudi – As great a use of a sample as Biggie and Puff on “Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems”. Honestly, it is that good. Six more months till June.