"The Disappointed"

I love XTC. Andy Partridge is right in the middle of the grand tradition of eccentric songwriters (see Kevin Ayers, Roy Harper). I mean, look at those song titles! Making Plans for Nigel? Bonkers. This song may be a bit too polished for some, but I like the lyric: "Once I had no sympathy/For those destroyed and thrown away by life"....

"Hello"

I don't think The Beloved made much impression outside the baggy culture, but this is fab. Apparently it's about Thatcherism, but hey, to me it's a clever list of name-checks with a driving beat. There's a whole host of bands like this that got thrown up in the early 90s - Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, you name it - that seemed to get the idea that you can dance to guitars. Radical notion.

"Political Science"

Despite being American by birth, I can empathise with the feeling of general opprobrium that washes over the US very time Dubya says something. I think Randy Newman can, too. I'm surprised nobody thought of this song before he did, though. It's such a simple song, but it nails the whole reverse-psychology victimisation thing that a lot of Americans have.

"Darling It Hurts"

This is so typical of stuff I like to play very very loud indeed in the car. When I'm in south London being assaulted by the boom-boxes-on-wheels playing rap, I crank songs like this up just to remind people what basic rock and roll sounds like. You can usefully mix this with ZZ Top or Stereophonics and it fits right in. Fab. Bit morally suspect though.