"Nancy Boy"

I can't account for why I love this song. I think Placebo are great, they kick the living crap out of "20th Century Boy" and Brian Molko's got a fantastic voice. It's urgent, nasty and full of life. Maybe it reminds me of what punk used to be like.

"Finishing Touches"

You know when you're so angry you can hardly speak? Someone or something has really rained on your parade and turned the day black..... here's the song you need. You can spit out the lyrics as you sing along: "You can screw everybody I've ever know/But I still won't talk to you on the phone". Warren Zevon R.I.P.

"(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding)"

Sometimes the message gets a great medium: sadly Brinsley Schwartz never made it big, but they left this behind. You can make this song happy, uplifting, sad and downright dirge-like, but it should always leave you with a spring in your step.

"Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes"

I'm sure Kevin Ayers isn't from this planet. This reminds me a little of Charlie Daniels' "Uneasy Rider", a shaggy-dog story of a song, but I can't help laughing whenever I hear it. There's a bunch of eccentrics out there writing songs, but this one is right up there with the loopiest.

"You're So Good To Me"

Once in a while, you have to have a song that just celebrates the limits of human emotion. And there's more than a few Beach Boys songs that do this for me - "God Only Knows" is right up there, as is "Caroline, No". But this song is so damn SIMPLE! It's like looking at a David Hockney painting and saying to your buddy: "Shit, *I* could have done that". And the eternal response is "Yeah, but you didn't: *he* did". Which can be kind of depressing once in a while, but then you get caught up in the sheer joy of the song and it doesn't matter any more.

"Eleanor"

Stereotypical 60s right up to the chorus, but "You're my pride and joy, etcetera" is a glorious line.

"Wasted Time" and "The Last Resort"

Definitely not easy listening. You know they're Don Henley songs when you feel you have to listen to the lyrics and get all righteously outraged at some perceived ill. On the other hand, "She came from Providence, the one in Rhode Island" makes me smile.

"Smile"

How can you not like this song? It marches right up to you, grabs you by the scruff of the neck and commands you to jump up and down. You can almost imagine attempting to break the world mass aerobics lesson record with this song. It's got one of those typical Scottish overdubbed-guitar mixes which is just fab and hope-out-of-heartbreak lyrics. Unstoppable.

"Teenage Kicks"

Music doesn't get more direct or all-consuming than this. Sure-fire contender for the Greatest Three-Minute Pop Song Ever. I got to see them last year at the St. Patrick's Day festival on the South Bank and they played this - oh how happy it made me. It's songs like this that probably proved the whole punk ethos; you don't need to be Rick Wakeman or Yes to make great music.

"Women in Chains"

Simple, atmospheric, and totally hypnotic. Set Roland Orzabal's muted scream "Men of stone!" against the warm vocal of Oleta Adams.

"Needle & the Damage Done"

I didn't think Pete Wylie could do much more than shout until I heard this. Soul-seared harmonising on a haunting version of one of Neil Young's best songs. Comes from an obscure anti-drug compilation album but it's nice to hear the song given some welly.

"Tonight"

One of the simplest heartfelt teenage love songs ever: "Tonight we're just a boy and girl/The only people in the world". Takes an old man like Nick Lowe to get back to basics.

"Biko"

The segue from "Nkosi Sikelele Africa" into the intro is totally compelling. The threat of the fuzzed guitar, the inevitability of the funeral drumbeat. And the lyrics: so simple, so effective. It's fascinating to listen to the various ways in which politically-active artists demonstrate their commitment: listen to this, and then play Little Steven's "Sun City". Peter Gabriel doesn't need to sloganise; he lets the images do the talking, while Little Steven has to keep reminding us that he "ain't gonna play Sun City". Which works better?

"Whole Wide World"

Despair, hope and tuneful tunelessness. Wreckless Eric can't sing, yet he's a huge star in France. Go figure. A love song for closing time.

"Effloresce and Deliquesce"

One of the most atmospheric productions you're likely to hear: fantastic echoed guitars, a hurry-up beat, coupled to sharp, observant lyrics. I still don't know what either "effloresce" or "deliquesce" mean, but it's one of those tempestuous break-up/make-up-in-bed songs. So I'm guessing there's "imagery" involved. I'll admit that the album cover hooked me as well.

"Play that Funky Music"

Nastiest bass line. Ever.

"Homburg"

Procol Harum should be better known for this song rather than "Whiter Shade of Pale". Lyrics are just as totally bonkers, the mood is the same, beautiful keyboards and organ. Why is it that most art-pop 60s songs resembled really bad art films or "Alice in Wonderland" rip-offs? And what's the deal with trouser cuffs?

"Silver Machine"

Actually, I lied about the Motorhead track. There are two heavy metal songs you need to own, and Lemmy sings on both of them!

"Ace of Spades"

If you can only contemplate owning one heavy metal song, this should be it. All you need to know about long hair, leather, bad skin and ear-bleeding volume in two minutes and forty-six seconds.

"Stay With Me"

It's a loud, obnoxious, raucous, mysogynistic, funny, irresistible party. You will dance. And to think Rod Stewart gave this up for dross like "D'Ya Think I'm Sexy"..... There was a time when he was a fantastic soul singer, and Ron Wood was a pretty fair guitarist too....