Happy Monday, folks! The weather here in Northern Virginia is heating up this week; we’ll be getting our first 90°+ days of the year this week (I know, Okies, y’all have already had days that hot, aren’t you special?). Anyway, here’s some songs to cool off to.

1. Jeremy Messersmith, “Bridges”: I love this song for two things: (1) its chorus, which is depressingly sing-along, and (2) the line “I’ll break you like a promise,” which just hits right in the guts with the way it’s so tossed off all casual-like.
2. Josh Ritter, “Getting Ready To Get Down”: The Bible College to Lesbian Pipeline should be discovered and somehow harnessed to create a vast amount of Subaru-and-carabiner-strengthened power that can be harnessed to solve, if not global hunger or something similar, at least get all the dogs adopted in your area.
3. Bo Didley, “Who Do You Love”: It’s “whom,” actually, Mr. Didley. Just sayin’.
4. Willie Nelson, “Come On Up To The House”: I have always kinda loved Willie Nelson as in interpreter of other people’s music, and his version of this Tom Waits song (with help from Sheryl Crow and at least one of his songs) really spotlights how good he is at it.
5. Elvis Presley, “Run On”: Elvis in full-on gospel music I-ain’t-got-time-for-your-shenanigans mode.
6. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Never Be You”: Even Tom Petty’s cast-offs are better than most other bands’ top songs. I will fight you on this.
7. The Frames, “When Your Mind’s Made Up”: This song is almost 20 years old. Imma just go turn to dust now.
8. Sonic Youth, “Teen Age Riot”: Of course, this one’s pushing 40, but doesn’t act a day over 18. Gotta love the energy.
9. Gary Moore, “Parisienne Walkaways”: I was introduced to this one by Uncle Gert. He had me sing it for one of his “Family, Friends, and Me” collections a couple of years ago. How does it somehow feel more haunting now?
10. Fleetwood Mac, “Storms”: Tusk is the Fleetwood Mac album that keeps giving. Sure, Rumors may have had more top singles on it and is revered as the end-all, be-all of Mac albums, but Tusk is a messy masterpiece all its own. And this quiet, powerful song is just one more reason why.