1. I'm Blessed- Brendan Benson

• "My mother raised me single-handedly, in a Louisiana hell called Harvey, I never know what I'm supposed to be, turned over every rock for clues, of what it is to be me, and I'll never know what's going on, but I'm blessed..." My iPod certainly has it's own tastes, which is to say that it has favorites out of my collection. Apparently Brendan Benson's "One Mississippi" album is a favorite-that's fine by me as the love is mutual. "I'm Blessed" is power pop meets punk meets garage rock and the results are quite nice. Benson admits to feeling "shattered", "clouded" and "a little scattered" but the "I'm blessed" refrain is somewhat optimistic I suppose. A more loose low-fi version of "I'm Blessed" is featured on the hard to find "Well Fed Boy Demos" EP.

2. Who Stole The Soul?- Public Enemy

• "Jack was nimble, Jack was quick, got a question for Jack ask him, 40 acres and a mule Jack, where is it why'd you try to fool the Black?, it wasn't you, but you pledge allegiance to the red, white, and blue suckers that stole the soul." In 1990 Public Enemy released their groundbreaking "Fear of a Black Planet" album which features songs like "911 is a Joke", "Welcome to the Terrordome" and "Fight The Power". I'm more partial to their previous release; 1988's "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" (an album I include in my desert island top 5) but "Fear of a Black Planet" is a masterpiece in it's own right. "Who Stole The Soul" slams the government for targeting black celebrities like James Brown and Redd Foxx while calling out the general history of oppression/discrimination against black people. Public Enemy sticks it to the man better than anyone before or since. The "40 acres and a mule" Civil War reconstruction reference is brilliant. In hip-hop circles KRS-One is known as "the teacher" but Chuck D has been schooling listeners for years as well.

3. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)- Journey

• "Someday love will find you, break those chains that bind you, one night will remind you, how we touch and went our separate ways, if he ever hurts you, true love won't desert you, you know I still love you, though we touched and went our separate ways." "Separate Ways" is an 80's classic. To fully appreciate it though you need to check out the video. The band alternates between playing their instruments (or at least pretending to since this is a music video) and being an "air-band". Personally for me the "air keyboard" performance is the video's crown jewel. At some point last year I found myself in the Jiffy Lube waiting room (can anyone beat their signature series oil-change?) listening to my iPod. The iPod shuffle selected "My Melody" by Eric B & Rakim, while the Jiffy Lube waiting room music played Journey's "Separate Ways". The "Separate Ways" keyboard intro blended seamlessly with Rakim's old school flow. If Girl Talk is reading this, feel free to steal that mash up for your next release. Oh, and if you are wondering...I won't stop believing.