1. Your Ass Got Took- Scarface

• "Cause if you make a false move it'll cost you, no need to cry for help the world just lost you, and I don't give a f*#k about no witnesses.....witness this (gun shot)." The Geto Boy's Scarface launched his solo career in 1991 with "Mr. Scarface is Back". I recently stumbled across this CD while unpacking some old boxes. "Your Ass Got Took" is based off of a sample of "Four Cornered Room" by War. This song must have had quite an impact on Scarface. Not only does he sample it here, he also references it twice lyrically on Geto Boys songs, most famously on the intro to "Mind Playing Tricks On Me"- "I sit alone in my four cornered room staring at candles." "Mr. Scarface is Back" stands up all these years later but with all the death and mayhem described on "Your Ass Got Took" you have to wonder why can't we be friends.

2. Keep on Hoping (feat. Raul Midon) [live]- Jason Mraz

• "And do you know what it's like to want her?, and to breathe her name in every song you sing?, she is in everything." Jason Mraz and R&B singer Raul Midon teamed up to write "Keep on Hoping" for Midon's debut album "State of Mind". The song made it's way into my collection thanks to the inclusion of a live version of the song on Mraz's 2006 "Geekin' Out Across the Galaxy" EP. I'm not a big fan of this song and the EP doesn't offer anything earth shattering save a great live recording of "On Love, In Sadness" which may qualify as my favorite Mraz song.

3. Whip It- Devo

• "Crack that whip, give the past a slip, step on a crack, break your momma's back, when a problem comes along you must whip it." Back when my parents didn't let me watch music videos but somehow I still did, the video for "Whip It" was a staple on MTV. In retrospect the video is somewhat risque. While most of the band is rocking out (with not one but two guys on keyboards) another member of the band is using a whip to remove clothes from a woman. I'm not sure what the rustic western farm setting and S&M is all about...but perhaps it served as inspiration for Spinal Tap's "Sex Farm". "Whip It" took Devo to the height of their mainstream appeal 30 years ago but the band is still around. They recently put out a new album and performed at the Coachella music festival just last month.