BURNING UP THE AIRWAVES

BURNINGUP THE AIRWAVES
A SOUNDTRACK OF SUMMER
By DAN DELUCA
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
The easiest way to win over the hearts and minds of summer music lovers is to just come out and say the word. Like Sly Stone singing about the hot fun to be had or the Lovin' Spoonful with the back of their necks dirty and gritty or George Gershwin evoking a season where the living is easy, the fish jumping and the cotton high.
Kenny Chesney goes for it with "Summertime," topping the country charts with what he wishes was the "perfect song on the radio." But the soft rocker in the cowboy hat falls well short of that mark and does not make this list of the most pleasurable singles of the summer.
Monster hits by Fort Minor, AFI and Rihanna also failed to make the cut, though you'll be hearing them at beaches and barbecues from now until the dog days. Already ubiquitous and likely to remain so is Shakira and Wyclef Jean's shimmying "Hips Don't Lie," which has just been trumped as single of the summer by Christina Aguilera's fierce "Ain't No Other Man." And trumped again, just last week, when Beyonce showed up.
Here, then, is a playlist, one CD's worth of recommended songs of the summer of 2006. All songs available on iTunes, unless otherwise noted.
1."DejA Vu," Beyonce with Jay-Z. It's like 2003 all over again, when "Crazy in Love" destroyed all comers and Beyonce Knowles established herself as first among divas. "DejA Vu," the first single from Beyonce's forthcoming second solo album, is perhaps not quite as fabulous as "Crazy." But it's close, with her rapper-record exec boyfriend rhyming over a rubbery bass line and an ever-more-excitable Beyonce shouting out about being, well, crazy in love. "Let's go get 'em," she says to her beau, and then they do.
2. "Ain't No Other Man," Christina Aguilera. Christina Aguilera's reputation -- that among barely legal pop stars, she could actually sing -- has usually been beside the point. Because, usually, she oversings. Not here. Her old-school, platinum-blond, torch-singer stance meshes perfectly with DJ Premier's old school hip-hop production. As the woman says: "Do your thing, baby!"
3. "Mighty O," Outkast. Not as absolutely flat-out brilliant as music-starved OutKast fans might have hoped, this cut from the movie "Idlewild" (opening Aug. 25) is a quick-tongued, relatively straightforward Andre 3000 track that borrows its hi-de-ho from Cab Calloway.
4. "Promiscuous," Nelly Furtado, featuring Timbaland. A playfully bumpin', flirtatious hip-pop duet between the dance floor-bound Canadian songstress and the crafty Missy Elliott producer.
5. "Hips Don't Lie," Shakira, with Wyclef Jean. The Fugees were supposed to have made a triumphant comeback this year, but instead Wyclef Jean has returned from purgatory with this bubbling reggaeton charmer, which tops the Billboard pop chart and racked up the biggest week of digital sales ever last month. It's wonderfully catchy, and you'll be sick of it soon.
6. "Don't Feel Right," The Roots. Summer isn't all about good vibes. The humid air is thick with paranoia. The Philadelphia hip-hoppers bring the funk -- and the unease -- on the first single from "Game Theory," due next month. "Things don't feel right over here," Maimouna Youssef sings. "Lately I ain't been seeing clear." (www.spin.com/features/heythisisawesome/2006/05/060525--roots)
7. "World Wide Suicide," Pearl Jam. The lead single from the Seattle rockers' comeback keeps the paranoia coming. But never mind the protest politics: What'll keep this blaring out of car speakers is the twin guitar snarl of Mike McCready and Stone Gossard that leaves you no choice but to put the pedal to the floor and get there fast.
8. "Woman," Wolfmother. Led Zep-esque Australian power trio brings thunder from down under.
9. "Change the World," Joan Jett. In case you were wondering, the eternally raucous femme reaffirms that she still does love rock 'n' roll.
10. "Faith," Boy Least Likely To. Yes, it's the George Michael song. Chirpy cover from the British folk-pop duo of the Belle & amp; Sebastian school, who agree with Jett: You gotta have faith. (http://www.youaintnopicasso.com/2006/06/12/the-boy-least-likely-to-fai th)
11. "Beanbag Chair," Yo La Tengo. Bouncy, breezy delight from the Hoboken rock critic-fave trio, from the forthcoming "I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass." (www.matadorrecords.com/yo--la--tengo/music.html)
12. "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken," Camera Obscura. Enchanting Scottish indie-pop band led by Tracyanne Campbell answers Lloyd Cole's 1984 question "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?"
13. "Over and Over," Hot Chip. Geeky London electro-pop quintet smoothly celebrates the joys of repetition, "like a monkey with a miniature cymbal."
14. "Kick, Push," Lupe Fiasco. Skateboarding Def Jam rapper rides sumptuous strings in an anthem fit for a 'boarder all too used to getting chased out of LOVE Park by the cops.
15. "Voice Inside My Head," Dixie Chicks. With assists from songwriting pros Linda Perry and Dan Wilson, the Chicks' second single from the closely watched "Taking the Long Way" pays country radio no mind. A palpably pained expression of longing from Natalie Maines, it's a reminder that despite the controversy, the Chicks remain adult pop stars of the highest rank.
16. "A Little Too Late," Toby Keith. Like Lupe, the Chicks' onetime nemesis rides a big string thing on his summer single, which, like most of his "White Trash With Money" album, is a good deal less macho than you might think. This particular bad-mood love song will be most appropriate in late August, when those summer flings are coming to an end.
17. "Girl," Paul Wall. Houston rapper is similarly destined for long lonely nights, and he's well prepared, with a sample of the Chi-Lites' "Oh Girl."
18. "Steady as She Goes," Raconteurs. Jack White and Brendan Benson's garage-pop side project is largely disappointing, but there's no denying the catchiness of their Joe Jackson-rip-off lead single.
19. "Crazy," Gnarls Barkley. Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse's breakout song has radio programmers confused. Is it rock? Rap? Electronica? With its bubbling bass, soaring hook and smarter-than-your-average-pop-song lyrics, it's a seasonal single with legs that'll stand up long after the summer of 2006 is but a memory.