'State Trooper,' Bruce Springsteen
From 1982's 'Nebraska'

'State Trooper' -- off Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album 'Nebraska' -- haunts with its sparsity. It certainly leaves me with shivers. The song starts with a lone guitar moving from one note to another, while Springsteen's deeply melancholic voice begs the State Trooper on the New Jersey Turnpike to not stop him. It's not clear why the driver would need to be stopped but it's clear that the driver fears just that.

"Maybe you got a kid, maybe you got a pretty wife/The only thing that I got, been bothering me my whole life/Mr. State Trooper, please don't stop me/Please don't you stop me," Springsteen sings.

'From a Balance Beam,' Bright Eyes
From 2002's 'Lifted: Or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground'

When this album came out I literally scraped coins together -- some from the floor of my car, some from the floor of my apartment -- and went to Newbury Comics on Newbury Street in Boston, and bought it. I remember the price even: $11.88. Best $11.88 I ever spent.

While this album produced a few songs that are still in the Bright Eyes rotation, 'From a Balance Beam' -- a song deals with stage fright and the pressure that comes with being in the spotlight -- is the one that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up and turns my skin cold. Conor Oberst writes like a Shakespearean poet on this album. He tells lavish stories accented with imagery.

'From Great Knowledge,' Alina Simone
From 2008's 'Everyone Is Crying Out to Me, Beware'

Singer Yanka Dyagileva is not exactly a household name to most American music listeners, but in her native Russia she is sort of regarded as a cult icon. The musical career of this artist from Novosibirsk, Siberia was brief -- she apparently drowned in 1991 at age 24 as the Soviet Union was crumbling. However, her haunting punk-folk influenced music lives on today through Alina Simone, a Russian-American musician originally from Massachusetts.

Simone recently released 'Everyone Is Crying Out to Me, Beware,' an album in which she covers Dyagileva's songs and sings entirely in Russian. One of its tracks, 'From Great Knowledge,' is a beautiful ballad that captures Dyagileva's melancholy and despair.

'Raisans,' Juliana Hatfield
From 1992's 'Forever Baby' EP

Juliana Hatfield's cover of Dinosaur Jr.'s 'Raisans' comes as no surprise to fans of either. Hatfield has long made known her adoration for Dinosaur Jr. and when listening to her music, it's easy to recognize similarities in style.

But make no mistake: While 'Raisans' is indeed a Dinosaur Jr. song, Hatfield makes it her own. Her take is both tender and tough, bitter and sweet. She turns down the distortion and adds some oohs and ahhs to soften things up a bit. Well, as soft as they can be while singing lyrics like "Now I'll have to decide the fate of my sanity."

In fact, it was from the lyrics of this song ("It's only everything standing in front of me") that Hatfield drew the title for a future album: 1995's 'Only Everything.'

'Patti Smith Math Scratch,' Thurston Moore
From 1995's 'Psychic Hearts'

This song -- about punk rock's poet laureate Patti Smith -- moves at the speed of light, with Thurston Moore furiously spitting the lyrics. Moore and Smith? I couldn't really wish for much more. "Oh Patti leaky heart yeah/Girl got a heavy heart oh/She's crazy self and I yeah/She's making me a dog it's alright/Black beatle."

The lyrics, in typical Moore fashion, make some sense but are certainly perplexing. What does he mean by black beatle? It doesn't matter.

I haven't listened to this song in a while, even though 'Psychic Hearts' is -- in my opinion -- one of the best albums ever made. I recently saw the new documentary 'Patti Smith: Dream of Life,' and interestingly enough, I thought of this song rather than one of her own.

There's no bells and whistles on this tune -- just incessant drums backing Moore's guitar and a bass that plays a simple groove throughout. A couple verses, a distorted guitar solo and it's over. But, as they say, brevity is the soul of wit.

'Silly Crimes,' The Tough Alliance
From 2006's 'New Waves'

I can't get enough of 'Silly Crimes' by the Tough Alliance, who my friend turned me onto. Being that it's summer, this tune is apropos in its feel-good synthesized way. The Swedish electro-pop duo sing out with invigorating fervor: "This new wave's coming in/Don't know where to begin/Brand new trophies to win/Brand new ways to fit in."

It's a hopeful tune, tried and true to get everyone dancing as my recent party attendees can attest. The Tough Alliance are releasing a new album soon, which means a tour is likely to follow. I've heard their stage antics are strange -- they swing baseball bats.

'Machine Gun,' Band of Gypsys
From 1969

Recorded live at the Fillmore East on New Years Eve, 1969, 'Machine Gun' is one of Jimi Hendrix's darker songs. One only need to note the graphic lyrics ("Evil man make me kill ya/Evil man make you kill me/Evil man make me kill you/Even though we're only families apart") and instrumental segments intended to sound similar to bombs, guns and explosions for proof. It's political at it's best.

But Hendrix didn' t do it alone. He had his band, Band of Gypsys --who formed after the dissolution of the Jimi Hendrix Experience -- along for the ride. With Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums, this fearsome threesome relied heavily on distortion, extended solos and harsh crooning vocals.

The song may be hard to listen in it's pure American chaos, but so help me if it isn't worth it.

'Wires and Waves,' Rilo Kiley
From 2001's 'Take Offs and Landings'

'Wires and Waves' is an often forgotten Rilo Kiley gem. It's a simple theme -- distance, time and what separates people -- but the songwriting team (and former lovers) Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett have the power to take worn ideas and desires, and turn them -- through well-crafted words -- into creative images and stories.

Typical of early Rilo Kiley songs, this one features a driving bass line and textured guitar solos from Mr. Sennett, who is, without a doubt, one of the more interesting guitar players in the "indie" rock scene. (One could certainly argue that Rilo Kiley is now more mainstream -- they are signed to Warner Bros after all -- but when this album came out in 2001 on Barsuk Records, they were certainly indie and low-fi.)

'Bled White,' Elliott Smith
From 1998's 'XO'

'Bled White' is one of my favorite Elliott Smith songs. Off 1998's 'XO,' the song doesn't have that Pacific Northwest acoustic-tinge of Smith's previous albums, but it features Smith's classic vocal stylings and poignant lyricism that made him so widely loved.

"'Cause happy and sad come in quick succession/I'm never going to become what you became," he sings.

Smith's untimely death hovers over every song he sings -- this one included. But it's not a sad feeling; it's a thank God this man existed in the first place feeling. The song starts with a jangly guitar, followed by the introduction of keys and cymbal strikes that burst through the speakers, and finally, the drums hit hard. The drumming, courtesy of Joey Waronker who has played with Beck and R.E.M., is maybe the best thing about this song. They are very staccato sounding --jumpy even. They keep the song moving quickly, like a dancer on her toes.

It's not typical Elliott Smith, but that's part of the appeal. "Don't complicate my piece of mind," he pleads. But you should complicate your perception of him, starting with this song.

'Healer,' Torche
From 2008's 'Meanderthal'

I like to listen to this song early in the morning when I'm still trying to feel good about moving fast -- it's like mainlining a shot of espresso in to my bloodstream. 'Healer,' the sixth track on Torche's second LP, 'Meandertahal,' captures what Torche does best: it sounds a little like metal, a little like prog, but melodic guitar riffs and vocals keep it catchy. Healer launches at vigorous pace, which it maintains for the entire 2:08. The drum beats are energetic with unexpected thundering accents, but they're easy to bop your head to. The guitar riffs are long, driving and melodic, precise crafted and played, and lead vocalist/guitarist Steve Brooks hits harmonies with his intense baritone. Brooks' voice is almost hopeful as he sings, "Healer, take the fun/I am ashamed of danger/release the bite/life is forever." It makes me think of running fast towards what I've been waiting for.

'Let It Die,' Feist
From 2005's 'Let It Die'

When it comes to breakups, forget about wallowing in self-pity, gorging yourself on ice cream, burning photos, flipping through self-help books. Instead, adopt this song as your anthem. The pure tonal quality of her voice helps to powerfully depict the sincerity and honesty of the piece. Perhaps one of the most heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, spine-chilling love songs (or anti-love song, for that matter) of its time, Feist does heartache serious justice with her effortless vocals gliding along a delicate melody. After listening to this song, just take her advice and do as the title suggests.

'Spray Paint (The Walls),' The Dirty Projectors
From 2007's 'Rise Above'

Dave Longstreth, multi-instrumentalist and mastermind behind Brooklyn-based experimental rock group the Dirty Projectors, is the kind of songwriter whose head is so saturated and wrought with musical ideas it's a wonder he can keep it squarely on his shoulders. This is in part due to his seemingly insatiable appetite for sound, encompassing a myriad of musical genres that would make even an ethnomusicologist's head spin. Elements of afro-pop, chamber music, Appalachian folk and dubstep all manifest in schizophrenic bursts throughout Longstreth's latest musical endeavor, 'Rise Above.'

'The General Specific,' Band of Horses
From 2007's 'Cease to Begin'

I'm a lyrics girl; I prefer a clever turn of phrase to a clever hook. Sure, sound is important but it's secondary to me. To that end, the perfection of 'The General Specific' are the lines, thanks to their rambling, open-ended wistfulness. Whatever sadness, confusion, heartache, anger and romance you have in your life, one of these lyrics will punch you -- and hard -- right in the neck. While you're gasping, trying to catch your breath, you'll marvel at how utterly jubilant these guys sound when singing about sadness and confusion. And maybe then you'll notice how clear and clever their sound is, too. At least, that's how it went for me.

'Torn on the Platform,' Jack Penate
From 2008's 'Matinee'

Jack Penate is poised to be a modern day, reggae-fueled Paul Weller, having already wooed audiences across the pond with his precise blend of rockabilly, pop, ska and punk. 'Matinee' is an spine-chilling onslaught of satiable hooks, while 'Torn on the Platform' is easily the most infectious tune off the album, with the perfect amount of grit, pop and ska riffs. The track bears sincere, yet never sappy lyrics with one of the most memorable feel-good choruses in some time.