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1. Art Brut, “Direct Hit.” Eddie Argos is like a less dyspeptic Mark E. Smith, a man who clearly relishes the power of rock ‘n’ roll just as much as the ridiculousness of it. “Direct Hit” is from Art Brut’s follow-up to “Bang Bang Rock and Roll,” “It’s a Bit Complicated,” and it doesn’t have anything nearly as giddy/brilliant/stupid as “Good Weekend,” but it is still a great tool to use on friends who don’t believe that rock is fun.

2. The Budos Band, “His Girl.”

3. The Screaming Blue Messiahs, “Bikini Red.”

4. Midlake, “Head Home.”

5. TV On the Radio, “Snakes and Martyrs.”

6. Bruce Springsteen, “Girls in Their Summer Clothes.” I have said many times that there are simply no good reasons for me to ever spin Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” again — I heard it so much during 1984-86 that it is a dead album for me. That said, “The River” lives on as a great slab of big-and-brilliant traditional rock, and it’s also the last Springsteen album that I truly loved — I admire and respect “Nebraska” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” but that’s not love.

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