Early this week, as I walked out to my melting mailbox while dodging the insects and small animals that were self-combusting on my 9,317-degree driveway, something occurred to me: That's right, summer's halftime is here again.

And that, of course, means my annual list of songs that help me to beat the heat. Some even make it downright enjoyable, at least for a few minutes until the dehydration sets in.

As usual, the songs on this list have no connection to each other aside from their ability to make me think of beaches, boats, bikinis and the occasional ballpark, in no particular order.

20. "This Can't Be Good" -- Blake Shelton

What is summertime without a little mischief? Blake Shelton knows.

19. "Dirty Little Secret" -- The All-American Rejects

Incredibly peppy and catchy, especially considering the subject matter. I've spent weeks with this song in my head.

18. "Wire" -- The Nixons

From the greatest band I have ever seen perform live, this qualifies as a rock anthem in every sense of the word. When the sun brings the heat, this is how you bring the power. Go ahead, crank it -- the world needs to share.

17. "Interstate Love Song" -- Stone Temple Pilots

It's not summer without a road trip or two, and this one even has "Interstate" in the title.

16. "Red Dirt Road" -- Sugarland

A haunting, nostalgic bit of perfection that far surpasses Brooks and Dunn's original. Perfect for a cold drink on a wraparound porch with a late evening breeze.

15. "Glycerine" -- Bush

Yes, I have noticed that these lists always seem to include at least one song about an unhealthy relationship. I can't help it -- the guitars are so, so irresistibly fuzzy.

14. "Girl" -- Beck

I defy you to find anything more seasonally perfect than an upbeat ode to a "sun-eyed girl."

13. "The Man Who Sold the World" -- Nirvana

Another flashback to my teenage years, and still more fuzzy guitars. Even with Kurt Cobain's limited vocal ability, Nirvana was brilliant playing an acoustic set. The live version feels like it would be right at home on a back porch.

12. "Young and Beautiful" -- Carrie Underwood

A delightful warm-weather anthem for those (like the singer and my wife) who still are and the rest of us who wish we still were.

11. "It Wasn't Me" -- Shaggy

Pretty much the theme song for naughty, fun-loving players everywhere (and some of us who never were).

10. "Mysterious Ways" -- U2

You didn't think I'd make it through an entire one of these lists without at least one Irish band, did you? One of my all-time favorite songs on one of my all-time favorite albums, and guaranteed to put a bounce in your step, even at 113 degrees.

9. "Even the Man in the Moon is Crying" -- Mark Collie

A classic old-fashioned country heartbreaker by a performer who was drastically underrated in his prime. This one will make you wish your old Thunderbird could fly, too.

8. "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" -- The Smashing Pumpkins

As it turns out, Billy Corgan was just years ahead of the game when he told us the world is a vampire. Despite all his rage, this song doesn't seem to age.

7. "I Gotta Feeling" -- Black Eyed Peas

The song that dominated the public airspace for months starting in June 2009, it reeks of party and it's still infectious on the 1,000th listening. Also the backdrop to Oprah's season-opening flash mob last fall, one of my favorite YouTube clips ever.

6. "Runaway" -- Del Shannon

It's amazing how much angst and heartache can be squeezed into two minutes and 20 seconds. In my head, the singer has always taken his walk during a midsummer rain shower, with the resulting heat and stickiness adding to his despair.

5. "Good Enough" -- Sarah McLachlan

What's that? This one prominently features a bad relationship also? Hmm.

Well, apparently bad relationships make for some great music.

For me, this one is a flashback to sitting on the floor of a rented house in San Marcos, sharing drinks on a night when I met many friends that still are in my life 15 years later.

4. "Be My Baby" -- The Ronettes

I've said it before: It's not summertime without the classics.

3. "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" -- Counting Crows

Rambling, catchy, typically cryptic and mostly opaque.

Also one of the great driving songs of the last 15 years or so, especially during a hot summer night.

2. "The Way You Look Tonight" -- Frank Sinatra

As the brass gently fires up for a few bars before The Voice makes his appearance, it's hard not think of the days when a full-blown tie, jacket and hat could make you far too cool for the heat to ever be a problem.

1. "Dice" -- Finley Quaye

Perfectly encapsulates the tense, fleeting, passionate moments that only seem to reveal themselves when the sun disappears but the heat lingers. Sheer summer perfection with a tinge of melancholy.

"He who lives in the present lives in eternity."

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Jeremy A. Corley is the managing editor of The Anna-Melissa Tribune and the Van Alstyne Leader. Questions and comments can be sent to him at jcorley@vanalstynelader.com.