The songs of summer 2006

There is no greater honor for a music artist than to have your song remembered as a summer anthem.

Forget the Grammys. Flush your platinum records down the toilet. Take the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame and stick it where Ryan Seacrest smooched to get his first job.

It’s all about achieving summer song perfection.

What is a summer song? It is a one-way ticket to pop immortality, that one tune that will take you back to a particular summer every time you hear it, conjuring up memories of late-night kisses, lazy afternoons and leather car seats hot enough to burn the skin off a thousand thighs.

A summer song doesn’t have to be good in an I’m-gonna-like-this-in-three-months sense. In fact, the best part of a summer song is hating it by the end of August. A summer song just needs to be catchy, fun and, yes, dumb enough to provide an appropriate soundtrack for the days of sun and sweat. This summer had several strong candidates. The nominees are …

Chamillionaire, “Ridin’”

Every summer needs a good driving song that’s also a little dangerous. Forty summers ago Jan & Dean sang about speeding down “Dead Man’s Curve.” This summer Chamillionaire rapped about “ridin’ dirty” with a “pistola” next to his “PlayStation controlla.” So, who is the bigger badass? Well, Jan was in a car crash shortly after “Dead Man’s Curve” was released. Meanwhile, Chamillionaire presumably plays video games in real life. In an upset, we have to go with the surf rock kings.

Nelly Furtado, “Promiscuous”

What has gotten into Nelly Furtado? After likening herself to a delicate winged creature on her first hit, she released a single, “Promiscuous,” and new album, “Loose,” this summer. Furtado is like that girl back in middle school who wore panda bear sweatshirts in seventh grade, and then came back in eighth grade donning a halter-top and thong. Whatever happened to that girl, anyway?

Rihanna, “Unfaithful”

We could also mention Rihanna’s other monster summer hit, “S.O.S.,” but this hysterical ballad dug a little deeper into our craniums because the 18-year-old diva sounds completely out of her’s. “I don’t wanna hurt him anymore/I don’t wanna take away his life/I don’t wanna be ... a murderer.” Not since “Romeo and Juliet” and possibly “Degrassi: The Next Generation” has teenage romance seemed so freaking scary.

Read the rest and find out the winner here. Or you can just watch this YouTube clip.