Wines That Rock: Could I get you another glass of Dark Side of the Moon Cabernet Sauvignon?

Or perhaps some Forty Licks Merlot? I have no idea if winemaker Mark Beaman and the Mendocino Wine Co. get swell juice outta their grapes, but I gotta say, this is a pretty savvy product launch. Can't think of a gift to bring to your 58-year-old boss's holiday party? How about Woodstock Chardonnay ($17 bottle)? It'll have him thinking you're both hip and considerate. Same goes with the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd-labeled vino. (The Stones' business managers are behind this too; no word on whether Mick and Keith are stomping fruit.) And who cares if it tastes like crap! No one is actually going to open this wine. This is the sorta thing that sits on living-room shelves and delights the lookee-loos. And if someone does manage to open your bottle of Dark Side, it'll be at, like, 3 a.m. when all the other wine is gone and the party's still raging. For more on Wines That Rock, DRINK UP RIGHT HERE.

The ULTIMATE Halloween Playlist: Nos. 40-31

I grew up in Westford, Mass., a sleepy hollow 25 miles northwest of Boston. Back then, the apple-pickin’ town was quiet, vaguely creepy; it looked cool at Christmas, but it was built for Halloween. When I was 11, Oct. 31 turned wicked. That was when, at the last minute, a brutish pal withdrew an invite to go trick-or-treating with the gang. Preteen devastation! I sat on the couch, blubbering all over my hobo costume, the same one I had worn the last three years. My parents, John and Mary, volunteered to take me out for Butterfingers, etc., but I sobbed no. So my mother grabbed the car keys and her kid and said, “Let’s go!” She drove me not to the movies or an arcade; instead, we went to Valle’s restaurant, where she ordered me twin lobsters. Let me tell you, this chubby lil' hobo chowed down! Since that pivotal night, I’ve celebrated every Halloween with gusto, if not crustaceans. So over the next four weeks, I’ll count down the 40 top Halloween songs for our party purposes. (Thanks for all your recommendations, and keep 'em coming!)

Here we go...

40 Tubular Bells, Mike Oldfield
39 Shakin’ Shakin’ Shakes, Los Lobos
38 Sympathy for the Devil, Rolling Stones
37 Dead Man’s Party, Oingo Boingo
36 House of Fun, Madness
35 The Mask, Danger Doom
34 Somebody’s Watching Me, Rockwell
33 Ghostbusters, Ray Parker Jr.
32 The Boogie Monster, Gnarls Barkley
31 The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Charlie Daniels Band

The Sweaty Playlist: Olivia Newton-John leads wet brigade of summer-hot hits

Hey gang, for the first Pop Life print column in Sunday's Floridian, we're starting out newcomers with a fastball right down the middle: The Sweaty Playlist! Readers are invited to come online and see how we do things around here. Go on, show 'em what you're made of...

As a doughy Northern transplant living in the Tampa Bay area, I basically spend June through October shellacked in sweat. I’m not talking about a sparkly bit of lip dew, either. Everyone has that in F-L-A. No, with me, it’s more like Meat Loaf wailing Paradise by the Dashboard Light sweat. Spartacus sweat. Kathleen Turner sweat. I sweat in Publix, I sweat in the shower, I sweat after the shower (like George Costanza, it didn’t take!). It's flippin' brutal down here.

So to kick off the new and improved Playlist game, let’s dig through our iPods for wet, withering heat-of-the-summer songs.

1) Burning Up, Madonna
2) Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now), C+C Music Factory
3) Physical, Olivia Newton-John
4) Waterfalls, TLC
5) She Was Hot, Rolling Stones
6) Sweaty, Ne-Yo
7) And When I Die, Blood, Sweat & Tears
8) That Smell, Lynyrd Skynyrd
9) Dreams of the Funky Towel, De La Soul
10) High and Dry, Radiohead

Bark Like a Dog! It's the Puppy Playlist

In a coupla weeks, our playlist topics are gonna get weird, wild, freaky. (Although probably not weirder, wilder, freakier than the Circumcision Playlist. That was one nutty day.) Your imagination and your iPod will be challenged with twisted, saucy demands. Heck, I'll even be asking for bizarro playlist topics from you. (Remember the Booberry Playlist? Good times, good times.) I'll go into all that at a later date. This, however, is our last playlist for the carrot-chomping healthbos at Personal Best. (Enhanced versions of these playlists run in the newspaper, and rest assured, I steal heartily from each and every one of you! Salud!) Anyway, the PB eds are doing something zany, some might even say "wacky," about doggie yoga this week. I imagine Pop Life has conquered the canine realm before, but let's do the Puppy Playlist again! Here's a few to get us started:

Dogs on the Run -- Tom Petty
Hound Dog -- Elvis Presley
The Bitch Is Back -- Elton John
Walking the Dog -- the Rolling Stones
Doggy Dogg World -- Snoop Dogg
Bark at the Moon -- Ozzy Osbourne
Dog It -- Digable Planets
I Want Candy -- Bow Wow Wow

Universal to reissue last five Rolling Stones albums (c'mon, 'Steel Wheels' was good!)

On July 14, Universal will reissue/remaster/regouge fans for the last five Stones discs: Dirty Work (1986), Steel Wheels (1989), Voodoo Lounge (1995), Bridges to Babylon (1997) and A Bigger Bang (2005). Doesn't look to be much bonus stuff -- just a dust and polish job. I own all of 'em, but the only one I still listen to is Steel Wheels, which is big and sterile but a lotta fun. Still like cranking up Mixed Emotions, plus there's a badass Keith ballad on there, too: Slipping Away. Dirty Work is a nightmare; I'm pretty sure a smacked-out Richards has no memory of making it. 

As for the rest, you can cherry-pick here and there: Dirty Work's One Hit (To the Body) stays warm on my iPod, and Voodoo Lounge's You Got Me Rocking is dumb fun. As for the others...I vaguely recall liking Bridges to Babylon's Saint of Me.

The best thing about these reissues is they get me reaching back for Stonesian greatness, the iconic albums, the rock 'n' roll master classes. So here, with great fanfare, is my list of...

THE FIVE BEST ROLLING STONES ALBUMS

5. Some Girls (1978): Before They Make Me Run, Shattered
4. Beggars Banquet (1968): Sympathy for the Devil, Salt of the Earth
3. Let It Bleed (1969): Gimme Shelter, Monkey Man, You Can't Always Get What You Want
2. Sticky Fingers (1971): Dead Flowers, Bitch, Brown Sugar
1. Exile on Main Street (1972): Tumbling Dice, Happy, Sweet Virginia