iPod shuffle

What pops up when you put someone's music on random

Jon Keller, political analyst for WBZ-TV (Channel 4)

On TV, Keller gives his take on what's happening, or not happening, at Government Center and on Beacon Hill. What his viewers might not know is that inside, he's a soul man. Growing up in Cambridge in the 1960s and '70s, Keller and his friends enjoyed jamming to Aretha Franklin, the Chambers Brothers, and Tower of Power. "We would take over the stereo at parties and this is what we played," says Keller. "It's not that I don't like other music or modern music, but frankly, soul music gives me what I don't get on my beat as a political reporter - humanity and a feeling of hope and possibility," adds Keller. "Soul music generally of this era [1960s and '70s] is upbeat and hopeful and celebrates life. And all of our political discourse, as you may have noticed, does not."

1. "(I'm) A Road Runner," Don Byron

2. "(You Can Have Watergate) Just Gimme Some Bucks and I'll Be Straight," The JB's

3. "A Change Is Gonna Come," Aretha Franklin

4. "A Real Mother For Ya," Johnny "Guitar" Watson

5. "Clean Slate," Tower of Power

6. "Uptown," The Chambers Brothers

7. "After Midnight," Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia

8. "Green Onions," Al Kooper

9. "More Mess on My Thing," The Poets of Rhythm

10. "Soul Vaccination," Tower of Power

Total songs: 368

Glad we missed: "Do the Choo Choo" by Archie Bell and the Drells. "They had a hit in the '60s with a song called 'I Just Can't Stop Dancing.' 'Do the Choo Choo' was produced as the antidote to that song because it can make you want to give up dancing." JOHNNY DIAZ