Summer Party

Summer's upon us, it's party time, and the only hint of winter within a thousand miles is the ice in your drink. You've invited all your friends and set your speakers to stun, so we've provided the ideal playlist, pulled from seasons recent and ancient. Katrina & The Waves offer a blast of solar goodness from 1985 with "Walking On Sunshine," Madonna chimes in with her clubland anthem "Holiday," Bill Withers gets the feelgood remix treatment on "Lovely Day" and Lady GaGa turns up the heat with Colby O'Donis on "Just Dance." Stereos keep it fresh with "Summer Girl" and Nelly offers timely sartorial advice on "Hot in Herre" . . . take off all your clothes. Bryan Adams, ABBA, Kardinal Offishall — you'll find all of them, and more, in Next Steps.

There nothing like a blast from Vancouver's original groover to set your summer party aflame, so we've lined up "Summer of '69" to transform your back-garden blow-out into a thumpin', hard-rockin' six-string shindig. Want something a little more disco-driven and Swedish? Allow ABBA to unleash "Dancing Queen" into the evening air, and marvel as your neighbours start to boogie like horny vikings. Get those buns toasted with Kardinal Offishall's "BodyBounce" (featuring Akon), set your hot pants on fire to Katy Perry's "California Gurls" (featuring Snoop Dogg), and really let go with a big splash of "Jai Ho!," courtesy of A.R. Rahman and the Pussycat Dolls. The Summer Party continues with Dannii and DJ Sammy in Deep Cuts.

There's a song to match every phase of your summer party here, as we guide you from the first cocktail till the moment the last of your die-hard, fun-lovin' guests has finally hit the hay. DJ Sammy captures "Heaven" in bottle, Daddy Yankee pours petrol on your party's flames with a can of "Gasolina," David Jordan conjures up a celebratory vibe to welcome the onset of the evening on "Sun Goes Down," and Dannii Minogue presumes there's plenty of you who have no intention of sleeping as she slinks you through to sunrise with "Begin to Spin Me Round." In between, there will be more than enough time for "A Glass of Chianti," served up by Dished Out Bums.

You know it must be summer . . . and not just because Jack Frost is relaxing in your hammock, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, sippin' on a tequila sunrise. No, the real proof lies in the fact that your stormin' summer party has just gone ballistic, and everyone's flying on the adrenalin generated by a yard full of good friends having great fun to smokin' hot tunes. Thermometers will pop as everyone tries to match John Travolta's high note on "Summer Nights"; clothes will become more and more scarce as Arrow (The King of Soca) reminds us it's "Hot, Hot, Hot"; and the only chill in the air will be the mellow kind provided by Bob Marley on the Funkstar de Luxe Extended Club mix of "Sun Is Shining." Our forecast? The best summer you've ever had.