There are all kinds of summer jams; this one has heroically mangled guitars and lyrics about a cheapo beach vacation, complete with mixtapes, sweaty seats and sleeping bags. The B side to this seven-inch is a punked-up cover of Bananarama's 1983 hit "Cruel Summer," now with 20 percent more cruelty.

Listen to "This Summer": 

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• Photos: Random Notes

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.