The Daily asked eight administrators, faculty members and students what they have on their playlists.

John L. Hennessy, President of Stanford University

Most of what’s on my iPod are books! Currently, Ulysses S. Grant’s memoirs is what I am working on. After that, Walter Isaacson’s “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life.”

I do have some music, but it’s very eclectic: folk (Joni Mitchell and James Taylor), some older rock (Neil Young and Beatles), Sinatra and swing era jazz, and some classical music from Beethoven to Chopin.

Kristine Flaherty ‘07 (“KFlay”)

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Fischerspooner — they’ve got a crazy electronic vibe going on, and the music is great for relaxing or studying. Ratatat is another band I listen to on repeat. The Lily Allen CD has been in pretty heavy rotation as well, especially the track “Littlest Things.” And “Not About Love” by Fiona Apple is still one of my favorite songs, even though her album came out last year. She’s such a strong vocalist and it’s refreshing to hear a female kicking buttocks all over the place.

Julie Lythcott-Haims ‘89, Dean of Freshmen and Transfer Students

I like a song that tells a great story and uses tight harmony to underscore and heighten the tension or pleasure or grief or joy told by the lyrics. My favorite group is the Indigo Girls, who are true masters at both the storytelling and the harmony. Further in both genres would be Crosby Stills & Nash (e.g., “Southern Cross”). On the pure storytelling side alone I go for artists like Roberta Flack (e.g., “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”) and John Mayer (e.g., “Daughters”). On the pure harmony side, I like the Eagles and Simon & Garfunkel.

Tommy Leep ‘07 (Stanford Tree)

My weapon of choice right now is Rappin’ 4-Tay’s “Don’t Fight the Feelin’” album. It’s local and classic, like me. I’ve got Super Dave’s debut “Rain Like Thunder” on party shuffle for the ladies. It goes down especially smoothly when chased with a bucket of Patron, no lime. Sublime’s “40oz” has been stuck in my head for the past week, thanks to that adventurous night with Miss Lupe. My favorite tracks right now are Ratatat’s “Seventeen Years,” “The Message” [by] Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, John Mayer’s new ballad “Mrazmerized” and everything by the lovely and talented Brodie Jenkins [‘09]. But like the caning of Michael P. Fay, nothing explains my angst better than AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.”

John Bravman ‘79, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

I have a large music collection, currently with 14,262 tracks on my iPod. I enjoy music of many genres, and so right now you could find much of the Great American Songbook standards (sung by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughn, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Nancy Wilson, plus more modern interpreters such as Tierney Sutton, Stacey Kent, Peter Cincotti and Michael Buble), and a huge collection of classic jazz, by all the greats (such as Cannonball Adderley, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, Dave Brubeck, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Oscar Peterson, Vince Guaraldi and others).

My symphonic music collection includes most of the works of many of the best-known composers, often with several different versions available. So if Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, Haydn, Mahler, Bach, or Tchaikovsky wrote it, I likely have it. I also have a large collection of sacred music in the Western tradition, mostly 12th to 16th century Latin settings.

On the more modern side, from my youth forward, I have the complete U2, Beatles, Ray Charles, Huey Lewis and Chicago sets, to name a few. At the risk of making my sons cringe, I will admit to having Celine Dion, too, and the complete music of Madonna. From the contemporary period, I am a big fan of John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Bright Eyes and a whole bunch of electronica/techno/trance (why do they bother to name those songs?).

Lastly, I have many discs of music from Stanfordís choral and vocal groups. I just added a disc from Talisman. And, of course, our version of “All Right Now” — the one that the USC Band, uh, copied.

DJ Osvaldo Jimenez ë02

I donít have an iPod, only a 32MB Coby MP3 player, so hereís whatís on that:

- “Get Buck,” Young Buck

- “Like That,” Kelly Rowland, featuring Eve

- “Give it to Me,” Timbo, featuring Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado

- “Buddy,” Musiq Soulchild, featuring Lupe Fiasco

- “Zookey,” Yves Larock, featuring Roland Richards

- “Te Mando Flores,” Fonseca

- “Flow Natural,” Tito el Bambino, featuring Beenie Man

Genre-wise, I think I’m most partial to Latin music, house and hip-hop, though I’m not a music snob, so I have guilty pleasures that lie in the pop/top-40 range. I think I’ve come upon those based on my history and my work, but I think the biggest thing for me is the actual beats behind the music. If I think it’s danceable, fresh and fun, then I usually like it. So this means I don’t have a favorite artist but I do have favorite producers, like Rick Rock, Just Blaze, Traxxamillion and The Neptunes.

Phil Zimbardo, Professor of Psychology, Emeritus

Jazz and blues — my favorite is Kim Nalley.

There’s a great singer Tuesday nights at www.jazzatpearls.com at Columbus Avenue in North Beach.

Favorite album: Nina Simone’s “I Put a Spell on You.”

Jim Kim, Assistant Dean of Freshmen and Transfer Students

I tend to listen to a small set of songs over and over until I grow tired of them, then move onto the next batch. Any type of music has a fair shot of getting pulled into the rotation. In choosing songs for the playlist, I usually listen more for the melody and beat of a song than the actual message of the lyrics. Here’s a sampling of what I'm listening to now:

- “Southern Sun,” Paul Oakenfold

I can listen to this track at any time of day or night, whether Iím heading out or returning home. It’s also the current ringtone on my cell phone.

- “Hird,” Keep You Hird

Listening to this tune (or any of the remixes) makes me feel hip and trendy. On a side note, I’ve learned that nobody really uses terms like “hip” and “trendy” anymore.

- “Dry Land,” Tara MacLean

I’ve seen reviews that compare Tara MacLean’s voice to that of Sarah McLachlan. This track, a slower song that isn't sleepy, is one of my favorites.

- Beethoven Violin Concerto

Pure and elegant. If I could own only one piece of classical music, this would be it.