Summer, and by extension summer music, captures a number of moods and emotions. Hope and exhilaration. Melancholy and let-down. Love, lust, and flirtation. There’s an undeniable energy that manifests itself in summer that doesn’t in any other season and these songs reflect that energy. By no means an exhaustive list and certainly not one that top 40 radio or Rolling Stone will give you, this roll of summer tunes is a personal one ― as distinct as the writers who put it together. From psychedelia to rap, indie rock to folk, these songs are alternatively exuberant and nostalgic, melancholy and wistful. But despite the variation in their moods, they all share a certain airy openness. Listening to these songs, you already feel like you’re outside in the grass. They swell then disappear like a warm breeze. In this they reflect the most basic distinguishing element of summer: its heat. So cue up some tunes, grab a drink, and find yourself a porch, it’s summertime. ―Laura Adamczyk
Eds. Note: Click on the song for the link as there are probably way too many to embed all the YouTube links into this article.
Pavement― “Range Life”
Summer’s all about getting outside, out on the road, getting the fuck out of town. It’s about feeling laid-back, school being over, and, of course, making fun ― whether in jest or earnest ― of wussy bands you don’t like.
For these reasons and many more that I cannot put words around, Pavement’s “Range Life,” is on the top of my summer play list. From 1994’s Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, “Range Life” perfectly captures the lackadaisical attitude and ennui that comes from being on a summer tour, being in a band, and, really, just being. Mirroring the song’s content in its form, Stephen Malkmus voices all these emotions with a shrug: “If I could settle down/ If I could settle down/ Then I would settle down.”
Despite this laid-back attitude, his lyrics remain detailed and evocative. I’m right there with him when he sings “Out on my skateboard, the night is just humming/ And the gum smacks are the pulse I’ll follow if my Walkman fades.” I’m the cameraman who follows him from sunset to dusk to evening, seeing him relish those private, quiet moments before meeting up with the rest of his crew for a night out.
Ultimately, this song is about feeling lazy, about not giving a shit. I can’t say how much I love the lines “Don’t worry, we’re in no hurry/ School’s out, what did you expect?” and the way Malkmus pushes his voice to the edge of cracking when he sings them. Near the end of the song, instead of launching back into the chorus, he lazily mumbles “Dreamin’ dream dream…” as though too drunk, too sleepy, too bored with life to meet listeners’ expectations for the song ― expectations he himself created ― which serves as a perfect metaphor for the simultaneous high and strain of being on tour. Of course being in a band and going out on the road is better than working some crummy office job, but, like sitting in the same cubicle eight hours everyday, it can get just as tedious.
Part of what makes Pavement such a great band is that they’re a little sloppy; they play it loose. You get the impression that Malkmus just busted out the lyrics for this song in between beers, not really thinking about what he was doing, just doing it. And truly, what better attitude to have for summer? ―L.A.
Belle & Sebastian― “A Summer Wasting”
As much as summer can be about parties and drinking and feeling good and super hot, the season also manages to capture melancholy not quite like any other time of year can. Something about the longer days, the later hours, but summer somehow includes more, both good and bad: more light, more joy, more mistakes, more guilt. Summer overflows, which is perhaps why it goes by so fast. “A Summer Wasting,” from Belle & Sebastian’s The Boy With the Arab Strap, hits these highs and lows, the happy repetition and ephemera of the season. With river walkways and blue skies and reading faces (instead of books), it’s easy to see how B&S’s summer passes so easily. Indeed, here B&S sing like the summer’s already over: “But if the summer’s wasted/ How come that I could feel so free?” With this line they perfectly hit on the contradiction that are the months of June, July, and August ― how any particular time of year can make a person feel both so good and so bad, light and heavy. Stuart Murdoch singing “Seven weeks of staying up all night” and the violin coming in to lead the song into its inevitable conclusion feels like an exuberant run through the streets, a rush of unbridled joy before it all comes to a halt and Murdoch whispers the song’s last words: “Summer in winter/ Winter in springtime/ You heard the bird sing/ Everything will be fine.” The song could easily continue, but B&S, fittingly, cut it short. At a mere two minutes, seven seconds, “A Summer Wasting,” just like its namesake, ends nearly as soon as it begins. ―L.A.
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Fleet Foxes― “The Shrine/An Argument”
I feel like I could choose just about any Fleet Foxes song to include with my selections but this one from Helplessness Blues keeps growing on me. Sure, the title track is an easy pick, but this one also captures the day ― dreaminess of summer in a more intense and exhausting way. I think it captures that unique blend that summer brings ― beauty and intrigue, as well as exhaustion. It starts with gentle lyrics over finger-picked guitar that reminds me of the opening to the former HBO series Deadwood. Singer Robin Pecknold gets existential as he sings about children who left pennies in a fountain and wonders where they have gone. When he breaks in with “Sunlight over me no matter what I do,” his voice gives a little. He backs off and quiets himself in his reverie to reflect on the bittersweet days going by: “Apples in the summer all cold and sweet/ everyday a’passin complete.” Beautiful vocal harmonies follow before the pondering about the children stops and the music abruptly shifts into a pounding march in which the lyrics suggest frustration from the “terrible sunlight” and unpleasant memories that seeped in. I picture him tearing apart his room to try to forget. If you thought you couldn’t possibly get anything else, then you were wrong. It all ends with sax and strings that leave you haunted as our protagonist tries to let things wash away as he stares at the sea. The summer has captured him and he dreams of Yeats’ utopian Innisfree where you can lose yourself in nature and it’s always summer and always beautiful: “I will lay down in the sand and let the ocean lead/ carry me to Innisfree like pollen on the breeze.” We know that this is too good to be true, of course, and that both the weather and the memories can take a turn to the stormy and unsettling. ―Jeremiah Stanley
David Bowie – “Memory of a Free Festival”
Bowie takes us on a dreamy, druggy trip that may or may not leave you “unchanged.” The track begins with “The children of the summer’s end/ gathered in the dampened grass” listening to music and joining souls through mutual joy and ecstasy (a double meaning I’m sure). The line “We scanned the skies with rainbow eyes and saw machines of every shape and size” is one of my favorite Bowie lyrics and the whole thing just leaves you with this feel-good vibe that brightens your day. About halfway though, it breaks into a chant: “The Sun Machine is coming down, and we’re gonna have a party” and you can close your eyes and listen and feel like you were a part of it all. If you want more, check out the cover by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. ―J.Stanley
The Ventures― “Sleep Walk”
This song originally appeared in 1959 from Santo & Johnny. I’m biased here so I go with the version by The Ventures that I’m familiar with and love. When I hear this song it just feels so soothing. I think it’s the perfect song for a glass of wine outside on a summer night. Honestly, I always picture a bunch of people dancing on a warm, breezy summer night, lit only by the moon, a few candles, and string lights. That might sound cheesy, but I bet it feels great. ―J.Stanley
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While summer brings with it hopes, dreams and the freedom of long days and vacation, it also has a way of letting us down. It’s often too hot to go outside, you don’t get to see a large portion of your friends because they’re on vacation (or have moved), and all TV shows are reality crap. Mostly, though, summer means all those hopes in June will eventually fall flat by the end of August: flowers eventually die, school is always going to start, and summer romances (if they even happen) come to their inevitable end. So while the pop-slathered optimism of most summer songs is fun to play on the car stereo, I relate better to the summer songs that are filled with disappointment and doubt. ―John Steinbacher
DJ Belly― “Where’s My Summer In Love”
The title says it all and the music follows suit. Summer promises exciting love affairs and carefree moments in the sun. But anyone who’s ever had a couple of summers in a row without romance knows that bitterness and jealousy of what’s supposed to be happening can leave an empty feeling. ―J.Steinbacher
Crooked Fingers― “Sleep All Summer”
This song was redone by two of the sexiest voices in indie rock — Matt Berringer of The National and St. Vincent. For obvious reasons, that is the more popular version. But their take can’t hold a candle to the original as sung by Eric Bachmann. Why? Because the song just doesn’t work when it sounds like the two vocalists are flirting with each other. Bachmann’s vocals revel in the cold desperation that makes hibernating through the summer seem like the only choice. ―J.Steinbacher
The Flaming Lips― “It’s Summertime”
When The Flaming Lips first released Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, this was my least favorite song, but over time the melancholia has grown on me. To me, this song is a thousand times more insightful than the shoulder shrug carpe diem philosophy of “Do You Realize.” Not that the lyrics flow all that deep — the initial sentiment that summer offers recourse to the sadness that comes from death feels way too easy. Luckily, Wayne Coyne’s delivery and the background music don’t ever seem all that convinced by the words. I know at the end when the birds come in, we’re maybe supposed to feel better about everything, but I don’t think we do. ―J.Steinbacher
Hum― “Sundress”
Few things announce the official arrival of summer quite like the beautiful simplicity of a sundress. And to Hum singer Matt Talbot, one particular sundress seems to represent the carefree feeling of a romance he can’t quite achieve. It’s clear that despite his insistence that he doesn’t like the “yellow, red, black and white and gray” sundress, he actually likes it (and its wearer) quite a bit. “Yeah, she’s all I want.” ―J.Steinbacher
Archers of Loaf― “Smoking Pot in the Hot City”
Okay, even I’m not immune to a brief burst of summer joy. But as this instrumental illustrates, the best summer moments are those when you can just relax and watch the world go by. ―J.Steinbacher
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My Morning Jacket ― “Lay Low”
I cannot think of a more perfect outdoor music festival band than My Morning Jacket. Their unique blend of indie rock, psychedelic and southern influences are expemplified on this slow-burner from Z, which builds from a sycopated drum intro into a massive dual-guitar climax.
― Ben Valocchi
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah― “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth”
I’ve heard this described as the greatest song that David Byrne never
wrote, and I don’t think I’d disagree. It’s hard not to enjoy, with
the wonderfully open production and impossibly catchy chord
progression, although I may be more enamored with it due to an
extremely drunken night involving mini-golf and the Murphy’s jukebox. ―B.V.
MGMT― “Time to Pretend”
Despite the fact that they verge on cliche at this point, you can’t
deny that this was the absolute business when it first came out.
Combine that with the fact that it was released the summer I graduated
from high school, and you get a lot of nights spent driving around
town listening to this. ―B.V.
Smashing Pumpkins― “Set the Ray to Jerry”
Let it be known that I am a colossal Smashing Pumpkins fan, so I more
or less had to put this on here. A fairly obscure b-side and fan
favorite, the astounding production and bass/drum groove is simply
impossible for me to resist. Best listened to at 4:00 a.m., preferrably
on a roof. ―B.V.
Ohtis― “Lollalollalollalollalollapalooza”
A brilliant bit of commentary on a certain Chicago music festival from
the dearly departed Bloomington psych-folk group. Just remember that
“the bowl will swallow your soul.” ―B.V.