FT5: Songs Of Summer 2010
Last week Raygun told us that “School’s Out for Summer” and shared the best songs to listen to about the school year finally being over. This week I want to take a look at the best songs from the year that will enhance your summer time easy living philosophy. Follow the jump for the list and a brief explanation.
So when I’m thinking of that summer time mentality, I tend to think of sunny skies, long road trips, new love affairs, and a general easy feeling. In each of the following songs you’ll find at least one of those elements, if not more. I tried to stick to songs that have been dropping recently so you won’t be seeing songs like “Swim” or “Ambling Alp” since those songs remind me more of the cold weather period when they came out. I’m also not one to spend much time in the night clubs during the summer time so you won’t be seeing “Drunk Girls” or any of that Sleigh Bells poop. Give me the open road or a cold one by some body of water, and you’ve got my image of summer.
5. Hey Marseilles – Rio
The wild card of the bunch always finds a nice little place at the 5 position on any list. This pop jam has all the elements of a summer single. You’ve got a man singing about traveling, the sunshine in front of him and the shorelines he’ll see on his adventures. The song also has those sweet hand claps near the end that scream the free feeling of summer times. Making it more right for the list, it looks like the band recently recorded a new video on the Akai Beach in Seattle.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/HM-04_Rio.mp3]
4. Best Coast – Our Deal
This sweet jam from L.A. low-fi songstress Best Coast has that surf sound that makes it easy to put on this list. The lyrics don’t really fit terribly well into my summer mix, but the sounds of the song make it irresistible. This song makes me want to grab a board and catch a wave on my favorite beach in Costa Rica(that is if I could actually stand up on a surf board). I could probably also argue that Best Coast’s upcoming Crazy for You will be the perfect summer album come July 27th.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/19-Our-Deal.mp3]
3. Broken Social Scene – Texico Bitches
Can’t really say I’ve been a huge fan of of the new BSS album, but I do find myself continuously jamming the highlight of the record “Texico Bitches”. The song is extremely poppy and works perfectly for your outdoor dance party/BBQ. While doing a bit of research for this feature, I came across a blog called No Cure For That who says “the melody evokes rainbow roller coasters, cotton candy and carousels”. I think that about sums it up.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/03-Texico-Bitches.mp3]
2. Tokyo Police Club – Breakneck Speed
It gets no poppier than this tune from Tokyo Police Club. I don’t even care so much if he’s singing about things related to summer or not; the song just screams summer and good times. The line “Good to be Back” is also a little ironic since my teaching days are over for 3 months and can once again have some sort of a social life. While you’re at it, go on and pick up the bands new album Champ next week and put it on rotation for your hot weather adventures.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Tokyo-Police-Club-Breakneck-Speed.mp3]
1. Band of Horses – Laredo
Before going any further, you should probably know the following things about me: I will prefer driving hours and hours to get where I need to go over flying any day, I love living in the beautiful state of Texas, and I like spending lots of time outside. All of these things can be hard to really enjoy when you’re stuck inside at work all day in a room with no windows. Of course now that the kids are gone and us teachers are free, I’ll be spending plenty of catching up on the things I enjoy doing. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, do I really need to explain why this song makes the list? This song makes me want to do all those things. Hell as soon as I hear it, I want to jump in my car and drive around New Mexico looking for that Holiday Inn we all swore was on the road map. Not sure if the band is referring to Laredo, TX with the song, but it definitely makes me feel like getting lost on a hot summer night on a highway somewhere around the town. Crank this one on high and forget about the rest of the new Band of Horses record.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/03-Laredo.mp3]So I’d suggest downloading all these song and cranking them on the stereo as you embark on your road trip or make that long overdue trip to the beach. I of course started this list with an excessive 20-25 songs and whittled it down to 5 after much debate. Close calls were “Tighten Up” by The Black Keys, “Marlene” by Lightspeed Champion, and “Ghost Pressure” by Wolf Parade. If you care to have the original and way too long summer playlist I first started with, feel free to get in touch with a comment or email and I’ll shoot you the list. Now I’m going outside.
I’m also feeling these:
Young Empires “Glory of the Night”
Yahcht “Psychic City”
Delorean “Real Love”
and
Black Eyed Peas “Rock That Body”
[JUSTTTT KIDDINGGG].
Saw Hey Marseilles at SXSW this year and they were awesome. Let us know when they are coming back through town.