BY JUSTINE HARRIS AND JACKSON ADAMS
of Voice
Upon deciding on a summer-based article to end the semester for Voice, we decided to list the songs that have made their ways on each of our summer playlists.
First, we decided to put down some rules. No cliche references, like “summer songs to listen to at the beach!” or “songs to blast in the car with the windows rolled down and my sunglasses on!”
Also, no obvious summer bands, such as the Beach Boys or KC and the Sunshine Band. You understand.
JUSTINE’S
1 – “The Next Time Around” – Little Joy
Think Edison’s phonograph spinning mellowed-out Strokes. Drummer Fabrizio Moretti (of the Strokes, in fact) completes the equation with an easy rhythm behind quaint, breezy harmonies.
2 – “Grace” – Jeff Buckley
3 -“ ’52 Ford” – Murder By Death
Vocals resembling Johnny Cash and electric, driving cello merge perfectly in a tango, illustrating how innovative MBD really is.
4 – “Promise”
Violent Femmes
5 – “Lazy Eye” – Silversun Pickups
These guys are great and very underrated. “Lazy Eye” has a driving beat and a “Siamese Dream” sound. This song is perfect for summer because it’s relaxed to start out with but contains just enough electric guitar to complicate things. Billy Corgan would be proud.
6 – “Fortune Faded” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Originally planning a spot for this song on “By The Way,” RHCP ended up including it as a single on its greatest hits in 2003.
They also currently hold the honor of being one of my top-three favorite bands of all time, ever, in the history of music. So maybe I’m biased, but “Fortune Faded” is a really solid summer tune.
7 – “3rd Planet” – Modest Mouse
8 – “Yellow Sun” – The Raconteurs
“Yellow Sun” always puts me in a good mood. Pretty much anything that Jack White puts his name to has that influence anyway, but this is the perfect summer song for its shuffling beat and sheer optimism.
9 – “Ten Years Gone” – Led Zeppelin
10 – “Ragged Wood” – Fleet Foxes
Finally, here’s a brand new band with an excess of talent. If you haven’t heard of them, give them a listen. To give a comparison, this song would fit in really well on Arcade Fire’s “Funeral” or any Decemberists album.
JACKSON’S
1 – “Debaser” – Pixies
A whole mix-tape could be made of burnout summer Pixies’ songs, but “Debaser” remains at the top of the list. Filled with the screeching howls of Black Francis and the strained jams of Joey Santiago on guitar and Kim Deal on bass, “Debaser” is the perfect song to waste a day staring at the sun to.
2 – “The Object” – MC Honky
3 – “Who Loves The Sun” – The Velvet Underground
Lou Reed doesn’t care what season it is when the one he loves breaks his heart. The added summer effect makes this one required basement listening. “Who Loves the Sun” is definitely one of the tamer Velvet Underground songs and is perfect for fans of the band as well as neophytes.
4 – “Headlights Look Like Diamonds” – The Arcade Fire
5 – “I’m So Bored With the U.S.A.”
The Clash
Sure, the Clash may have been upset about the corruption, crime and international dealings America conducted in the post-Vietnam world, but it makes for solid listening even today. The band is as punk as it would ever be, and Joe Strummer’s voice is as fierce as any sound the band would ever make.
6 – “Peacebone” – Animal Collective
7 – “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” – The Ramones
As demonstrated by Charlie and Mac on “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia,” sniffing glue in the basement is a little pathetic. The Ramones somehow make it seem to be just the thing in that moment of summer boredom.
8 – “Neon Rocks” – Calvin Harris
The geeky British Timbaland, Calvin Harris’ techno ode to cocaine may be a little too light for the clubs. However, the beat is just infectious enough to be suitable for a two-minute dance party in anyone’s basement.
9 – “Susan’s House” – Eels
10 – “Acid Tongue” – Jenny Lewis
The former Rilo Kiley singer set down one of the finest folk songs all year, and has a shot at one of the best blues songs as well with this stripped down track. Lewis sings through the loneliness of the road, using drugs and trying to recover from a broken heart.
