Summertime Music
Saracenus
671 Posts
It's summer in the Northern Hemisphere and its time to break out your summer jams. Who are you listening to this season? If you are feeling frisky what defines summer time music for you?Right now after all the bad news these past few weeks I needed a break from all the down tempo and minor chord stuff I usually listen to. I just put some of my old B-52s and Morcheeba albums on my iPod and I need to hunt through my collection for some more summery goodness because I need to get out of this bummer of a head space.Peace.
Comments
2) surf (preferably instrumental like Dick Dale, not so much the vocal Beach Boys-type stuff)
3) bluegrass (believe it or not, sounds good on a lazy afternoon)
4) the band War (sounds good while cruising around in a car with the windows down)
Also I like that slow mid-seventies jazzfunk like Gene Harris "Losalamitoslatinlovesong" (not sure if I remebered the title correctly).
Also silky bigband arrangements match the hot weather. Fvorites: The Ouintessence by Quincy Jones, Anything recorded or arranged by Gerald Wilson and/or Oliver Nelson. Love that "Good Scott" LP by Shirley Scott on summer occasions too.
Summer = WAR
and latin soul and boogaloo sounds great in the summertime.
I just posted this in the ALOHA and MAHALO thread:
(PS it's always summer in Hawaii)
Soulmans comp from like 2002... "Coolin". so right.
prince far i
and any early kool and the gang
fucck it any song can be summery, i'm known to roll with windows down AND the a/c... cool out man just cool out, we had to get into the groove, we had to get the vibe just right
Here is a summer mixtape I did in 2003 that still remains one of my favorite summer listens. It's not blended and is flipping loosely through musical genres. Have fun, enjoy the summer and have a peaceful weekend.
(I can supply a tracklist if necessary but the stuff is not so superaer so most of the tracks will be easily recognized.)
if you think about it, no song is a "summer song" per se
if you play anything while its warm outside, it will become a summer song
Mmmmm...I don't know. There are songs that have a "sunny" feel, and songs that are undeniably "rainy day" or "grey", so I tend to see certain places as producing sounds that are more conducive to summer listening (ie. Latin and West Indian styles, 60s LA pop, etc), because I associate their weather with summer sun.
I am listening to WAR LIVE as I type, and am getting ready to head out to DC West Indian Carnival in a few minutes. Local Summer Listening Experience Related.
When I was younger and more likely to listen to the radio, there were certain songs that weren't necessarily "summer" in nature, but because they were hits during June-July-August, I tend to think of them as "summer" songs, like Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" and McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now."
On the other hand, George McCrae's "Rock Your Baby" was a summer hit too, and that song sounds CUSTOM MADE for top-down listening...
"Electric Avenue" is a SUMMER NIGHT song par excellance! I especially remember my misspent youth in arcades with that tune being bumped in every corner of the mall! Hot summer nights indeed.
http://booksmusic.podomatic.com/entry/eg/2009-06-20T17_17_04-07_00