The Perfect Summer Playlist
Every year I’ve publicized my Autumn playlist, which gets me through the crisp but gloomy months of the season, a season in which the days grow shorter and the nights grow colder. But I’ve never done anything about a summer playlist.
Summer’s hot. Summer here in Atlanta is humid and close to unbearable. But this year we have no choice; the smart ones are locked up in our houses, not really traveling anywhere and “enjoying” the great outdoors. So I decided to have summer indoors this year. This playlist either mentions summer, the sun, the rain, or cars and motorcycles. Or it’s just a happy song. Enjoy this playlist, pretend you’re at the beach, and smile.
- “Jealous Sun” – David Myhr. The king of sunshine, Myhr knows how to spin a perfect melody, and this song mentions both the sun and bicycles. Reminds me of summer days as a kid.
- “Summertime” – The Sundays. I recently wrote about what happened to the Sundays. This is a more upbeat, grown-up sound for them; I sure do miss them.
- “Raspberry Beret” – Prince. Yeah, it does mention overcast days, but what could be more sunshiney than paisley pop?
- “Here Comes the Sun” – The Beatles. Duh.
- “The Warmth of the Sun” – The Beach Boys. This song was actually written in response to the JFK assassination, but the lyrics still point toward an ideal time in history when innocence reigned.
- “Soundtrack of My Summer” – Mike Viola. What other song should I have on a summertime soundtrack?
- “Hold Back the Rain” – Duran Duran. When I think of Rio, I think o the band out on that boat, cutting through the waves and the sun beating down on them. Here they’re trying to control the weather.
- “Good Vibrations” – The Beach Boys. The kings of summer are back with their finest performance.
- “You Bring the Summer” – The Monkees. Part of the comeback album by the Monkees back in 2016, this song was written by XTC’s Andy Partridge and was composed just for the group. It fits them perfectly.
- “She May Call You Up Tonight” – Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs. Originally performed by The Left Banke, this is more beautiful baroque pop.
- “Lovefool” – The Cardigans. Another beachy, bright song that has nothing to do with summer.
- “The Boys of Summer” – Don Henley. Put on those Wayfarer sunglasses and cruise down the Ventura Freeway.
- “Mint Car” – The Cure. Happy! Happy!
- “Summertime” – Billie Holliday. There’s nothing sexier than Billie Holliday singing about summer. Balmy, listless nights with nothing to do but sing.
- “Lonely Summer Nights” – The Stray Cats. “All those lovely moonlit summer nights / I guess they’re all in vain / I know that I could don’t know if I should / I want you in my arms again.”
- “Watch the Sunrise” – Big Star. No more brooding. Time to get up and start all over again.
