Every summer, we all have those songs that we can’t stop listening to! Whether it be because it reminds us of something that happened months before, or because it is simply stuck in our head, we all have a “Song of the Summer.” Here are a few songs that the writing teams “Songs of the Summer!”
“A Summer Wasting” – Belle and Sebastian
I have been on a Belle and Sebastian kick this summer, and if I could list the entirety of The Boy With The Arab Strap, I would. This song has been my company on hot summer afternoons spent staring at the floor with my head hanging off the bed with nothing better to do. My current summer residence is rural, east Tennessee, where the cicadas take up much of the space for sound, and I think they make a great duet with Belle and Sebastian. My favorite set of lines from this track are “Seven weeks of river walkings, Seven weeks of reading papers, Seven weeks of feeling guilty, Seven weeks of staying up all night,” and that about sums up the last few months for me. Except, I tend to go to bed early. Give this song a listen on a humid evening, if you can.
– By Ana Achata, Staff Writer
“Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” – ROLE MODEL
We all have our own rules for what defines a “Song of the Summer.” Some of mine are: upbeat, catchy, and immediately inducing head bobbing. Tucker Harrington Pilsbury, aka ROLE MODEL, nailed it with “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.” He gets bonus points for keeping the narrative simple: Guy meets girl in a bar. They drink. Sparks. Subtract the drinks, not as many sparks. Plus, lyrics like “Cold like Minnesota…Hotter than a fever.” Deep? Nope. Fun? Yup. That qualifies as a Song of the Summer for me. Plus, when people organically start discussing it at a Summer cookout, doesn’t that literally define a “Song of Summer?” My rules, so the answer is yes.
You can see what our music staff had to say about it here.
-Ken West, WERS Brand Manager
“Ventura Highway” – America
Summer in Memphis, Tennessee, and farms in Mississippi and Arkansas can be a little boring during the day. Everyone’s at work and there is nothing to do until at least five in the afternoon. A lot of nights for me have been spent driving across the city or countryside with my friends as the sun is going down. One song that always seems to be on in the background is “Ventura Highway” by America. This, to me, is a perfect song for summer. It has these melodies that are just breathtaking, and every second of the song has this easy feeling to it. “Ventura Highway” makes you feel like the world is in the palm of your hands and that anything is possible. One of my favorite lines, “Where the days are longer, the nights are stronger than moonshine,” feels like the South. This song is simply put, beautiful, and a song that is the perfect backdrop for any of your summer activities.
– Fenton Wright, Web Services Coordinator
“Hello?” – Clairo
Early Clairo is really underrated, and the entirety of diary 001 has been in my rotation all summer. Some of the most fun I’ve had is listening to her experiment with different Hip-Hop and R&B motifs, and on diary 001, she does just that. “Hello?” has been one of my favorite songs this summer. What makes me so obsessed with this song is the production. The beat is so simple, but at the same time so effective. It is a looping telephone synth, which is so unconventional but amazing. On top of the production being spectacular on this song, the mix of Rejje Snow and Clairo’s voices is heavenly; they create this great back and forth between the female and male narrator of the song that is seldom replicated. While this song is not a traditional Clairo song, it is still worth adding to your summer playlist!
– Fenton Wright, Web Services Coordinator
“Do You Think I’m Pretty” – Racing Mount Pleasant
Maybe your summer hasn’t been the best. Maybe you haven’t been able to stop overthinking. I have had constant moments of feeling exactly that this summer, and “Do You Think I’m Pretty” by Racing Mount Pleasant has been my go-to song every time. Another thing I did a lot of this summer was sit on my front porch and just think. I’ve thought a lot about what love and this song has embodied all of those thoughts for me. Outside of the meaning, this song is beautifully structured. The use of backing vocals and trumpet gives the song this larger-than-life feel, all while leading up to an incredibly soft ending. My favorite part of the song is the swell before the end, where the narrator sounds and becomes increasingly desperate for the person he loves to understand and recognize his feelings. Even if your summer hasn’t been as thought-provoking as mine, I would highly recommend listening to this song!
– Fenton Wright, Web Services Coordinator
