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Underground > Radio & Music >

Summer Songs

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

15:06 / 21.03.03

Well, it's not Summer, but it's sunny. Oddly, I'm not even a summery person, but lately, I've been inspired by the weather to listen to certain music. I just can't get enough of these songs/albums, but often I find I can't think of anything, so here's where this thread comes in... here's the ones that neve fail me.

Sonic Youth - Murray Street
Specifically the first three songs (The Empty Page, Disconnection Notice and Rain on Tin). I dunno if it's just that I was listening to it so much last summer and it has nostalgic value, but those songs can't be beat. Perfect for lazing around and basking in the sun with them, even going to bed at night.

Flaming Lips - Yoshimi...
Another one from last summer. Everything about it just works so much more when it's a beautiful sunny day. I'm seriously rubbish at writing about music, but if you've heard it, you'll know exactly what I mean.

Pavement
There are many Pavement songs that have the required lightness that seems to work for Summer, but I believe Gold Soundz is the one for me. Everything about that song oozes summeryness. The jangly guitars, even the lyrics "so drunk, in the August sun" remind me of so many times... drunk in the sun, getting burnt... cold drinks... pow ! Cannot be beat.

Anyway, annoyingly, these are the only ones I can think of. And although I have explained myself quite badly, I'm sure you get the jist. The songs that make you feel warm and light, like you're basking in a cold drink with the sun glinting on you, making gleam and shine and drip and melting the ice and just making everything all the more refreshing. Something like that, anyway.

17:50 / 21.03.03

I could have sworn we had a summer songs thread start up last week. Wanted to post to it last night, so had a little search and... no. So well done, Mr Suede. And well done me for developing powers of precognition.

Anyway, my love for Junior Senior's Move Your Feet has only grown since being exposed to the loopy vid earlier on this week. It's totally summer music, getting me in exactly the same place as the Avalanches stuff did a couple of years ago.

20:21 / 21.03.03

i know its sooo about a year ago, but the Dandy Warhols: Bohemian like u, is nice an summery.

22:33 / 21.03.03

I agree with Pavement, but I'd go with "Summer Babe" (predictable I know)+ all of Crooked Rain , Built To Spill "Car" & "Linus and Lucy" (A live cover), Neko Case's "Thrice All American", Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet "6 Canadian 5 American" and Louis Armstrong + Ella Fitzgerald "Summertime". All obvious, but these songs always bring the thoughts of patio drinkin', kicking in the sun and lazy humid days. Oh, and John Coltrane's "My FAvorite Things".

A

00:18 / 22.03.03

The Queers- particularly the albums Move Back Home, Don't Back Down and Punk Rock Confidential. It's like Brian Wilson and Dee Dee Ramone coming round your house for a beer, or something.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

09:32 / 22.03.03

Summer Babe? It's tempting to put down for the title alone, but I find it a wintery song myself. Maybe it depends on the version.

Crooked Rain I agree with though.

Obviously I'd have to add a couple of Smiths tracks, but my favourite summery track has to be "Cemetary Gates" which is absolutely adorable for so many reasons.

14:16 / 22.03.03

Old favourites that I constantly blast when the weather's nice include;

The Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Dinosaur Jnr. - Green Mind
Ramones - Rocket to Russia
Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
and just added;
Evan Dando - baby I'm Bored

so predictable, so un-challenging, but oh so nice..

17:59 / 22.03.03

Sonic Youth's Murray Street was my soundtrack for last summer as well. I remember one night in particular where I got baked and took three hour walk home from Downtown, listening to Murray Street on my Discman. On the way, I saw a house burning down. I sat down and watched it... the firetrucks eventually came and asked me to leave. It was a great night. (I particularly like Rain on Tin).

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

15:32 / 23.03.03

I think Terror Twilight might be one that gets continuously played this summer/nice weather time, as someone has just kindly copied it for me and it's a lovely day and.... oh...it's just lovely.

In fact, "Major Leagues" was already one of my summery songs.

lord nuneaton savage

17:20 / 23.03.03

Again, obvious but;
Jurassic 5: concrete schoolyard
The Zombies: Odessey and Oracle
John Holt: Ali Baba
The Friends of Distinction: Grazing in the Grass
And maybe a bit of Nick Drake for watching the sky to as the sun goes down, "Time of No Reply" I think

Matthew Fluxington

18:34 / 23.03.03

Crooked Rain's always been a springtime record for me, mostly because that's what time of the year it was when it first came out, and it's forever associated with beautiful spring days in my mind. It's just a good sunny day record, all year round.

Suedehead - don't forget that the full title is "Summer Babe (Winter Version)". I've always thought of that song as being a rememberance of summer in a colder season, summer is definitely not the present tense of that song.

I'm right with everyone talking about Murray Street - it's only a year on, but I can't really separate that album from the summer. I was obsessively listening to that record every day, and I saw a particularly memorable outdoor SY show last year, and now I can't hear "Rain On Tin" without remembering the expanse of blue sky above Central Park on that day.

I wrote this back in July:

Listening to Sonic Youth's Murray Street record this afternoon, I realized that even though I hadn't conciously selected this album as my discman soundtrack for my exploration of Vinegar Hill, it was just about the most perfect record I could have chosen. I remember hearing "Disconnection Notice" on the street with all the old warehouses, noticing that I was enjoying that song more at that moment than I had previously. Listening to the album now, my visual memory recalls those low streets, the decay, the trash in the streets, the fences and walls, all baking in the afternoon sun. It makes a lot of sense. I knew from the first time I heard the album that it was an afternoon record, the music can't help but bring to mind harsh sunlight and blue skies. Now the aimless, subdued melancholy of the record makes visual sense to me too.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

22:16 / 23.03.03

I wholly agree with all of what you just said Flux, in fact, perhaps titling this thread "Summer Songs" is a bit misleading... but anyway.

I think what you said about "Summer Babe" is spot on, and was pretty much what I meant when I commented about the versions. I just thought there were more versions than I knew...

I'm glad I'm not alone in my sunny lovin' of Murray Street, and I seriously love it as a post sunny night time humid record. In fact, those are the best times, the lazy post acitivity suns-gone-down songs that just encapsulate all the fun you've had and how happy you feel.

Now, if you're in a bad mood it's different - but when you're in the right mood... in fact, I'm so happy I may explode, and I shall listen to Terror Twilight as I nod off.

22:43 / 23.03.03

http://www.cowswithguns.com/moosic4.html

cows with guns -

00:49 / 24.03.03

Lambchop - Is A Woman When this CD came out last March it didn't do much for me, but I found it was the perfect CD to listen to at twilight during the summer. Besides the fact that there are a couple songs about summer, and there's cricket noises, it just has that glowing-summer-evening-when-everything's-turned-deep-blue feel to it.

Yeah, and It's A Shame About Ray also does it for me, but more as an afternoon CD.

04:43 / 24.03.03

I never remember to download them for summer, but Lush's Gala and Jane's Addiction always remind me of that magic summer of 1992 when Grunge Rocked, I went to Lollapalooza and I started getting into music.

I think my summer this year will be filled with El Gran Silencio, Shakira en español, and other Mexican goodies.

The Natural Way

09:11 / 24.03.03

I've been enjoying Metroarea as the heat washes in. And Theo Parrish. And house, house, house generally.

And, weirdly, I've just rediscovered early Aphex. Y'know, he actually used to be relevant? Sometimes I forget.... 'Surfing on Sine Waves' is lovely, esp 'If it really is me?'

I'm not really doing *bands* at the mo'.

10:09 / 24.03.03

Better Than Ezra - 'Good' - now there's a summer song for you. Also Bedazzled's "Teenage Mother Superier" has lovely summery vibe to it as well.

The Natural Way

10:29 / 25.03.03

And if you haven't heard 'If It Really Is Me?' yet - twas the nice housey, piano-y tune on the buddhist prog on Beeb 2 last night.