With summer right around the corner, this year’s final column will feature some recommendations for a perfect summer playlist, with a balance of fun and relaxing songs.
“True Blue” by boygenius is a perfect song to start off your summer feelings. The opening line “You said you wanted to feel alive so we went to the beach, you were born in July, ‘95 in a deadly heat” sets the tone as a song of summer yearning. Being in a love/hate relationship with summer is perfectly portrayed through the first stanza. There’s that feeling of being miserably hot but still loving summer at heart.
“Wrong Way” by Sublime juxtaposes a sad song premise with upbeat tunes. The song itself doesn’t directly reference summer but the loose and fun melody certainly gives it that feel. The dragging of certain lines like “Happy are you sad, wanna shoot your dad?” leans into the groovy summer feeling, making you wanna roll down your car windows on the way to the beach.
“Summer of ‘69” by Bryan Adams is a great summer song if you’re into a classic rock feel. The song follows the story of a band as they live a fun and exciting summer. The song has a fun rock vibe, while also balancing that feeling of nostalgia for youth. This is shown through lines like “Man, we were killin’ time, we were young and restless, we needed to unwind. I guess nothing can last forever, forever, no!” I also have a personal connection to this song as it was an anthem for my friends and I in elementary school, who I’m still friends with today. Just saying, this song is powerful.
“Free Treasure” by Adrianne Lenker is great for one of those more mellow and introspective summer days. The simplicity of the song conveys the simplicity of love. The start of the song mentions a river, trees and berries, which are all things that contribute to a magical summer feeling and the simple and touching love we have for the season. Throughout the song, the background guitar and Lenker’s quiet singing give that feeling of walking through the woods on a warm summer day.
“Peaceful Easy Feeling” by Eagles is the ideal summer campfire song. I listen to this song with my friends every summer in front of a campfire on a hot, summer night. The line “And I want to sleep with you in the desert night with a billion stars all around” is exactly how it feels to be with people you love in one of these moments.
“Brazil” by Declan McKenna is a song that has an obligation to be in this playlist. This is a classic, happy summer song that everyone should listen to to get in the summer spirit. It’s hard to describe the feeling without listening, so just picture a song that’s perfect for an end-of-summer edit that you post on social media.
Now that you have some song recommendations, I hope you can go full force into the summer and live your own personal movie.