This summer, whether you’ll be traveling to faraway and exotic locations, going to the pool, or staying at home and studying alone, we put together a short playlist with tunes ranging from hard bop to rock music that captures the quintessential summer spirit that you’ll enjoy no matter where you are or what you’ll be doing.
Link to playlist: https://goo.gl/c3trbZ
“Kokomo”: The Beach Boys
No band in the history of music has captured or will ever capture the same nostalgic American teenage summer energy of beaches, surfing, and youthful restlessness as well as the Beach Boys did; that same infectious energy is still just as popular and influential among the youth today as it was back when this song was made. Let lyrics of vacationing on foreign islands and roaming the hot Californian streets alleviate the stresses and fears of next year, and take you on an ethereal journey back to a simpler time.
“Moanin’”: Art Blakey
Opening with a bluesy tune played by Bobby Timmons on piano, you can truly hear how much fun the band was having during the recording of The Jazz Messengers Album after gaining a fresh start after years of having to record miscellaneous tapes for money. With Art Blakey on the drum set, Lee Morgan on the trumpet, and Benny Golson on the tenor sax, it’s the type of soul music for the summer that can easily get you swingin’!
“Maria”: The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Arranged by Howard Brubeck, Dave Brubeck’s brother, and improvised with themes from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, this is yet another prime example of “third stream” music that originated from efforts by composers like Bernstein’s to create fusions between jazz and classical music. A truly American collection, this cool jazz brings alive the raucous energy of the Upper West Side while adding in drops characteristic of a subdued atmosphere to be enjoyed on a calm summer afternoon.
“In the Summertime”: Mungo Jerry
Half the song is literally gibberish. The lyrics were written in ten minutes. Paul King is unironically using a jug as an instrument. Perfect for some summer airheadedness.
“Here Comes the Sun”: The Beatles
One of George Harrison’s most famous songs written for the Beatles, “Here Comes the Sun” is a testament to the Beatles’ everlasting legacy and musical consistency even in the final years of the Beatles’ career. “Here Comes the Sun” is an upbeat and whimsical song welcoming the sun after months of cold winter, or exams season misery.
“Island in the Sun”: Weezer
Guitar solos and bass riffs perfect Weezer’s alternative rock single “Island in the Sun.” In addition to a strong melancholic sentiment, this song conveys students’ optimistic desires of carefree freedom from pain and obligation by describing the titular island. This is a dream sympathetic to the reluctant non-vacationing summer student.
“Summertime”: Miles Davis
A historical and iconic collaboration between Gil Evans and Miles Davis, “Summertime” is featured on the famous Porgy and Bess album of George Gershwin’s folk opera of the same name. Davis’ rendition of Summertime embodies the “thick” (as Davis referred to it) modal style of composition that set off a new era in the traditions of jazz improvisation as it gives rise to new tonalities and the formation of chords. Its melody and sophisticated yet straightforward chords lent itself to countless reproductions of the same tune while staying true to the lullaby that describes the struggles in an African-American neighborhood in Charleston.
“Manhattan”: Ella Fitzgerald
In several choruses, “Manhattan” sarcastically summarizes the aspirations of a young couple that cannot financially afford a real vacation together. Through Ella Fitzgerald’s refined voice and a simple condensed orchestration accompaniment, this icon of popular music is reproduced in a serene manner that is both elegant and chic.
“Summertime Sadness”: Lana Del Rey
Kierkegaard once said that “romantic love was built upon an illusion, that the eternity it claims was built upon the temporal.” Nowadays, such deceptive love is not just limited to happening only within a singular moment in one’s life, but is a constant possibility. Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” describes this deceptive love through and during her past summers, reminiscent of memories with her former transient lover who brought nothing but pain and deep dejection with which she must move forward. Truly, a masterpiece.