Them Summer Days, Those Summer Days

Do you have a summer mix -- songs for or about summer, or songs that instantly recall a summer memory? I do. But I realized the other day that there wouldn't be a single Beach Boys song on my summer play list. Too obvious. And I left John Fogerty's great "110 in the Shade" off the list because it's just too close to reality around Fooleryland, and that's depressing. But here it is just because:

Here's my list of ten, in no particular order, each for their own strange reason.

Rock the Boat -- the Hues Corporation

 

I'm Not in Love -- 10CC

 

What Have You Done For Me Lately? -- Janet Jackson

 

The Girl From Ipanema -- Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto

 

White Lines -- Grandmaster Flash

 

September -- Earth, Wind & Fire

 

Bust a Move -- Young MC

 

I Looked at You -- The Doors

 

Hot Fun in the Summertime -- Sly & the Family Stone

 

Brass in Pocket -- The Pretenders

 


So what's on your list?

Comments

[boB Cleveland]

Late to the party but I CAN tell you that in 1954, Mickey Meese and I went to the Circle Theater in Indianapolis, and watched Stan Getz play .. along with the Stan Kenton Orchestra.

:)

[foolery]

NAILED it, AG. All three of those, but especially America.

Thanks for playing, everybody!

[foolery]

Hey Miss Raz! Great to see you around here. And reggae is kind of a summer default, isnt it? LOVE.

[Asthmagirl]

Anything by the Doobie Brothers. Or America. Or the Eagles Desperado album.

[Raz]

I have a summer playlist on my iPod, but it tends to be bands I have seen play at festivals: they make ME think of summer but they make my boyfriend question me. Are these summer songs? Well, yes, because they remind me of sunshine and happiness.

I agree with 'Summertime' by Will Smith, along with a good dash of Bob Marley.

[foolery]

ABSOLUTELY!

[Meg]

@Sher, I kinda stole it too... but gave it a different twist. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? (Right???)

[sher]

just so you know, my shout out to you will be tomorrow on my blog, where i shamelessly steal this idea :-)

[Elaina]

I was inspired by your post so I wrote my own. I almost stuck September on my list but decided to keep it at ten. I love that song!! And I so remember the Bust a Move days. Haha.

[noe noe girl]

It's hotternhell here too! Love your list.
<><

[Meg]

Oh good picks! I would add "Summertime" by Will Smith, "Summertime" by Sublime, "Boys of Summer" by Don Henley (the original, not the remake), and - don't laugh - "Gin & Juice" by Snoop Dogg. Seriously. I love him.

But to balance that out, please know that I have an entire album of Jobim on my iPod. I'm versatile like that.

There are also a bunch of rock hits from the late '70s and early '80s that were on the jukebox at my town swimming pool, that never got rotated off - Rock Lobster, Life's been Good, Baker Street - I intend one day to make a playlist and circulate it to my pool pals from back in the day.

[sher]

this could take awhile for me...