Merry Belated Litha, y'all! Yep, it's that time of year again. School is out, beaches are crowded, and some of the best songs of the year are being released. I've combed the interwebs and my own memory to bring you my top 5 Summer Songs. Some of them are officially on professional lists of the best songs of the season....and some are not. However, they all mean something to me so I hope you enjoy them. Just a quick warning - I am going to get quite rant-y, in many directions, so keep up!
5. "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Ray Jepson
"Call Me Maybe" came out in the Summer of 2012. You know how I remember that? Because it was an election year and some asshole made a parody of Obama on the campaign trail. That summer, I was volunteering for Ron Barber's special election campaign. He was running to take over for Gabby Gifford's seat, because on January 8th of that year, some asshole shot up a "Congress on Your Corner" event in Tucson. I'll never forget where I was when that happened. He murdered 8 people (including a friend's cousin) and injured several others, including Giffords and Barber. I know that took a dark turn, but it's background. Let's get back to that summer.
Anyway, I volunteered for the Barber campaign. I most remember the guy who ran the local Democratic office because he would always give me shit about stuff....mostly my clothes and the fact that I wouldn't register Democrat. "Why do your jeans have holes in them?" "Why don't you wear more clothes?" "Why are you still an Independent? Choose a side!" No. I'm still an Independent because, like George Washington, I believe that parties are the worst thing for this country. Honestly, if you removed the "R" or "D" next to candidates' names, most people wouldn't know who they were voting for. It would be chaos and I think that might actually be good for this country. But I digress. Sure, he gave me a lot of shit, but he also seemed genuinely impressed that I actually talked to people and tried to understand what they thought was important about the person they were voting for. Because it is important. I may not have talked to the most people but I like to think I changed the most minds when I called.
Back to the song - go ahead and judge me, but I really like "Call Me Maybe." It's cute, it's fun, and it's young, which makes it the perfect song for Summer. The video is pretty funny, too. Carly is trying to get the attention of her cute neighbor (who is HOT and just my type) but he's pretty oblivious. Well, we find out at the end of the song - to Carly's chagrin - that Hot Neighbor is gay/bisexual and he would rather fuck her guitarist. That's fair. The guitarist is also pretty cute.
"Call Me Maybe" Video
4. "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles
I know this isn't particularly original or interesting, but "Abbey Road" is my favorite Beatles album. It's very clear they wrote it while they were on drugs, which makes the sound totally unique. Also, some of their craziest songs are on there. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is a personal favorite - it's upbeat but it's about a serial killer. Yeah....I'm....odd, sometimes. Some of my other favorites include "Oh Darling!" and "Something." The latter in particular reminds me of my parents. "Something in the way she moves/Attracts me like no other lover/Something in the way she moves me/I don't want to leave her now/You know I believe and how?" I'm going to stop there, because that song deserves its own post. Needless to say, I believe true love exists because I know how my dad feels about my mom. Sappy indeed, but I don't care.
Another favorite on the album is "I Want You (She's so heavy)." The lyrics are pretty simple - it's mostly just Paul singing "I want you" several times - but the instrumental piece is so dark and luxurious, it kind of pulls you in. It's supposed to feel like a heroine trip - or like if you are lying in an opium den, which I think the Beatles did quite often when this song was written. My dad told me once that Paul was singing to a cheeseburger but I think he was just fucking with me. Anyway, after you get trapped in the thick fabric of this song, "Abbey Road" pulls you back out of the depths with "Here Comes the Sun," which is so chipper, you forget you were drowning in bass guitar only moments ago. I have fond memories of "Abbey Road" because we'd always listen to it at least one time through when my dad picked me up from college for breaks (I didn't drive back then). I definitely know this album like the back of my hand but it's one I could probably listen to over and over. There aren't many albums like that - most only have one or two good songs - so take some time to do some listening. For your musical education, of course.
"Here Comes the Sun" Video
3. "California Girls" by The Beach Boys
I'm a California Girl - I have the birth certificate to prove it! Okay, I only lived there like a month after I was born but I do like the state for small bursts. Not to live there, of course - it's too expensive. But I always enjoyed our visits to LA and San Diego because I love - LOVE - the beach. This song posits that the girls from California are prettier. Honestly, I feel like I'm a California 7, but it's a nice idea. Just for reference, a California 10 is like the hottest a girl can be, so I'm probably being overly generous to myself. However, it makes sense that California Girls would be the prettiest, since that's where the majority of our film, music, and modeling industry is. Marilyn was from California and she was stunning, even before they got to her with the peroxide. My favorite picture of Norma Jean is one of her earlier modeling photographs, when she still had her red hair. She standing on the beach...she has her hands up near her face and she's just smiling at the camera. Here, I found it....
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| Norma Jean Baker |
It's so innocent, like she doesn't have a care in the world. Of course, we know she did. She was the poster child for Borderline Personality Disorder and what we know about her life has helped me to understand more about what has happened in mine. She wrote poetry, you know. I've read some of it - it was quite good. It makes me kind of sad, because she felt like she was worthless without her looks but she wasn't. Norma was really beautiful inside, it's just that no one really bothered to see it. I didn't really mean to rant about Marilyn for this song - it just sort of turned out that way. However, I think that's where I needed to go so I'm gonna leave it.
"California Girls" Video
2. "Despacito (Remix)" by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee (feat. Justin Bieber)
This was last year's Song of the Summer. It's kind of ridiculous. Personally, I only understand the Justin Bieber part and the bridge. Because I never learned Spanish, despite living in the Southwest for a good portion of my life. I make bad life choices - one of those choices was getting a degree in French. But hey, if you ever need someone to let you know if they've translated the French parts of American movies correctly, I'm your girl. Anyway, my older sister loves this song. She had it on repeat the whole time we visited North Padre Island last year....and I didn't mind it. Neither did the baby, but he's inherited my weird taste in music.
If you remember, "Despacito" was banned in Malaysia for being to racy. Which made me curious as to what I'm singing along to....so I looked up the English translation to find out. And - holy shit! - I think Malaysia might have had a reason to ban it....and I'm generally against banning stuff. Basically, "Despacito" (which means "slowly" in Spanish) is about Luis Fonsi telling some girl how he's going to make slow, sweet love to her. The Spanish lyrics include lines like, "I want to see how much love fits in you" (Oh my!) and "Let me trespass your danger zones/Until I make you scream" (Whew...is it hot in here?) It makes the actual English lyrics in the remix sound tame. I highly doubt Puerto Rican girls scream "Ay Bandito!" when they orgasm....but, to be fair, I'm not Puerto Rican, so I'm not the expert here. Whatever. The song is catchy as hell and I was super excited to hear it in the radio playlist again.
This was last year's Song of the Summer. It's kind of ridiculous. Personally, I only understand the Justin Bieber part and the bridge. Because I never learned Spanish, despite living in the Southwest for a good portion of my life. I make bad life choices - one of those choices was getting a degree in French. But hey, if you ever need someone to let you know if they've translated the French parts of American movies correctly, I'm your girl. Anyway, my older sister loves this song. She had it on repeat the whole time we visited North Padre Island last year....and I didn't mind it. Neither did the baby, but he's inherited my weird taste in music.
If you remember, "Despacito" was banned in Malaysia for being to racy. Which made me curious as to what I'm singing along to....so I looked up the English translation to find out. And - holy shit! - I think Malaysia might have had a reason to ban it....and I'm generally against banning stuff. Basically, "Despacito" (which means "slowly" in Spanish) is about Luis Fonsi telling some girl how he's going to make slow, sweet love to her. The Spanish lyrics include lines like, "I want to see how much love fits in you" (Oh my!) and "Let me trespass your danger zones/Until I make you scream" (Whew...is it hot in here?) It makes the actual English lyrics in the remix sound tame. I highly doubt Puerto Rican girls scream "Ay Bandito!" when they orgasm....but, to be fair, I'm not Puerto Rican, so I'm not the expert here. Whatever. The song is catchy as hell and I was super excited to hear it in the radio playlist again.
"Despacito (Remix)" Video
1. "The Boys of Summer" by Don Henley (as sung by The Ataris)
The Ataris cover of "The Boys of Summer" is probably my most favorite cover ever. They update the lyrics slightly to make it current. Instead of a "Dead Head sticker on a Cadillac," it's a Black Flag sticker. And that's the extent of it....she still wears Wayfarers, not Oakleys or some shit like that. The Don Henley version of this song is the 5th best Summer song according to music critics, so I feel like putting it at number 1 on my list is accurate.
The lyrics tell a story, but not like how country songs tell a story. It's more subtle. You start with this boy who is in love with a girl. Perhaps a little obsessed (he's driving past her house at like midnight...) but clearly he wasn't ready for it to end, so that's understandable. I imagine it was a summer fling and I think her family must have a summer home in this lake town, where this boy is a local. Depending on how you imagine the lyrics, either he's remembering the summer fling and she's not actually around anymore. Or you can imagine it how I do - she actually lives in town and he sees her everyday, flirting with all the "boys of summer" when they come to town. I think that version is more tragic. Essentially, we see the narrator going back and forth throughout the various stages of grief for the end of his relationship. Confusion ("I don't understand what happened to our love"), Denial ("But, baby, I'm gonna get you back/Gonna show you what I'm made of"), and then briefly touching on Acceptance ("Those days are gone forever/I should just let 'em go") before plummeting back into Depression for the last chorus. Man, it really is kind of a sad song. I hope Don Henley eventually got over this girl....because it sounds like he needs a hug. Including both versions of the song, because they are both excellent.
The Ataris cover of "The Boys of Summer" is probably my most favorite cover ever. They update the lyrics slightly to make it current. Instead of a "Dead Head sticker on a Cadillac," it's a Black Flag sticker. And that's the extent of it....she still wears Wayfarers, not Oakleys or some shit like that. The Don Henley version of this song is the 5th best Summer song according to music critics, so I feel like putting it at number 1 on my list is accurate.
The lyrics tell a story, but not like how country songs tell a story. It's more subtle. You start with this boy who is in love with a girl. Perhaps a little obsessed (he's driving past her house at like midnight...) but clearly he wasn't ready for it to end, so that's understandable. I imagine it was a summer fling and I think her family must have a summer home in this lake town, where this boy is a local. Depending on how you imagine the lyrics, either he's remembering the summer fling and she's not actually around anymore. Or you can imagine it how I do - she actually lives in town and he sees her everyday, flirting with all the "boys of summer" when they come to town. I think that version is more tragic. Essentially, we see the narrator going back and forth throughout the various stages of grief for the end of his relationship. Confusion ("I don't understand what happened to our love"), Denial ("But, baby, I'm gonna get you back/Gonna show you what I'm made of"), and then briefly touching on Acceptance ("Those days are gone forever/I should just let 'em go") before plummeting back into Depression for the last chorus. Man, it really is kind of a sad song. I hope Don Henley eventually got over this girl....because it sounds like he needs a hug. Including both versions of the song, because they are both excellent.
The Ataris Version
Don Henley Version
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