Seasonal music

May 13, 2011 3:24 PM

It's finally warming up where I am. What are your favorite albums and musical acts for summer?

I've been rebuilding my digital music library for a few months, and now that summer is on the way I'm realizing that all the music I've remembered to re-download feels too heavy and wintery. What albums remind you the most of summer?

They don't have to be purely upbeat, necessarily, nor pop. Any genre.

The Beach Boys is the obvious answer, but it was Fennesz' Endless Summer that prompted the question.

posted by Rinku to media & arts (18 answers total)

Stan Getz? Girl from Ipanema type stuff?
posted by Knowyournuts at 3:32 PM on May 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Switchfoot's The Beautiful Letdown.
The Best of Don Henley
Blind Melon
Led Zeppelin's Volume 4
Pink Floyd's Division Bell
Jack Johnson's In Between Dreams
and anything by Iron & Wine.
posted by pink candy floss at 3:35 PM on May 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

The fist sunny days of spring always find me reaching for Barafundle by Gorky's Zygotic Mynci.
posted by anagrama at 4:03 PM on May 13, 2011

*first
posted by anagrama at 4:03 PM on May 13, 2011

Zydeco is the music of outdoor summer festivals under twinkling lights, sweating and dancing and eating good food. Start by loading up Pandora's Cajun* station, and see what moves you.

*Yes, I know zydeco and Cajun and Creole are different, but Pandora only lists a Cajun station, that I could find.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 4:09 PM on May 13, 2011

VU's Loaded always reminds me of summer..and being high, after work, in summer.
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:14 PM on May 13, 2011

The first Stone Roses album is intensely summery to me, esp. She Bangs the Drums, Sugar Spun Sister, and Bye Bye Badman.

The Style Council, Long Hot Summer (please excuse the absurd video), from Introducing the Style Council. (Also the Jam's All Mod Cons and Sound Affects.)

Several songs by the Divine Comedy fit the bill, e.g., The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count and The Summerhouse. A Secret History (their best-of from about 10 years ago) is a great place to start; lots of the non-summer specific songs still have that same big, bright feel to them.

Cheap Trick at Budokan reminds me of roller-skating and camping out in the backyard in the summertime.

Lots of Crowded House and Squeeze, too.

1960s stuff: The Kinks, Village Green Preservation Society; just about any Beatles (particularly Rubber Soul/Revolver/Sgt. Pepper's); the Small Faces, Ogdens Nut Gone Flake
posted by scody at 4:27 PM on May 13, 2011

The Cars, The GoGos and the B-52's are all touring next month (and I won't be able to use the tix I bought for the first two :-( . Anyone in NYC who wants them can memail me).
posted by brujita at 5:27 PM on May 13, 2011

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots- Flaming Lips

Strawberry Jam- Animal Collective
posted by jimmysmits at 5:30 PM on May 13, 2011

Big one for me is the Ruby Suns album 'Sea Lion'.

I had a big Sublime phase (yup I admit it) and they always were a summer band for me. Same with Toots and the Maytals.
posted by WickedPissah at 5:32 PM on May 13, 2011

XTC: Skylarking
Marshall Crenshaw: Field Day
REM: Reveal
posted by davebush at 8:16 PM on May 13, 2011

I found myself listening to the album "Treats" by Sleigh Bells a lot last summer. For some reason it reminds me of seeing bands at outdoor summer fefstivals.
posted by doogan nash at 8:55 PM on May 13, 2011

Definitley seconding zydeco.

And raggae. Bob Marley comes to mind. Definitely enhances the summertime mood.
posted by foxhat10 at 6:46 AM on May 14, 2011

And musical acts for the summer: catching live music in the summertime sunset/evenings (my favorite - not in the heat of the day); local music scene, not necessarily a big festival-type. That's my fave.
posted by foxhat10 at 6:50 AM on May 14, 2011

Sugar Ray! Gotta love that summery sound of the 90s. :)

-"Someday"
-"When It's Over"
-"Fly"
-"Every Morning"

Check out Red Hot Chili Pepper's old stuff too. Blink-182 is nostalgic and fun for children of the 90s.

Jack's Mannequin's Everything In Transit (songs to preview it- "Holiday From Real" and "La La Lie") is my rec for a summer album with a bit of substance.
posted by sunnychef88 at 7:21 AM on May 14, 2011

Nuyorican Soul, all summer long - George Benson's "You Can Do It Baby" in particular.
posted by elizardbits at 7:38 AM on May 14, 2011

The Undertones - Here comes the summer

And I love me some ska in the summer especially this song - Bad Manners - Walking in the sunshine
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 7:45 AM on May 14, 2011

Continuing on the ska suggestion: Desmond Dekker. Anything and everything by him is amazing summer music.
posted by baniak at 3:11 PM on May 15, 2011