Top 5 Songs of the Summer

My Top 5 Songs of the Summer

Well it's official, summer is over. The days are getting shorter, nights are getting colder, the kids are back to school and a bunch of grown men will once again be tackling one another in front of hundreds of millions of people. But let's not forget the wondrous times of Summer: the late-night drunken BBQ's, outdoor concerts, yard toss tournaments, days at the beach and/or lake, weekend road trips, bikinis, patios, and always wearing flip-flops.

To me, a summer song is one that always makes you feel good; it's bright, catchy, and laid back. Think Bob Marley, not Bob Dylan. It would fit perfectly into the soundtrack for your day at the beach, backyard BBQ or road trip. A summer song would sound odd if you were to listen to it by yourself on a dark, cold night. Not that you can't, but bumpin' "California Gurls" at your Thanksgiving shindig just doesn't seem to fit.

The criteria that I used were that it had to be released no earlier than Spring 2015, it was a proper single, and it is just a kick-ass summer jam. Without further adieu here are my Top 5 Songs of the Summer:

5) Jamie xx - "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times) [feat. Young Thug & Popcaan]"

Starting with a classic soul sample by the Persuasions the proclamation that "I know there's gonna be good times" sets the mood for a perfect summer tune. Jamie xx has been known for being more dark and moody from his regular gig in the xx to his creepy electro album with Gil Scott-Heron. So it came as a pleasant surprise when he dropped this breath of fresh air. Assisted by Jamaican singer Popcaan and rapper Young Thug, the listener is quickly lifted to a happy, sunny place. Jamie xx masterfully weaves the three vocalists through the breezy backbeat, creating a sonic soundscape that feels like you're chillaxing on a beach with the warm sun beaming down on your cold drink. Pretty much the ideal setting for a summer jam.

4) Beck - Dreams

Up next is last year's Album of the Year Grammy winner (shh... don't remind Kanye) Beck with his surprisingly danceable follow-up "Dreams." Unlike #5, this one comes blasting in with a great, upbeat guitar riff and some catchy chanting "oh, oh, oh, ah, oh". Beck then urges the listener to "come on out of your dreams" before sending us right back into them with his smooth, airy chorus and lush atmospherics. Yet once again we are quickly awoken when the punchy keyboard chimes in and Beck sings of "running circles around around around around." This is the sound of Beck truly having a blast with his music. After the serious and melancholy tone of the award winning Morning Phase this single flipped the switch and took the indie rock world by storm.

3) The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face

Right in the middle we have The Weeknd with his smash hit "Can't Feel My Face." After a few albums of sexed-out, druggy ballads Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, decided to unleash his inner MJ. Complete with build-up 'Woo's', drastic changes in vocal pitch, and a chorus that's so catchy it's still trapped in the nether regions of your head, The Weeknd is carrying the torch for the King of Pop and doing a damn fine job of it. The world took notice and seemingly overnight The Weeknd became a household name, dominating the billboard charts with a number 1 album, Beauty Behind the Madness, and three top 3 singles ("Earned It" #3, "The Hills" #2 and "Can't Feel My Face" #1). 

But how did this happen, you ask? Two words: Max Martin. The Swedish songwriter and producer is responsible for an absurd amount of the massive hits from the past 20 years. He either wrote/co-wrote and/or produced/co-produced 21 Billboard #1 songs such as "... Baby One More Time", "Teenage Dream", "One More Night" and "Bad Blood." And that's not to mention the work he has done with mega-stars like The Backstreet Boys, Pink, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson, and Ariana Grande. You can check out the rest of his amazing catalog here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Martin_production_discography. So The Weeknd brightened up just in time to dominate summer 2015. I'm beginning to notice a trend here...

2) The Growlers - Chinese Fountain

Runner-up is stoned California psychedelic rockers The Growlers with their single "Chinese Fountain." Now to be fair I cheated a bit with this one as it was technically released last September, but it wasn't released as an official single until March. Close enough. These dudes are known for their chill brand of what they have dubbed 'beach goth' yet for "Chinese Fountain" they did away with the 'goth' tag and just went straight to the 'beach.' The bouncy guitar riff was ripped out of the Nile Rodgers playbook with shades of glam and disco. The Growlers add their own touches of warbly keyboards and mumbled, croaky singing that will have the listener bobbing along and pressing repeat as soon as it ends. This is the summer song that you probably never heard but wish you did.

1) Tame Impala - Let It Happen

My number one song of the summer goes to Australia's Tame Impala and their epic "Let It Happen." The song begins with marching keyboards and guitars before falling into a psychedelic haze of lead singer Kevin Parker's smooth vocals. The listener is immediately transported to a happy, relaxing place; the perfect place to be when listening to a great summer song. Then the march begins once again, commanded by the bop-along keyboard blips. This is one of the better 'drops' that I've ever heard in an indie rock song and will surely have you nodding your head along to the beat. Though Tame Impala's songs in the past have been equally smooth and dreamy this is truly the happiest sounding one of the bunch. Then once again we are transported back to the dream land, this time with Parker's vocals being manipulated through an auto-tune machine as they float weightless through the spacey soundscape. Clocking in at almost eight minutes long this truly is an epic for the summer.

So you may have picked up on it but there is a running theme going through all of these songs which is that each artist has manipulated their own style to suit the needs that the perfect summer song requires. All five artists became famous for their more mopey and even dark songs; lightening the mood to create a happy, chill atmosphere has earned each of them a spot on the playlist of all-time great summer songs.