End Hits: The Mercury Music Blog

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Let's Talk About... The Summer of 2008 Needs Your Help

Posted by Ned Lannamann on Thu, Jun 5 at 6:16 PM

This summer sure is a slow starter. Every time it shyly peeks its head out from behind the clouds, somebody shrieks or claps or farts or laughs, and frightens it away. I’m realizing now why this keeps happening—we haven’t yet found the good summertime album that’ll soundtrack the Summer of ‘08.

You know what I’m talking about. Every summer needs that one album, to get played constantly throughout, serving to identify and tag the season forever in the history books and memory banks. This can be an intensely personal thing; it can also be an entirely arbitrary decision. Most times, the summertime album just happens. No one plans it, there’s no premeditation; the summer just rolls along and voila—there’s the album to go along with it, played over and over.

However, I don’t think this will work for ‘08. Maybe it’s due to the desperately long presidential primary cycle, or all the catastrophe happening around the globe. Maybe it’s just a slow year. But this summer needs every bit of encouragement it can get. So we need to come up with some ideas and start crankin’ the tunes. The ideal summertime album will be a record with at least one foot in the melodic pop kiddie pool—tunes matter—and I think, one that almost everyone can agree on, no matter what kind of taste they have in music. It can’t be too morose or gloomy, nor too angry and confrontational, and definitely not too mellow—although moments of mellowness are certainly needed. It’s got to be something for hot weather, so it either needs to be hot itself, and boil right along with the sunny heat and match it, or it needs to be cool and refreshing, like a cool breeze or a dip in the pool.

It’s a tough job, and frankly most albums—despite being worthy on all other counts—aren’t up to the task. Know of one that is? Put your nomination in the comments, and let’s start spinning those summertime tunes.

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Comments

It's a few years old, but try the Ark's 'State of the Ark'

Posted by gary | June 5, 2008 7:00 PM

There are lots of great summer albums -- but one that already came out this year? Hmm...

For better or worse, I think it's got to be Vampire Weekend. It's cheery, light, upbeat, and instantly catchy. And after their SNL appearance, I'm sure they'd be familiar to many as well.

There are better individual summer tracks out there, but as an album top to bottom, VW comes the closest.

Posted by zxcvb | June 5, 2008 9:45 PM

The first person to say The Carter III is officially off my Christmas list.

But yeah, I don't think we've hit it yet. There definitely hasn't been a Night Ripper or Kala or, you know, something that you hear bumping EVERYWHERE yet.

The few tracks that have leaked off the new Hold Steady record suggest that it might be a little breezy and fun. Especially "Constructive Summer", which, hey, look at that, has summer right there in the title. But you know that thing ain't gonna be poppy enough to be considered a summer jam.

Posted by Rob. | June 5, 2008 9:56 PM

i think nouns is a great summer record. it's loud and boiling and bright-sounding, interspersed with awesome, ambient, chill-out moments. whenever i listen to it, i envision kids skateboarding on asphalt hot enough to cook eggs on.

also, the grand archives sound exactly like summer in the pacific northwest. it's a perfect summer record.

although i don't really see everyone banging these joints, they're definitely appropriate for the season.

Posted by douglas martin | June 6, 2008 3:17 AM

jason anderson's "the hopeful & the unafraid"

think: Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty have an orgy with the Polyphonic Spree.

now thats summer...

Posted by PR Walters | June 6, 2008 10:42 AM

The new Mates of State is giving me goosebumps at the mo.

Posted by Ben Moral | June 6, 2008 1:03 PM

And for the Summer Albums Hall of Fame:

Postal Service - Give Up
The Shaky Hands - The Shaky Hands
Rancid - Life Won't Wait
Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

and the top #1 summer album?