Monday, July 13, 2009

Summer Mix Vol. 1

So here we are... It's already mid-Summer. There's already seeing 50% sales on Summer related goods like beach balls, squirt guns, towels, and the like. I've even seen a few Back-to-School displays out already! How offensive! There's plenty of Summer left and this mix here is perfect for your Summer listening! After a few weeks of frequent rain and thunder storms, we've finally had some consistent sun and warm weather. I gave this mix a test run in my car a few days ago and it's absolutely perfect for Summer driving. Even if you're not heading to the beach, pool, or 50's style burger joint, and just making a trip to something as boring as the DMV, I guarantee that this mix will make your drive delightful!

The majority of this mix is from the late 50's and 1960's. It's hard to deny that the best, most iconic, and timeless Summer music is from that period. Plus as 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, the music of that decade is just as relevant now as it ever was.
Most of what I've included from that era directly references Summer in some way, though a few of them are my own subjective interpretations. "Green Onions" for example is entirely instrumental, though I included it due to its classic association with baseball. Plus it's use in The Sandlot, also certainly helps its case. "Sunshine Superman" is another more subjective inclusion, though I'm sure I'm not the only one who associates that song and its very distinct feel with the Summer. After a Grease standard, the mix changes directions with Alice Cooper's "School's Out". However rather than keeping with the 70's, it shifts to the 80's with the Tom Tom Club covering the Drifter's "Under the Boardwalk." I know the original would have fit in perfectly earlier in the mix, though I find this cover to be, well...more Summery. The mix ends then with three tracks from the 90's, including one of my personal favorite songs from The Adventures of Pete & Pete, "The Sunburn Song." Lastly, I decided to close things out with a nostalgic and somewhat somber Jonathan Richman track, "That Summer Feeling." It's a great one. Enjoy the mix! I'm really proud of this one.

Summer Mix Vol. 1 (sharebee)
Link 2 - Ipod version
(all songs have "Summer Mix Vol. 1" as the artist for easy categorization)

1. The Jamies - Summertime, Summertime
2. The Lovin' Spoonful - Summer in the City
3. Booker T and the MG's - Green Onions
4. The Surfaris - Wipe Out
5. The Beach Boys - All Summer Long
6. Martha Reeves & the Vandellas - (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave
7. Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues
8. Mungo Jerry - In the Summertime
9. Shangri-Las - Remember (Walkin' In the Sand)
10. The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon
11. Donovan - Sunshine Superman
12. Marianne Faithfull - Summer Nights
13. Love - Bummer in the Summer
14. Seals & Crofts - Summer Breeze
15. Frank Sinatra - Summer Wind
16. Roy Orbison - Summer Song
17. Harry Nilsson - Just Wait Till the Summer Comes
18. The Zombies - Summertime
19. Chad & Jeremy - A Summer Song
20. The Doors - Summer's Almost Gone
21. Grease OST - Summer Nights
22. Alice Cooper - School's Out
23. Tom Tom Club - Under the Boardwalk
24. Yo La Tengo - The Summer
25. Semi-Gloss - The Sunburn Song
26. Jonathan Richman - That Summer Feeling