Songs of the Summer, Vol. I
Welcome, fellow summerphiles! I love every season of the year, but there is just something about the sweet, sweet summertime that makes me especially joyous. I love nothing more than to kick off my shoes, grab an icy cocktail, and run around in a bathing suit with a sick soundtrack behind me. Hence, my newest Saturday series, “Songs of the Summer.” Don’t we all secretly wish that we had a movie score playing behind us at the most poignant and pivotal parts of our lives? Well, consider me your personal Danny Elfman, here to give you the soundtrack to summer 2k17.
Click here to follow the Songs of the Summer playlist!
1. No More Sad Songs, Little Mix feat. Machine Gun Kelly- Girls. Night. Out. This song makes me shimmy and shake all over the damn house. I love the music video, where the girls of Little Mix are at a country bar, dressed to the nines, cheering up all the dreary patrons. Every time I hear this song, I just can’t help but start a little bit of a fist pump situation. No more sad songs, summer. Let’s bop out to some positivity, stat.
Best Lyric: Dancing with danger, talking to strangers
Don't care where I go, just can't be alone
They'll never know me, like you used to know me, no (NB: For a song that is about no more sad songs, this is a pretty damn sad lyric).
Recommended for: GNO gals, bachelorette parties, girls who like to dance on bars, any “pregame playlist”
2. Overwhelming, Jon Bellion- This song reminds me of another rapper named John…Pigeon John. He was a Christian rapper I loved when I myself was dating a Christian rapper (in another lifetime I lived). The lyrics are great, Jon Bellion’s unique vocals engage me, and the lyrics are freaking genius.
Best Lyric:There is a potion in your lips, so sweet, I'd die
There is an ocean in your hips, so deep, I'd dive
I hear an opus when we kiss that completes my life
Yeah, I think I got one
Recommended for: high school love birds, people who scream-sing in the car, those who enjoy amorous behaviors
3. Don’t Take the Money, Bleachers- I’m at an 80’s prom every time I listen to this song. Even though I was born in 1987 and have never actually been a physical presence at such an endeavor, I am instantly transported to a gym with giant bouffant hair, watching the star quarterback fall in love with the nerdy girl from the library. My feet cannot help but dance when I hear this song.
Best Lyric: When you're looking for your shadow
Standing on the edge of yourself
Praying on the darkness
Just don't take the money
Recommended For: people involved in questionable business transactions, people who love a good “jump/dance song,” the climax of an 80’s high school movie
4. Malibu, Miley Cyrus- Every time I listen to this song, I feel like Ms. Miley is giving my ears a giant bear hug. I can feel the warmth of the sand beneath my feet, hear the crash of the waves, and smell the summer beach bonfire. I feel her happiness, and it makes me involuntarily smile. This IS the song of the summer, primarily because the positive energy and happiness Miley felt when she recorded it transcends the audio track and buries itself in your soul.
Best Lyric:I always thought I would sink, so I never swam
I never went boatin', don't get how they are floatin'
And sometimes I get so scared of what I can't understand
Recommended for: people who love beach barbecues, summer flings, dancing in white dresses, girls on summer road trips
5. Whippin’, Kiiara feat. Felix Snow-Who didn’t love Gold? Well, this follow-up song might just surpass it. I feel like such a badass when I listen to this track. I imagine I’m in a car, riding shotgun with an impossibly cool dude. It’s midnight. We are driving in downtown LA, and all the windows are down. I throw my head back to laugh and my eyes catch his as we speed through a red light. In that moment, we feel our connection, and it is both so contained and small, while also being this expansive expression of human existence. You get it. Or…it’s just a fun party song. That too.
Best Lyric: Whippin’ in the car with you (this song curates a feeling through it’s general aesthetic…as I was reading the lyrics, I realized i didn’t have very many words to choose from).
Recommended for: summertime cruising, not looking for a bruising.