Smokin' Summer Songs

Welcome faithful pOp/Ed readers! Memorial Day has come and gone and June is upon us. And we all know what means: Summertime has officially arrived. And it's not just your white shoes and searsucker pants that you'll be pulling out of storage; that's right: it's officially time to dust off those summer anthems that get you in the mood for some full-on laziness in the sun.

Whether you're cooking up an BBQ, cruising with the top down or crisping the skin at beach, pOp/Ed knows you need just the right tunes to make the magic moment complete. This year we're making it real easy for ya, with our 15 Tunes No Summer Playlist Should Be Without. So pull up a beach chair, pour yourself a margarita and enjoy.


15. Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland - Promiscuous (2006). This ditty about the modern mating ritual helps you make the seamless transition from daytime beach-sitting to late night club hopping. Its flirty back-and-forth vocals are the perfect backdrop for your drunken make-out sessions with nameless Mexican locals.

14. Rihanna - Pon de Replay (2005). These days Rihanna is a dishes-breaking, umbrella-having dance pop diva who churns out hits at a neck-breaking pace. But a bazillion chart-busters later, it's still impossible to forget her effervescent debut. With its almost tribal beat and a head-scratcher of a title (Pon de what?), Rihanna caught the nation's attention immediately and has managed to parlay her summer sensation into enduring success.  (C says:  I think that Rihanna's ode to rain protection is my preferred summer hit from the future Mrs. Chris Brown, especially considering how ubiquitous it was during the summer of 2007.  However, maybe I'm just bothered by this picture because it reminds me of the heinous pre-makeover winner of Cycle 9 0f ANTM.)

13. The Go-Go's - Vacation (1982). Cuz you go on vacation during the summer. Next.

12. The All-American Rejects - Move Along (2006). Pop punk serves mainly one point of existing: providing the perfect soundtrack for when you're cruising through town with the top down and radio blasting. And in this class of songs, "Move Along" is one of the best. Catchy to the point of absurdity, This one has it all: incessant drums, scream-along chorus, even a creepy kid breakdown if that's something you're into (hey, no judgments at this here blog).

11. Beyonce featuring Jay-Z - Crazy in Love (2003). From the moment those huge horns blast out, it's summer 03 all over again, and from the sound of this fabulous single, it was a good one. Although the unimonikered ex-Child of Destiny has never managed to top this one, it's no matter: it doesn't detract one iota from its spastic, energetic charms.  (C says:  I have to disagree with a point you've made, J.  I think ten weeks of domination on the Hot 100 chart suggest that Beyonce topped Crazy in Love with Irreplaceable.  Personally, I prefer her tribute to female empowerment, but that song was a winter release so I can't really argue with this song's place on your list.)  

10. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John - Summer Nights (1978). If we're talking classic seasonal sing-alongs, look no further. I dare you to try to find someone who CAN'T sing along to this buyout ditty. And who doesn't love some good old broad stroke sexist generalizations about the differences between men and women? I know for me, I certainly can't last the summer without remarking on the demureness of women and lascivious of men. Yum.  (C says:  I long for the days when John Travolta was convincing as a heterosexual.)

9. Britney Spears - Sometimes (1999). Ah Britney. We at pOp/Ed should probably just confess right now that Ms. Spears will likely appear on nearly every list we create because we love her the way all good little gays should. We've loved her since we first laid eyes on her naughty schoolgirl outfit, and we'll still love her when she inevitably exchanges that red leather jumpsuit for a much-less flattering orange one. "Sometimes" is the song of choice for this particular countdown mainly for its amazingly cheesy music video, featuring all the beach-rollicking, white outfits and pier dancing that you can possibly handle. If that's not summer overload, I don't know what is.  (C says:  Nice choice from our girl, Brit.  J and I may or may not have tried to learn the aforementioned pier dance.  Jealous?)

8. Hoku - Perfect Day (2001). I don't know about you, but it's impossible for me to hear this song without wanting to die my hair blond, throw on some pink and have the most super fun law school experience ever. This song is such perky fun that it's perfect for summer shenanigans, like say 3 amazing hours in a hottub.  (C says:  This song reminds me to warn everyone to stay far away from the Broadway version of Legally Blonde.  The songs suck and everyone is way too over the top.  It's as if each cast member downed a box of Oreos and chased it with Hershey's syrup before each performance.  Admittedly, I liked the show the first time I watched it but subsequent viewings, thanks to MTV, have made me realize the error of my ways.  The Hoku song is great, though.)     

7. Justin Timberlake - Summer Love (2007). A recent addition to the summer cannon, only time will tell if this JT chart-topper makes the leap from of-the-moment to timeless. But as for now, it serves as a perfectly adequate soundtrack to those going-nowhere-on-purpose relationships that are all the rage midyear.  (C says:  It would have been too perfect if My Love came out during the summer months, but I guess this will have to do.)

6. Sheryl Crow - Soak Up the Sun (2002). The words fun and Sheryl Crow have never exactly been synonyms, but in this 2002 track, the self-serious songstress finally chilled out and let the good times roll. This laid-back sing-along perfectly captures the giddy laziness of the season. For all those who plan on spending the summer sitting on their asses and not regretting it for one second, this is their four-plus minute anthem.  (C says:  Is it a coincidence that she stopped seeing Lance Armstrong and subsequently nobody cares about her latest album?  That's a shame, because you could win the Tour de France a million times and it still doesn't justify breaking up with Sheryl Crow and then dating an Olsen twin. )

5. Kevin Lyttle - Turn Me On (2004). - If genres were seasonal, dancehall would definitely be the official musical category of summer. The apotheosis of this style is Turn Me On, complete with delicious island beats and nearly-incomprehensible lyrics. From the first falsetto, this single whips by in a heatwave of bleeps and bursts that's so fun it'll have you instantly swaying in your swimtrunks.

4. Len - Steal My Sunshine (1999). This tune is so summerific there just be sunshine baked directly into the beat. Cribbing a sample from Andrea True's slutastic "More More More" proved to be the smartest (and possibly only) thing these Canucks ever did, as it scored them their only massive hit. Their time in the sun (geddit?) may be long over, but we can still bask in the rays of their impossibly shiny smash.  (C says:  Nice use of "cribbing."  Score one for the Great White North.)

3. LFO - Summer Girls (1999). Perfect summer songs are those that explode out of nowhere and then fade just as quickly, so that by Labor Day, the tune is, like summer itself, just a mere memory. No song hits the bill than this track from long-forgotten tier-twelve boy band LFO (The Lyte Funky Ones, you may recall). This Abercrombie & Fitch ad set to music has a hook that's irresistible for exactly 3 months out of the year, just long enough to play in background of some beach volleyball before retiring it for the next year.  (C says:  LFO member Devin is releasing an album this July, with his new band The Cadbury Diesel.  Doesn't this just smell like success?)

2. Nelly - Hot in Herre (2002). Guess what? Summer is hot. No one knows this better than STL native Nelly, who nabbed then-up-and-comers The Neptunes and crafted the, well, hottest summer song in a while. This permahit has stood the test of time (just spend five minutes at a college party at Anywhere University if you doubt it) and is exactly what you need to add some extra nudity to any late-night beach bonfire party.  (C says:  This is a great choice from Nelly.  While I'm on the subject, I do have to say that if Nelly ever samples All My Life for a single, I will destroy him.  Wadsyaname will never be as good as KC & JoJo's pop masterpiece, and I die a little bit everytime I hear that piano intro and realize I'm listening to Nelly.)

1. Bryan Adams - Summer of '69 (1985). If you're attempting to roll in the season without this one, you're doing something seriously wrong. Canada's Bruce Springsteen hits all the right chords with his upbeat, more-than-vaguely disgusting ode to those careless summer days. It'll bring you right back to all those summers spent wondering what a Five and Dime is.  (C says:  It looks like Canada sure knows how to make a summer jam.  However, I'm not 100% convinced they have a summer season.)

What do you think: agree? disagree? What're your must-have summer jams? hollerback!

~j

(C says:  Nice work, J.  I definitely think everyone would be wise to include these songs on any summer playlist they create.  I would also recommend Hollaback Girl, especially if you've forgotten basic spelling techniques and Crazy, by Gnarls Barkley, if the democratic proceedings this year have drained you of all of your enthusiasm and mental involvement in that party.)