It’s officially summer. The sun is up until 9 pm. I’m eating ice cream as if my life depended on it. Every baby I pass is wearing sunglasses and/or a hat. The people on the street are friendly and flirty. It’s all so beautiful.
Typically, our summer vignettes are set to the beat of whatever we as a culture have decided is the “song of the summer.” It’s the song that captures the buzzing energy extra daylight gives us and the alluring sense of possibility that unstructured time graciously offers. However, much like other media sectors, music has also suffered from the deterioration of monoculture. For the most part, we aren’t listening to the same radio stations (or maybe even the radio at all). We aren’t streaming the same artists. Personalized playlists (both self-curated or streamer service generated) make it so we are musically siloed off from other listeners. All of this makes it increasingly difficult to definitively crown a “song of the summer,” with all the rights, privileges, and honors the title garners.
Personally, I am of the mindset that there is never just one song of the summer. And that’s not even because multiple artists put out songs around this time of year. It’s because the idea that just one song can capture all the goodness summer gives us is completely antithetical to the spirit of summer. Summer is a season of abundance. It’s a time when there finally is time. We can live, we can laugh, AND we can love. One song can’t hold all of that, nor should it. That’s why we need multiple songs of the summer that can speak to the myriad of feelings, experiences, and longings this season brings.
Below, I’m sharing a sampling of songs that collectively represent all that summer is. To better illustrate the different scenes that make up summer (and also because I got a little carried away and added too many songs to this list and didn’t want to self-edit), I’ve bunched thematically and sonically similar songs together. You might also notice that none of the songs on the list are current chart toppers. Older songs that stick are timeless and thus part of monoculture. We won’t know what songs from this year are the ones that matter until three years from now when we hear them again in a group, and everyone goes “AYYYYYYYYY” in joyful recognition. Until then, I hope the familiar songs below move and comfort you and soundtrack your most magical summer yet.
Songs for Summer Car Rides/BBQs/Wholesome Activities
“Party in the U.S.A,” Miley Cyrus
“I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” Whitney Houston
“All Night Long (All Night)” Lionel Richie
“Call Me Maybe” Carly Rae Jepsen
“I Love It” Icona Pop ft. Charlie XCX
“Africa” Toto
“I Get Around” The Beach Boys
Across the board, all of these songs are infectious, making them perfect for family/PG functions. They are sugary sweet treats that delight you even if they annoyingly stick like melted popsicle syrup. But more importantly, I think these songs do a good job of ushering us into the frenetic energy and blind optimism of summer. In some cases, by literally inviting us. “Well, my friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun,” Richie declares before the strings in “All Night Long” swell and the drum beat drops, compelling even the stiffest of dancers to move with the music. Similarly, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” ends with Whitney Houston inviting the listener to join her with the lyrics, “Don’tcha wanna dance? Say you wanna dance with me,” making the call to dance less of an ask and more of a demand. It’s impossible to listen to any of these without bopping your head along or “ironically”/very earnestly singing every lyric, reminding us how fun summer can be.
Songs for Sunbathing and/or Dancing by Water
“Sorry” Justin Bieber
“Callaita” Bad Bunny & Tainy
“Slide” Calvin Harris ft. Frank Ocean & Migos
“Ye” Burna Boy
“To Pun Pun” El General
“La Chica de los Ojos Cafe” Renato
“Essence” Wizkid ft. Tems
If summer is a time for leisure, then no summer activities represent that more than Sunbathing and Dancing. Both are legitimately unproductive and instead are geared only toward pleasure. These songs were made for both activities and are almost exclusively about pleasure. “Sorry” is the obvious outlier because it’s a song about needing to put the work in to save a relationship, and yet, the ease of Justin’s falsetto makes me believe it’s indeed a pleasure for him to put in the effort to get his ex back. I suggest that these songs be listened to by water, if only because they have a kind of bounce and slickness to them that reminds me of the way waves crash and pool/lake water moves.
Songs for the Clerb/Party/Function
“El Apagón” Bad Bunny
“La Romana” Bad Bunny ft. El Alfa
“Que Calor” Major Lazer ft. J Balvin & El Alfa
“YO LE LLEGO” J Balvin & Bad Bunny
“Suavemente” Elvis Crespo
Admittedly, this group of songs is not really representative of “summer club/party songs” unless the club/party is a Latine one. Here’s the thing: I am always going to ask that more Latin music be played. Always. There was a brief moment (pre-pandemic) when a party or club playlist was not complete without at least fifteen minutes of reggaeton. That was beautiful, and I loved it, but unfortunately, that moment passed. But I would still like to dance to this music, so I’m begging y’all, please bring back Latin music into your summer party and club mix rotations. In my experience, DJs are most receptive to taking requests they are familiar with, which is why the songs I have chosen are basic and Bad Bunny-centric. Would I prefer to hear different songs? Yes, absolutely. But I’m so starved I don’t care anymore. I just want to shake ass in my first language.
Songs for THE GIRLS!!!
“Work” Rihanna
“WAP” Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion
“HEATED” Beyoncé
“I Feel Love” Donna Summer
The sensuality of summer is always underscored by the heat, visibility, and availability of bodies, especially those marked as feminine. I think summer, understandably, heightens tensions in the relationships women have with their bodies for a variety of reasons, from wanting to feel good in a bathing suit to concerns about getting unwanted attention when wearing smaller or less because it’s hot. As much as summer is about feeling good and being free, it’s also true that there are limits to the freedoms women can enjoy in their bodies because of the way society disparages and desires them. That’s why it’s important to have songs that remind us of the power and pleasure that exists in these sweaty, imperfect, and divine bodies. “WAP” does this most explicitly. “I Feel Love” most elegantly. And “HEATED” most honestly: “Now I wanna flaunt it, panty and bra,” “Liberated livin’ like we ain’t got time,” “Dimples on my hip, stretch marks on my tits.”
Songs for Summer Love and Romance
“Teenage Dream” Katy Perry
“I Want You Around” Snoh Aalegra
“Island In the Sun” Weezer
“Last Dance” Donna Summer
There’s no hiding yearning glances or blushing cheeks in the stark light of the summer sun. In fact, it’s the lack of obscurity that makes summer romances especially delicious. Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” is the best example of this because it depicts Perry as vulnerably sharing with her lover her insecurities and her hopes for what their relationship can be. She’s asking her lover to give her this sweet, safe feeling forever, which is also what's echoed in Weezer’s “Island in the Sun,” a song about drifting into an endless summer romance. This hope that a summer romance can last forever underscores the dreaminess and also realities of summer – it can feel so long, but it will eventually come to an end. Of course, not all summer romances are perfect fairytales, and the majority of them do end. But I appreciate so much that these songs aren’t interested in that but rather are simply and earnestly asking that a summer romance extend beyond that. These songs rest solely on the hope or the fantasy that some summer romances do last forever, allowing us to believe maybe our romance is one of the lucky ones that goes the distance.
justice for summer girl!!