It’s summer time, bitches!
“Summertime” – DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
DRUMS PLEASE!
“Dancing In The Streets” – Van Halen
This song has always meant summer to me. It seemed like I heard it constantly Memorial Day weekend 1982, but it hadn’t cracked the Top 40 yet so I’m not sure how accurate that memory is.
“Summertime Tiger” – Rui Gabriel, Stef Chura
This song is about working to improve yourself during the slower months of summer. A good message for us all. Gabriel’s bio says he is currently based in Indiana, but I can’t find where specifically.
“Candy Coloured Catastrophe” – Redd Kross
So I’ve known this band’s name for years but don’t know much about them. They’ve been around since 1979! This song sounds fresh and powerful like they are still the teenagers who recorded that record in the Seventies.
“Tamagotchi” – Blushing
A++ gorgeous song.
“No Secrets” – The Angels
This week I watched the excellent Apple Music Pearl Jam interview. Terrific stuff. Zach Lowe asked each member of the band what song they would want to add to their set list, I think with the idea of fleshing out some PJ rarities. Mike McCready, though, said he’d love to add this song as a cover. I had never heard it, or of the band. The Angels were an Aussie band that formed in 1974 and are still making music. I hear a little AC/DC in them. Some power pop that my man Sir David V suggested resembles Cheap Trick. A fun, straight-forward rocker that hit #8 Down Under in 1980.
“My Friend Dario” – Vitalic
A Race Weekend standard on this site. The forecast currently shows an 60-80% chance of thunderstorms Sunday afternoon, so this year’s Indy 500 could be an adventure.
“Dancing In The Dark” – Bruce Springsteen
I told you some big songs were coming. This is one of the biggest. Debuting on the Hot 100 all the way up at #36 (!!!) this week in 1984, it was the biggest single of Springsteen’s career, peaking at #2 behind Duran Duran’s “The Reflex” and another song we’ll get to in a couple weeks. It was genuinely everywhere that summer. And what teenage boy watching MTV that summer wasn’t in love with Courtney Cox?