Song of the Day: "Final Summer"

A column about music, and about how the music informs our lives. Today's author is Joe. See the previous songs HERE.

"Final Summer"

Cloud Nothings

from Final Summer

2024

The process of selecting songs for playlists has been on my mind a lot this year, mostly due to Monday Morning Mixtape. I have so many songs in my head, but none of them are organized up there. I can't just open up a manila folder in my brain and pull out the perfect music for any occasion. My mind just doesn't worth that way. This is probably the most unrealistic part of High Fidelity. If Jack Black asked me what my top five favorite songs about death (a Laura's dad tribute) were, I would have no fucking clue. I couldn't name even one. It's not that I've never heard a song about death, or that I've never loved a song about death. Of course I have. It's just that I would have to think it over, away from icy expectant stare of Todd Louiso.

I just need help. That's why the easiest mixtapes to compile are the ones where I can do a simple keyword search in iTunes. But that only works if that's what the theme of the mixtape calls for. There's a difference between "songs about dogs" and "songs with the word 'dog' in the title." The former is gonna be a better mixtape, but tougher to think off the top of your head about songs that fit. The latter just involves sticking the word "dog" in the search bar.

I made a Top Ten list for the Collegian back in April 2009, and its title was the misnomer of "Summer Songs." There are plenty of songs about summer, and that's what the Top Ten list called for. I, being the lazy sophomore that I was, clearly just typed the word "summer" into the iTunes search, and took the songs that popped up. No apologies needed for misleading our large readership, since the intro indicates that these are indeed songs with "summer" in the title. But still, I could've done better than this. If only I had a more functional brain. Check it out.

Top 10 list

Summer Songs

by Joe K***

Collegian Editor
April 30, 2009

When preparing for this list about songs with "summer" in their names, I noticed a common theme running throughout each song. Songs about summer are all ideological. They are about the freedom and the good times and the infinite fun that will no doubt occur during those sweltering months (and no, Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" is not included).

It brought me a certain joy to listen to these songs today, as I sit here imprisoned by deadlines and essays. In one week, I'll be free. It will be summer.

10. "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" by Bruce Springsteen

What list of summer songs would be complete without the Boss? Many of his songs perfectly capture the spirit of the season, like "Born to Run" or "Thunder Road." This track is one of his newer songs, in which he pines for those women on the beach. Any guy my age can relate.

9. "Summer" by Sum 41

Remember those awkward adolescent punk anthems? This is the summer version of that. Sum 41 tells us that summer is "far beyond your reach," but we can make it!

8. "Summer Babe (Winter Version)" by Pavement

The song follows the common summer theme, but tells it in a different way. Written about a girl who is the singer's "summer babe," [sic] but she's just not the same in the winter. Nothing is, friend.

7. "Summer Teeth" by Wilco

Those boys in Wilco sure know how to craft a good pop song. This is no different. Summer is "just a dream he keeps having, but it doesn't seem to mean anything." Sure feels that way sometimes.

6. "Summer" by Modest Mouse

Though the song is dated (1996! Wow!), Modest Mouse still sums up my summer mantra after all these years: "Go to a party! Dance! Dance and go crazy!"

5. "Summer in the City" by the Lovin' Spoonful

Ok, someone had to point out the bad side of summer. It's so darn hot! Especially during the day on those city sidewalks. Here's the solution: "At night it's a different world, despite the heat it'll be all right." There you have it. Those amazing summer nights will get you through those brutally warm days.

4. "Summertime" by Will Smith

Will Smith is cool, right? He's a great rapper, right? Yeah, okay, not so much. But to hell with it, this song is great for those lazy summer days. "Time to sit back and unwind."

3. "Boys of Summer" by Don Henly [sic]

Cheesy '80s synthesizers can't keep me from loving this song and all the nostalgia it creates. It's melancholy the way it looks back and misses those summers of old. When I'm old and gray like Don Henly [sic], I hope I can look back at the summers of my youth and feel the same way.

2. "Summer Nights" by the cast of Grease

I'm not sure there's much that can be said about this classic song about summer lovin'. I can only appreciate this song because we all want to meet that special someone on the beach and enjoy those great summer nights.

1. "Constructive Summer" by the Hold Steady

This is my number one summer song for many reasons. First, it's a powerful rock anthem that only the Hold Steady could pull off. Secondly, these guys don't sing about sitting back and relaxing. They want to make big plans this summer. That's exactly what I do. I spend all spring talking and planning my summer. Thirdly, it's realistic. Yes, you ahve all these big plans, but how many are actually going to happen? Who knows? All I know is that no matter how constructive we are, we will all just hopefully end up relaxing.

Not a terrible list, per se, but definitely one constricted by the limitations of a very light iPod. The addition of a deep cut Sum 41 song at #9 gives away the game—my iPod probably only had six songs with "summer" in the titles at the time, and I stretched it to ten with a newer Bruce song and three well-known hit songs ("Summer in the City" and "Boys of Summer" and "Summertime") that any old schmo could pull out of thin air like I did.

Unsurprisingly, there have been a few more songs released in the intermittent sixteen years since this Top Ten list was published. My iPod now counts over 100 songs with the winning keyword in the title. Here is a new list of ten "Summer Songs," one that purposefully excludes all those in the original 2009 list. (An honorable mention was used as today's Song of the Day.) Plus a YouTube playlist with all 21 songs from today. Enjoy!



10. "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams — LOL at the last list skipping this one.

9. "Cold in the Summer" by Young Gov — Scrape that demo-sounding bullshit from the bottom of side eight of a quadruple Young Guv release and you're getting music better than most shit pumped through pop radio these days.

8. "Summer and the Magic Trick" by the Sidekicks — It's been long enough that they don't sound like Band of Horses to me anymore.

7. "Summer Days" by Langhorne Slim — Trying to sell more music to Coca-Cola commercials, I see.

6. "Jogging Gorgeous Summer" by Islands — I can count on one hand the number of songs that I legitimately love that feature steel drums. I might even be able to count on one finger???

5. "End of the Summer" by Joyce Manor — With an album cover that says: "summers are for partying with Frances Quinlan."

4. "That Summer, at Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy" by the Twilight Sad — That's me, this summer. The kids ignore me 99% of the time. I am the invisible boy!

3. "Summer Girl" by HAIM — In the winter, they are three sisters, making music. In the summer, they are Lou Reed.

2. "You're So Last Summer" by Taking Back Sunday — Maybe the true nostalgia is for the emo we lost along the way.

1. "Summer in the City" by Regina Spektor — The lyrics "summer in the city / cleavage, cleavage, cleavage" run through my head at least once per day for three months straight, every single year for the rest of my life.