Monday, May 29, 2017

Long Weekend Listomania: Special No Climate Change Deniers Aloud! Edition

[Okay, it's Memorial Day, i.e. the official kick-off to summer, so I'm recycling this (I originally posted it in 2009) for obvious reasons. I should add that I've changed a couple of the song selections, and re-written it slightly, just so as not to appear an even bigger slacker than I am. -- S.S.]

Best or Worst Post-Elvis Summer Song -- Which is To Say Either a Song About Summer or One With the Word Summer in the Title!!

Self-explanatory, I think, and in the interest of holiday comity, I'm imposing absolutely no arbitrary rules of any kind.

And my totally top of my head Top Nine would be...

9. Two Live Jews -- Oy, It's So Humid



"Doesn't Myrtle have air conditioning?" "What -- you mean Octagenarian Mutant Ninja Myrtle?..."

8. Graham Gouldman -- Bus Stop



"Bus Stop, wet day, she's there, I say, please share my umbrella...All that summer we enjoyed it, wind and rain and shine..."

And don't tell me about that Rihanna "Umbrella" shit, because I don't want to hear about it.

7. Smashing Pumpkins -- Summer



It occurs to me that Billy Corgan's pretentious cueball noggin has been absent from these precincts for far too long; unfortunately, it's not on display in this particular video. Actually, a pretty nice song, though.

6. The Jamies -- Summertime, Summertime



An arifact that has irked me since the late 50s. It's like a Chimpmunks record, but done straight. Or something. In any case, words can not express how annoying I think those harmonies are.

5. Billy Stewart -- Summertime



The Gershwin song, of course. This is the uncut version of Stewart's soul glossolalia hit, which I had never heard before yesterday. Kudos to whoever the drummer is, BTW.

4. Eddie Cochran -- Summertime Blues



No better rock-and-roll song has ever been written, and no cooler rock singer/guitarist has ever worn shoe leather.

3. Chad and Jeremy -- A Summer Song



I only found out relatively recently that they actually played all the beautiful guitar stuff on this one themselves. Just as sweet and lovely a pop song as there is, so naturally, my crappy high school rock band used to sing it as "Planes, crashing into mountain sides, with the loss of many lives...."

2. Bananarama -- Cruel Summer



Because, frankly, you just can't have too much Bananarama, even with crappy synth drums.

And the most memorable summer song -- summer being defined as hot, sweaty and fly-infested -- obviously is....

1. Mick Farren -- Let's Loot the Supermarket Again (Like We Did Last Summer)




Typical first generation 70s Brit-punk snarl, although Farren himself had been through one or two too many youth cultures by the time he conned Stiff Records into releasing this. Not in itself a particularly fabulous record, but you gotta admit -- the title's brilliant.

Awrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Summer in the City! Duh!

I saw John Sebastian last week and though he can't sing a lick any longer he can hold a stage like the true master entertainer he still is.

Captain Al

steve simels said...

"Summer in the City"?

Never heard it.

Shriner said...

"Hot Fun In The Summertime", clearly. Is there another answer to this question?

Jai Guru Dave said...

"Crappy high school rock band"?!?!?! I'll have you know sir.......................... never mind.

Gummo said...

You Bring the Summer - The Monkees.

If there's a happier sunshine pop song on the planet, I haven't heard it.

pete said...

No "All Summer Long"?

BG in Q said...

U2: "New York" from "All That You Can't Leave Behind"

In New York summers get hot
Well into the hundreds
You can't walk around the block
Without a change of clothing

Hot as a hair dryer in your face
Hot as a handbag and a can of mace
New York
I just got a place in New York

New York New York

edward said...

I think I submitted these the first time round, but what the hell

The Other Side of Summer - Elvis Costello
Girls in Their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen
Long Hot Summer - Tom Robinson Band
Summer Nights - Marianne Faithfull
Summer in Siam - The Pogues
All Summer Long - The Beach Boys (because, really, you have to have the Beach Boys in this category even if Mike Love is a dick)
That Summer Feeling - Jonathan Richman
Summer Kisses, Winter Dreams - Julee Cruise

I won't mention that song from Grease;>

steve simels said...

I totally would agree with that Springsteen song.

Gawd, I love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vC3FHlpV3I

Jai Guru Dave said...

"Walkin' on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves. Never fails to bring a smile. Perfect, on every level.

mainuh said...

Steve, a couple things -
Loving Spoonful, Summer In The City, 1966 - went to #1.
Seriously unfamiliar ???

Graham Gouldman
10cc fan, For Your Love / Yardbirds, etc. Familiar with that song ? ;-)
Anyhow, I had no idea that he wrote Bus Stop.thx.
You made me dig into the net to learn a bit more.
rob

mainuh said...

Adding to the list -
Mungo Jerry - In The Summertime, 1970 #3 U.S

rob

Anonymous said...

Strawberries, cherries and an angel's kiss in spring. My summer wine is really made from all these things. Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time. And I will give to you summer wine. Oh, oh summer wine. Mmm-mm, summer wine.

VR

PS: I love to live so pleasantly. Live this life of luxury. Lazing on a sunny afternoon. In the summertime. In the summertime. In the summertime.

We're waxing down our surfboards. We can't wait for June. We'll be gone for the summer. We're on safari to stay. Tell the teacher we're surfin'. Surfin' U.S.A.

"Well we got no class. And we got no principals. And we got no innocence. We can't even think of a word that rhymes. School's out for summer. School's out forever."

Anna said...

Vickie: Ha ha ha! Love it! :)

Dave said...

I will forgive your libelous comments about "Summertime Summertime" because of the inclusion of that great Gouldman clip.

Dave F

Sal Nunziato said...

This is by no means definitive, but I have loved this track by A.J. Croce since I first heard it. Only just now, looking for a YouTube clip to post here, did I discover he didn't write it, but a songwriter named Dave Howard did. No matter, something about this made it an instant summer classic for me.

"Summer Can't Come Too Soon"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13sd_iiWUTA

cthulhu said...

Love Bananarama.

Agree with everything you said about Eddie Cochran and "Summertime Blues", except that I still think the definitive version is The Who's cover from "Live at Leeds."

Anonymous said...

Sal: Dave Howard (aka Billy Gruff) is known by some around these parts as a hush-hush cult figure. Better live than on record, his Shamey Jays are a rockin' bar band which may as well be classified "Top Secret".

VR

Anonymous said...

Shamey Jays "She's A Cutter"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grtPP65_h-E&list=PLZWTxBIOTvqAHTdfDAuWQFba2Fys9oTcl&index=7

Sal Nunziato said...

Thanks for the info, VR. May need to do some digging. (Or move.)

Anonymous said...

Brilliant Mick Farren song. Glad to hear it again!