quoth rob thomas in 1999, "man, it's a hot one." as i sit in front of my floor AC unit in my dining room, melting in this 90+-degree heat, i'm thinking about the albums that i always return to without fail every summer because they bring me back to more carefree days. linked to spotify for easy listening! what are your essential summer albums?
1. superchunk - here's where the strings come in (1995)
i first discovered superchunk and this album in the summer of 2006 on a music blog i used to read religiously and, for the life of me, cannot remember the name of now. i'm sure it's been taken down because it used to post, like, zip files of full albums and downloadable mp3s in the pre-streaming era, but i discovered so many great records and bands through it (tapes 'n' tapes, walt mink, test icicles, etc. etc.) and it's driving me insane that i can't recall it! oh yes, sorry, superchunk. since i first heard here's where the strings come in when i was a wee 20-year-old, superchunk has become one of my absolute favorite bands. i've gotten to see them live twice, and the audience is comprised of chill gen-x dads AKA the loves of my life, and it's all great. it's likely for nostalgic reasons that this particular album will always be my favorite, but it really has everything you need: college rock vibes, kinda-high-pitched male vocals, upbeat jams, mid-paced rockers, and a couple slow laments.
2. ashlee simpson - autobiography (2004)
speaking of nostalgia, i cannot explain to you why — as if i have an alarm set for a particular time every year in early to mid-june — my fingers navigate to autobiography on spotify, i listen from beginning to end, and then i don't listen again until the following june. i do think it has something to do with the fact that "pieces of me" was an integral part of my soundtrack for driving around in suburban new hampshire during the summer after i graduated high school, and the ashlee simpson show was a thing, and then i saw ryan cabrera perform for free at the pheasant lane mall at some point, and it was all just a beautiful blur of pop-rock glory (pre-SNL incident) that i'll never get to enjoy again. those first notes of "surrender" bring me right back every time, man, and it feels soooo good!
3. the lemonheads - it's a shame about ray (1992)
sorry not sorry that the lemonheads have essentially become part of my personal brand and i talk about them or evan dando...probably two to three times a week? i basically have lemonheads radar; a perfect example is when i walked into a tattoo shop last summer and my artist had a small lemonheads sticker on his water bottle which was on the ground in the corner and i was like "HI I LOVE THE LEMONHEADS!" and he was like "uh..." but then once he realized what the fuck i was talking about, he got excited and we talked about them for at least half the time he was tattooing me and it was a very great, bostonian experience.
my favorite, favorite summer activity is to put this album on and wander around the city (beacon hill, preferably) and imagine i'm back in '92 and dating a tortured grunge musician. the best way i've found to describe the feeling it's a shame about ray gives me (because i've thought about it a lot, obvs), is "sitting on a rooftop at night at the beginning of summer, eating ice cream and smoking cigarettes and making out with a cute guy you've been on two dates with." giddy and flirty and sweet and infinite. does that make sense? honest to god, one of the saddest things i ever learned was that the "mount vernon street" referenced in the lyrics of "kitchen" is NOT mount vernon street in beacon hill. apparently one of the other band members wrote the song and it's about somewhere in australia or some bull? i refuse to accept it so i will continue walking down mount vernon street and believing my made-up boston version. above, the best live performance of "it's a shame about ray" and possibly the best lemonheads performance ever.
4. american bang - self-titled (2010)
i love jaren johnston's voice so much that i would be happy hearing him sing the damn phone book. based out of nashville, american bang was the first incarnation of what is now the cadillac three (still love 'em and seeing 'em live in september!), but this upbeat album was my introduction to their southern rock stylings and it still holds up today. nothing deep or profound, just solid, riffy road trip fare with lots of hooks and excellent melodies. i still contend that "whiskey walk" has one of my favorite choruses of all time.
5. better than ezra - closer (2001)
i've talked at length about how BTE are by far the most underrated of all the '90s alt-rock bands and if i'm being honest, they might be in my top 10 bands...ever? wild. i was 15 years old the summer this record came out, and i think this was the one that really bonded me to the band. kevin griffin's a master storyteller and his songwriting is so interesting and clever (the above tune, from the perspective of someone who stalked the band, is my personal favorite). sunny, breezy vibes abound throughout the album — even the cheesier elements like the record scratching in "extra ordinary" and "recognize" somehow work for me. listening to it now brings back fond memories of wandering around in the mall AC on hot days, convincing my mom to buy me expensive tank tops from express, and eating a reese's pieces sundae at friendly's. TAKE. ME. BACK.
