Friday, July 11, 2014

SUMMER SINGLES


The Songs of Summer blog hop is being hosted by  the Armchair Squid, Cygnus and Suze, although I heard about it from Trisha F's blog ( Word+Stuff).

It seems simple enough-list five of your favorite summer songs and share some memories about them.

As usual, I don't follow rules very well, as there are seven songs below (although the songs that are my blog hop entries are clearly labeled)
  

1966-THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL
"SUMMER IN THE CITY"

I was five and sharing a room with my oldest brother who played this song to death. 

When he moved out, his two Spoonful albums mysteriously made their way into my record collection.

One of the first perfect summer songs I became aware of, and while the Beach Boys made a career out of perfect summer songs, this one resonated more to an east coast kid (a 'woody and your best girl' had a whole different meaning in the Philadelphia suburbs)







1975-WAR
"LOW RIDER"

More LA than Philadelphia, the song still ruled the airwaves that summer, even though to someone from Philly, low riders were jeans.

I was still on the young side in 1975, but this song seemed to get resurrected each year, especially at the Jersey shore.

The melody really makes you feel like you're crawling through traffic in the hot sun.

Although you never truly know what the hot sun is until you come to Arizona in July...







1982-SURVIVOR
"EYE OF THE TIGER"

By this summer, our gym of choice had moved from the Police Athletic League gym over the Upper Darby Firehouse to The Rock's (my friend Ken was "The Rock" long before Dwayne Johnson stole the moniker from him) basement, and this song was the soundtrack of that summer.

In fact, the memory of those days is making my muscles sore...




A runner-up for this summer would have been "Take The L" by the Motels. 

While it was not the big hit from their All Four One album, we played that one to death as well because we could make fun of each other to it (take the L out of loser, you're an 'oser').





1985-DAVID LEE ROTH
"CALIFORNIA GIRLS"

I can hear Stephen T. McCarthy foaming at the mouth, so let me start by saying this song is not here because it is better than the Beach Boys' version, but I was four when Brian Wilson wrote and released this soundtrack to his first LSD trip (according to Wikipedia, that's what the music was inspired by), and let's face it...one thing David Lee Roth knows is how to show off sexy women in videos.

This song got a lot of play that summer, something that I am sure had Mr. Wilson smiling all the way to the bank.




2010-KATY PERRY
"CALIFORNIA GURLS"

This song seemed to be playing every time I walked through the lobby of the bulding I worked in during the summer of 2010, and I stand here to confess to Katy Perry being a guilty pleasure. 

Yeah, it's pop fluff, but the song is catchy, she's a hottie, and what's not to like about the video?



In no way is this list comprehensive, nor would I say these are my top five summer songs. These are the five that came to mind as I composed this.

Ask me next week, you'd probably get a different list.

I'll leave you with a song that seems appropriate, John Welsey Harding's "Summer Single."



It sounds the the hosts of this fest are Down Under, so stay warm my friends! 
















37 comments:

  1. Not only am I familiar with most of these, I used the same clip as you did for "Summer in the City"--a great summer song.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did not see your name on the blog list, Lee, but your use of the Spoonful does not come as a surprise to me!

      Delete
  2. No, all of the hosts are Yanks, though a few of the participants are Down Under. I've spent quite a lot of summers in Pennsylvania, actually, though in the central part of the state, not Philly. We were married in Pennsylvania - Quaker style!

    Great song list. Thanks for joining us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some comment made me think the hosts were in the grip of an Australian winter, but that's early-onset dementia for you...probably a side effect of moving to Arizona twenty years ago...my brain is half-baked!

      I just spent the weekend in Philly-a respite from the Arizona summer!

      Delete
    2. I can imagine AZ gets brutal this time of year. I think I'd like the dry heat for the most part but too much is too much.

      Delete
    3. It's kind of like the northeast winter...something you endure.

      AZ is an easy place to live for daily life, although there is much I miss about Pennsylvania.

      Delete
  3. Most of us didn't watch David Lee Roth's version for the music...
    Survivor will be forever immortalized by Eye of the Tiger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What? You mean it's okay that there is no redeeming cultural or social value in a David Lee Roth video?

      I am sure Survivor does not mind that-certainly they were (are, actually) more than a one-hit wonder, but I am sure the royalties from that song make for a nice annuity...

      Delete
  4. Fun list! That WAR song is just so cool, and I like the inclusion of something a little off the hit single path in Harding. Nice!

    Take the "L" out of "Blog" and it's a bog....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris-doesn't the war song make you feel like you're in the car with Cheech and Chong in one of their movies?

      "Am I driving okay?"

      "I think we're parked"

      Delete
  5. An amazing list of songs! "CALIFORNIA GIRLS" and "CALIFORNIA GURLS" couldn't be more different but the feeling is the same. A sweet addition to the bloghop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Maurice-

      I am always up for a music-themed hop!

      Delete
  6. Oh, that is a fun Katy Perry video.

    I was born in California, and though it was only for 6 months of my little life, I feel an affinity toward any song about California Girls. And wo I say, excellent list, sir.

    P.S. I enjoyed the East Coast tidbits.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I miss the East Coast, Nicki, although I am sure if I were to move back at this point nothing would be the same.

      Guess I am just old!

      There is just something about "California" themed songs and summer though, right?

      Delete
  7. Great list and great links! I'm with you; you can ask me tomorrow, and I'd have a different list. It was hard to choose.

    I love comparing the two California Girls videos - both are classics now, in my pea brain.

    Thanks!
    Cherdo
    www.cherdoontheflipside.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So many great songs, to just name five is torture!

      Delete
  8. Aside from the Katy Perry song, this is list my husband came up with; pretty cool. And who doesn't love the Lovin Spoonful. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 'In no way is this list comprehensive, nor would I say these are my top five summer songs. These are the five that came to mind as I composed this.

    Ask me next week, you'd probably get a different list.'

    I love this, and totally get it. I also totally dig 'Low Rider' and 'Eye of the Tiger.' It's true.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suze-

      As I read your list, I was thinking "how could I have missed these songs."

      Always a tough job having to come up with a list...

      Delete
    2. Suze-

      As I read your list, I was thinking "how could I have missed these songs."

      Always a tough job having to come up with a list...

      Delete
  10. NO! Seriously? Low Rider was from the 70s? I heard that all my life growing up and was sure it was a new 80s song. I learned something new today!

    ReplyDelete
  11. 'a woody and your best girl' :-) Loving pretty much every tune here and the jolly banter too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lisa-this was a fun exercise. A lot of people came up with a lot of interesting songs...I thought I went with obvious ones (except for Survivor), but pretty catchy tunes all

      Delete
  12. McDogg via Nappy's Nook.
    Soon'z my computer's back, I see I'll need to put together a Summer Songs list of own, since THIS one is so completely off the mark.

    Never trust an Easterner to get something like THIS right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What makes you think anyone cares about your list?

      East coast rules!

      Delete
    2. "East Coast rules", eh?

      I hear her calling you, so...
      why did you leave her if she was so great?

      I've seen most of this country, and the one place you'll never find me living in is...

      the (L)East Coast.

      And Airheadzona I will SOON be escaping from as well. (I know sh#t when I smell it.)

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  13. You had me until Katy Perry. The only hot, summer related thing I'd want with her is launching her into the sun.

    My hipster response from one of my favorite artists: Why's everyone still singing about California?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That KP song kind of grew on me that summer..after a billion repetitions

      Delete
  14. Good picks! I even knew most of them. When I saw David Lee Roth doing "California Girls", I was kinda taken aback at first, but okay. Given your reasoning, we'll let you get away with it. This time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Keep in mind I was pretty young when the BB version was a single...

      Delete
  15. This was a fun post! I never heard this Motels song, but I can imagine it was a perfect break-up song in its day.
    Thanks for sharing!
    Veronica

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great post! I didn't know the Motels song, but it sounds like it would have been a great break-up song...
    Thanks for sharing!
    Veronica

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for dropping by Veronica-that song is (for my money) the best Motels song, and the album (All Four One) is a classic!

      Delete
  17. Love Summer in the City! It reminds me of Die Hard III too :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deniz-

      I'd forgotten it was in that movie...it makes it onto a lot of soundtracks, and I am sure that keeps a roof over John Sebastian's head!

      Delete

HOBBY OR ADDICTION?

HOBBY OR ADDICTION?