A summer without a soundtrack is like a dorm room without a "Scarface" poster. In honor of the beloved songs of summers past, The Tufts Daily has culled the best material from recent releases to create our very own summer mix tape. The only criteria here were that the songs had to be somewhat recent (say, released after March), couldn't be overplayed (sorry, Kanye), and - above all - had to remind us of summer. So, without further ado:
1. The Hold Steady - "Certain Songs"
In March, the Hold Steady released an album of high-wire guitar solos, hectoring hipster bashing, and pop-culture damaged lyrics. "Certain Songs" is a beer-soaked paean to "all those songs where everybody finally sings along," i.e. "Only the Good Die Young," "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" - the kind of stuff that really only sounds good when you're belting it out off-pitch and buzzed. Listen to at: a barbeque while drinking lukewarm beer from Wisconsin.
2. The Ponys - "Let's Kill Ourselves"
One of the great Tufts tragedies of this semester was missing the Ponys, who were set to play Hotung before canceling. In hindsight, it may have been best because it seems inconceivable that a track as huge-sounding as "Let's Kill Ourselves" could be contained within the confines of the on-campus cafe. Probably the most joyous song ever written about suicide-pacts, "Let's Kill Ourselves" begins with the clatter of a pony's hooves before it pummels like a Clydesdale stomping on your face. Listen to it: on old, fried speakers at top volume during a friend's pool party.
3. The Streets - "Fit But You Know It"
Mike Skinner, a.k.a. The Streets, ruminates on a failed pick-up while waiting in line for chips. The girl is an eight or a nine, "maybe even nine and a half in four beers time," but she's too good for Skinner, knows it, and ultimately ends up with someone else. It's a great story-song delivered in Skinner's patented geezer-by-way-of-the-Beastie-Boys brogue. Skinner flows over the riffing guitar background of the track the only way a cold-shouldered Cockney could: angry, smart-ass, and fun. Listen to it: at the Jersey Shore while people better-looking than yourself ignore you.
4. Mad Villain - "Great Day"
"Madvillainy," the album in which "Great Day" is only one of many choice-cuts, is a collaboration between underground emcee MF Doom and producer Madlib. The two cobbled together themes from Saturday morning cartoons, obscure '70s soul gems, and Doom's thick-and-slow-as-molasses flow to make some of the best "backpacker" hip hop of the year. Doom speak-sings over a hazy track of vibraphones and electric piano about topics as diverse as Bud Light, the Matrix's "mad glitches," and Pi (three-point-one-four). Listen to it: in a hammock on the hottest day of the year.
5. Ghostface Killah ft. Jadakiss - "Run"
The strangest thing about "Run" is that it is stuck in a world in which the last five years of hip-hop never happened: in this song, there is no pop, no Neptunes, no Timbaland, just Ghostface with a classic song about running from the police. It even outruns "99 Problems." Listen to it: in your friend's car - the one who spent his life-savings on bigger woofers - on a busy street.
6. Britney Spears ft. the Ying-Yang Twins - "(I Got That) Boom Boom"
This is kind of cheating since Britney's album came out a while ago, but the single hasn't appeared yet, so we can choose this on a technicality. In any case, in "Boom Boom" Britney's sex-kitten act finds its better half in Dirty Southerners the Ying-Yang Twins. It's a duet so ludicrous that it works perfectly: there are drunken cat-calls from the Ying-Yang Twins, coos from Britney, and (the best) a banjo breakdown. Listen to it: in the filthiest, sweatiest club imaginable.
7. U.S.E. - "Vamos a la Playa"
U.S.E. - whose name, lamentably, stands for United State of Electronica - sounds like a more ecstatic version of Daft Punk. There's certainly no denying that the members of the Seattle-based group have the postmodern-disco sound down pat - they even remembered to bring along the vocoder. Listen to it: on your way to a classier club than the last one.
8. Phoenix - "Everything is Everything"
Although they occasionally veer off into flaccid white-boy funk, the members of Phoenix have enough songwriting skills to keep them from being the next Maroon 5. "Everything is Everything" is a crystal-clear pop gem from this French band. There's a chorus so sugary-sweet here that it almost makes you gag. Listen to it: on a beach at dusk.
9. Junior Boys - "High Come Down"
The concept behind Junior Boys' sound is so obvious it hurts: take the stuttering electronics of IDM or Timbaland's production and add some boy-band vocals on top. You're left with music that's bound to appeal to adventurous teenage girls and ironic-minded indie snobs alike. Besides, what's sweeter than telling a girl you love her so much that she makes your high come down? Listen to it: on a clear, slightly breezy night while riding in a convertible.
10. Loretta Lynn w/ Jack White - "Portland, Oregon"
One of the best cuts from Lynn's latest, deservingly praised album. A nocturnal-sounding slide-guitar balances White's blues-rock riffs as the two singers play the parts of two down-and-outs who have a one-night stand in Portland, Oregon after drinking too much "slow gin fizz." Listen to it: on your iPod when you wake up in an unknown place this summer.
11. A.C. Newman - "Miracle Drug"
As a member of the New Pornographers and Zumpano, Carl Newman has written more exuberant pop music than any person has a right to. The greatest touch of "Miracle Drug" is that it ends about a minute before it really should while continuing to play on in your heard for an unwelcome amount of time. Listen to it: on your way to that internship your father's college roommate got you at his investment firm.
12. Animal Collective - "Winters Love"
What's a summer mix tape without the Beach Boys? How about a second-rate Brian Wilson drug song instead? "Winters Love" sets off in too many different ways at once to ever really be great, but it does make a nice a way to end this mix tape on a bittersweet, end-of-summer note. Listen to it: while packing your stuff up for another year of college, or life.
