Summer Time And The Listening Is Easy: Can You Hear This Writers’ Summer Playlists

From Left: Drake, you’re a firework; Zooey and M Ward in the sun; The Drums go surfing.

At our blog, we experience a seasonal change as music shifts from a calmer spring to the head- rush, soaring pop choruses that symbolise summer music. It’s true that in summer, there’s a tendency for the music industry to churn out ‘up-beat,’ ‘easy-going,’ tracks even more than usual. The Top 40 quickly becomes dominated by pop starlets singing about their varied, sweaty experiences in night-clubs whilst boy bands whine about their summer romances, more Grease and less Sex, Sun and Suspicious Parents. I don’t have a huge problem with this because this decade alone we’ve seen the likes of Umbrella, Jerk It Out and Dance Wiv Me. The problem, like many others, starts with Jennifer Lopez. When her ‘party-people’ infect the chart, they start proclaiming:

‘All I need is some vodka and some coke

And watch, she gon’ get donkey konged.’

This, I think we can all appreciate is a acquired branch of music; a branch anyone who doesn’t use ‘donkey konged’ in normal conversation would find difficult to listen to. With that in mind, we decided to compile some summer playlists that we’d actually want to listen to. And without a single California Gurl in sight.

What’s Her Name? A Brief Guide to Girls’ Names in Music

Rihanna is the only one in the world, Katy Perry kissed one and Richard Springfield wouldn’t stop saying how much he wanted Jesse’s one. Girls, we’re preoccupied by them and so is music. Especially girls’ names. If you’re anything like me, you’ll love anything to do with your own name. Favourite king? (any one of the) Henrys. Favourite chocolate bar? Oh Henry!s. Favourite cleaning apparatus? Henry the Hoover. Despite any wife-killing tendencies, an overwhelmingly sugary taste and a really quite tacky hoover, they’re my favourite because I’m obsessed with my name. Much is the same with music. Songs with your name are instantly more appealing. There’s nothing wrong with this, I’d do it if Henry was a more popular name, but please be selective in your musical vanity. Case in point, your name’s Amy. Britney Spears sang If U Seek Amy it’s true. But Yann Tierson also created an intriguing track entitled Amy, an infinitely more interesting choice. There’s variation (unless your daughter is called Stacey, in which case you have few options), don’t just love the first one you find. Because if you’re going to be like me and decide if something is named after you that it was actually created for you, you might as well be picky.