Tag Archives: bryan adams

Bryan Adams and Pee-wee Herman and reggae

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I was doing a search for rock-ish versions of Christmas songs, and found this pretty comprehensive list. I’ve also got a few random Christmas songs by bands I like in my library. I didn’t listen to all the songs on the page, but generally – meh (and to be clear, I have a serious addiction problem to collecting Christmas music). Give me my favorite band doing a Christmas song and I will still pick Bing Crosby or John Denver and the Muppets any day.

At the very end of this list, however, was this gem, which is new to me. I don’t know why Bryan Adams was the person picked to sing about “Reggae Christmas”, but what I do know is that Pee-Wee Herman has dreadlocks, and so all is right in the world.

May Summer Songs: “Summer of ’69”

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Reckless
Reckless

“Summer of ’69”
by Bryan Adams
from the album Sparkle and Fade
1984
Buy the album on Amazon

I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner. It wasn’t even in my mind until Lance did 1979, and we were discussing how timeless the song was even if 1979 wasn’t your summer. This song is the same.

It’s not about being there in the summer of 1969 – it’s about having all the time in the world on your hands, starting a band with your friends, and having it eventually fall apart because everyone grows up and apart. Any of those relevant and timeless? Check, check, and check.

Oh, when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Yeah, I’d always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life

I used to associate this song with my childhood and watching it on MTV, but now there’s a different association. It must be stated that this is the song that Lance and I start every single karaoke night with. It makes a great duet, it warms the voice up, and traditions are important. And damn if this isn’t incredibly fun to sing. This deserves to be sung with your pal, sharing the mic, thinking of days gone by, even if it is just in some tiny, dark karaoke room.