“Cactus”
by Glen Hansard (originally by The Pixies)
from the Acoustic Lakeside Festival, Austria
2012
Ok, I’m breaking convention a little here, since I posted a different cover version of this last week, but the Wikipedia page for the song mentioned that Glen Hansard and The Frames had covered it in concert once, so I went on a search, and found this. I said I didn’t love the Bowie version, but this version is fantastic, so I thought it deserved its own post.
“Up the Beach”
by Jane’s Addiction
from the album Nothing’s Shocking
1988
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Lance already started off this month’s theme with Jane’s, but it’s this song in particular that matches the theme for me, for a very specific reason/memory. I grew up in CO, and one summer (probably after my sophomore year of HS?), my friend Chris and I decided to go camping at the Great Sand Dunes (totally recommended). I have lots of good memories from the trip, but one that’s always stuck with me is completely blasting this album on the drive there, awesome stereo, open road, being able to look for miles in all directions, windows down, hand riding the air (I’m a dolphin!), feeling epic.
“Surf Wax America”
by Weezer
from the album The Blue Album
1994
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There are a lot of Weezer songs that are summer songs to me. They’re fun, they’re poppy, they make me want to turn them up and sing along and move (it’s tough for me to listen to Weezer at work). A lot of them also have an undercurrent to them that move them beyond a standard pop song.
“Damn Good”
by David Lee Roth
from the album Skyscraper
1988
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Growing up, I was all about country and easy listening music because those were the only two radio stations I could reliably pick up with my clock radio (R.I.P. WSIX 98.6 and Easy 93). When I heard friends talking about Huey Lewis and the News, I thought he was an anchor on channel 13. Men At Work became “Minute Work” which I interpreted as some kind of scholastic study method (I was a weird kid). Eventually though, we got MTV. Although I missed out on a lot pop music as it was happening, I quickly caught up.
One of the first pop cassettes I bought for myself was David Lee Roth’s Skyscraper and I’m not ashamed to say that I absolutely adore it. I must have listened to that whole album a thousand times, although It took me a while to make the entire loop, I’d get hooked on a song, play it through and then quickly rewind and listen again. I became an expert in knowing just how long to keep the button down so that the track was queued perfectly. I can feel the vibration of my Panasonic boom box (with Ambience™) rewinding right now. “Just Like Paradise” and “Stand Up” were perfect singles. “Hina” was just a bizarrely amazing and beautiful song (it’s also a perfect night song). But the song that encapsulates a summer song for me is “Damn Good.”
“Glycerine”
by Bush
from the album Sixteen Stone
1994
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I feel like Bush has gotten a lot of flack, but this album hit at a time where I got really into them (plus I admit, I had a man crush on Gavin Rossdale). I think I stopped listening to them after their second album, but still love Sixteen Stone (actually, looking at the tracklist, I realize I’m way overdue in revisiting it), and I saw them once in Atlanta with either Pearl Jam or No Doubt.
“Cactus”
by David Bowie (originally by The Pixies)
from the album Heathen
2002
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I can’t claim to have ever gotten too into Bowie’s music, but there are certainly standouts, and more than anything, I think he’s kind of the coolest. The coolest what? Whatever. Just definitely one of the coolest.
“3 Is A Magic Number”
by Blind Melon (originally by School House Rock!)
from the album School House Rock! Rocks
1996
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I found this track on a CMJ magazine sampler CD sometime in 1996. A few years later I totally got into MiniDiscs and transferred the tracks I really liked from those sampler CDs to MDs. And then recently when I was moving down to Austin, I transferred those MD mix discs into iTunes. This song has survived three generations of media, and rightfully so. It’s fun, magical little tune and serves as double nostalgia: for Blind Melon and for School House Rock!
“Give It Away”
by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
from the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik
1991
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This song sweats, that’s all there is to it. Even before Stéphane Sednaouie‘s gorgeous video confirmed it, the song had that dessert sun feeling to it. It’s just stanky and funky. I’ve performed this at karaoke a few times and it’s an exhausting song to sing. The structure is relentless and punishing – there’s never a chance to catch your breath. If you put it in the car and crank it and you’ll be excited for whatever adventure you’re driving towards, guaranteed. It’s totally a summer party anthem. Speaking of, this song brings to mind a very specific summer memory.
“Jane Says”
by Jane’s Addiction
from the album Nothing’s Shocking
1988
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“Jane Says” is another one of those songs whose absence from the karaoke songbook is a total head scratcher. Most places will have “Been Caught Stealing” and that makes sense, but then they’ll also have some random track off of Strays but not “Jane Says.” I mean WTF is that about?
“Alone”
by Heart
from the album Bad Animals
1987
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There are songs that make me wish I were a female, just so i could sing them. There are songs that aren’t duets but I convince someone to make it into one. And there are songs that seem like a good idea and then go horribly, horribly wrong. This one checks all three boxes.