Welcome, summer
Ten tunes for this first day of summer 2008:
Girls In Their Summer Clothes (winter mix) – Bruce Springsteen
California (Phantom Planet cover) – Mates of State
Constructive Summer (live at Non-Comm) – Hold Steady
It’s Your Thing – Isley Brothers (this cut from Out of Sight)
Electric Music and the Summer People – Beck
Sunshine (Jonathan Edwards cover) – Paul Westerberg
Summersong – The Decemberists
Burned (Buffalo Springfield cover) – Wilco
Summer In The City – Regina Spektor
Nightswimming – R.E.M.
Check out the corresponding selections at Some Velvet Blog and The Late Greats as well — and choose your own summer adventure.
Name: Heather Browne
I first heard that Mates of State cover on an episode of This American Life and eventually started listening to it over and over just for that song. It’s great. Especially since I overplayed the Phantom Planet version years ago. Thanks for posting that!
cheryl.andrey — June 20, 2008 @ 7:16 am
I’ll totally cop to loving Paul Westerberg’s cover of “Sunshine,” as well as the original.
Kathy — June 20, 2008 @ 8:25 am
I came here linked on The Late Greats, and when I saw your playlist I instantly put you in my favorites list. Anyone who puts Nightswimming on a playlist has to be worth reading.
Love your choices…. and I’m glad to see you’re a Josh Ritter fan as well! 
Heather — June 20, 2008 @ 9:49 am
Funny, I was thinking, just yesterday, about what songs I would put on my ‘summer mix.’
Coldplay’s ‘Strawberry Swing’ would most definitely make the cut.
Dan Kalbach — June 20, 2008 @ 12:02 pm
I have always liked “It’s Your Thing”. After downloading it and listening to it again after many years; it’s safe to say it’s in my top five. You can not deny the POWER of this song. Thanks for posting it.
As a side note, I knew some of the people who were in the “Nightswimming” video from when I was in college. It brings back memories of early 90′s Athens, GA… That was cool too. ..I’m all verclempt…talk amongst yourself….how very 90′s of me…
kurt — June 20, 2008 @ 6:04 pm
Sorry, another post… I have never heard that Bruce Springteen song before. Wow… By the way,I know this is really past due, if you ever go to D.C. again, catch the Metro to Arlington and go to ITOA. That place always books the best acts about 8 months before people know it. I saw Ryan Adams and Jack Johnson there before anyone knew who they were. (Give me a break on the Jack Johnson viewing, how was I suppose to know.) Also the The Zoo Bar is cool for D.C. Blues, and it is right across the street from the D.C. Zoo. So you take the Metro to the Zoo and have an unpretenious experience with cool people…
kurt — June 20, 2008 @ 6:32 pm
Heather – you and your friends got me started on a blog search for “summertime”. I hit the motherlode – go to
http://inkhornterm.blogspot.com/2008/06/verano-meatballs-are-you-ready-for.html
for music, words, and pictures galore!
Jeff
Anonymous — June 21, 2008 @ 12:36 pm
Thanks for the songs. That magazine caption (“will new orleans lose it’s river?”) seems quite odd now in light of recent times (I’m from Louisiana). Just strange to see in print so long ago. Again, thanks — great songs, and I always enjoy your writing.
shwhiddon@yahoo.com — June 23, 2008 @ 9:47 am
Good Job!
Carlo — July 4, 2008 @ 4:59 am
very nice
Anonymous — September 27, 2008 @ 11:53 pm