Summer Playlist

Or, Standing on a Hill in a Mountain of Dreams, Telling Myself It’s Not as Hard, Hard, Hard, Hard as it Seems.

I said I would post this last wek. It’s my summer playlist so far. There will be a part two. Maybe three. Depends on how often I get tired of music this summer, I guess.

My playlist is entitled,”Making it Good: Summer ‘09.”

1. Sharp Dressed Man – ZZ Top: Every girl’s crazy about one.
2. Under the Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers: This song speaks summer to me.
3. Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes – Paul Simon: A repeat from last summer. This song makes me happy.
4. Fever – Peggy Lee: I love the sultry quality of this song. It’s just awesome.
5. Lying in the Hands of God – Dave Matthews Band: There is something about Dave Matthews that really makes summer feel summery to me. This is off his newest album.
6. Don Henley – Boys of Summer: Obviously. I love belting out this song driving down the highway. And I love the way it’s haunting and nostalgic and hopeful all at once. And it reminds me of the book The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares, which I read a few weeks ago.
7. Use Somebody – Kings of Leon: Um, hi. This song is AMAZING. You should be BFFs with this song immediately.
8. Don’t Stop Believing – Journey: A nice, classic, sing-a-long driving anthem.
9. Going to California – Led Zeppelin: I used to not like Led Zeppelin, until I found out I actually did. This song is my favorite, and it exemplifies a lot of the escapist feelings I have about summer.
10. Shadowboxer – Fiona Apple: This is one of my favorite songs from Childhood. I love it still, and perhaps more now. I love to sing it at the top of my lungs over and over until I go hoarse. That is the sort of self-destructive behavior I endorse.
11. Space Oddity – David Bowie: I have no explanation for this other than having listened to it on the radio the day before I made this playlist. It makes me super sad, but it’s a cool song.
12. Everybody Wants to Rule the World – Tears for Fears: Tears for Fears was the choice listening material of my painting class last semester. Also, the day there were super bad Tornado Warnings and such near my house, this was going through my head whilst waiting in the storm cellar. It’s my favorite Tears for Fears song.
13. Walk on the Ocean – Toad the Wet Sprocket: When I was in High School, before I could drive, one time, Denise drove around my cul de sac approxiamtely 823 times until this song was over. We might have listened to it more than once. Anyway, it’s another song that evokes a sense of summer for me.
14. Crossroads – Tracy Chapman: This is the coolest Tracy Chapman song ever, and I would have never discovered it without my lovely friend Natalie who gifted me her iTunes essentials. “I’m trying to protect what I keep inside/All the reasons why I live my life…All you folks think you run my life/Say I should be willing to compromise/I say all you demons go back to hell/I’ll save my soul save myself.”
15. Wedding Dress – Derek Webb: I am obsessed with this song. I listen to it on repeat a ridiculous amount. It is amazing. “I am a whore I do confess/I put you on just like a wedding dress and/Run down the aisle/I’m a prodigal with no way home/I put you on just like a ring of gold and/Run down the aisle.”
16. Bend and Not Break – Dashboard Confessional: Yes, I still listen to Dashboard. In fact, I heart them. Furthermore, I heart this song, and it’s tenacity.
17. Come Together – Joe Cocker: From the Across the Universe Soundtrack. One of the few Beatles songs I really enjoy. The crazy lyrics are fantastical.
18. Five O’Clock World – The Vogues: Except, around camp, it’s usually a Nine O’Clock World. It still echoes many of my sentiments, though. Plus, it’s super fun.

~ by Amanda Mae on 23 June 2009.