Listen up - it's summer

Summer sounds

By: Grant Snider

Posted: 6/2/08

Whether you're conquering the world at your internship, cursing the heat or cuddling beside the pool, your summer months need a soundtrack. Here are some essential summer sounds that you can count on one hand (unless you're one of "The Simpsons").

Five "Summer" Songs:

1. "Summer Babe (Winter Version)" by Pavement: Driven by warm, fuzzy guitars and the lazy delivery of Stephen Malkmus. College rock bands have been trying to replicate it ever since.

2. "The Summer" by Yo La Tengo: This is what a sticky New Jersey summer night must sound like.

3. "Summer Days" by Bob Dylan: The elderly, gravelly-throated Dylan takes on old fashioned rock 'n' roll.

4. "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince: Makes you long for the days of hi-top fades and neon windbreakers.

5. Anything by Donna Summer.

Five Can't-Miss

Summer Concerts:

1. Feist, July 13 at Starlight Theatre

2. My Morning Jacket, July 18 at the Uptown Theatre

3. The Roots, July 3 at the Voodoo Lounge

4. Willie Nelson, July 20 at Liberty Hall in Lawrence

5. Tom Waits, June 26 at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis

Five Great Bands You've (Probably) Never Heard Of:

1. Superchunk - Prolific '90s rockers were a raw alternative to "alternative rock." Frontman Mac McCaughan founded Merge Records, home to Spoon, Arcade Fire and numerous other awesome bands.

2. Wire - On their hugely influential 1977 debut "Pink Flag," these British art-punks mix aggression and rhythm without skimping on hooks.

3. The Weakerthans - These guys are unfailingly Canadian, with earnest pop-punk songs about hockey goalies and house cats.

4. Christine Fellows - Bright folk melodies combined with ambient electronic flourishes brought her 2005 album "Paper Anniversary" close to perfection. She's also Canadian, and I think she's married to a guy from The Weakerthans.

5. Lifter Puller - Hilarious, warped poetry about drugged-out tragic heroes with song titles like "The Gin and the Sour Defeat." This was Craig Finn's band prior to forming The Hold Steady.

Five Classic Albums You Must Listen To Immediately:

1. Van Morrison - "Astral Weeks": You won't hear these songs on the radio, and they don't sound remotely like "Brown Eyed Girl." But they are beautiful.

2. Elvis Costello - "This Year's Model": Sneering vocals, frantic organ and flawless songwriting. The Hold Steady sang, "at least in dying you don't have to deal with New Wave for a second time." If that's the case, I'll sure miss early Elvis Costello.

3. Tom Waits - "Rain Dogs": His most bizarre, diverse and inspired album. Songs include a creepy Disney-like tune ("Singapore"), weepy country ("Blind Love"), a New Orleans funeral march ("Anywhere I Lay My Head") and a song Rod Stewart covered ("Downtown Train"). Selected lyric: "Well it's 9th and Hennepin/all the donuts have names that sound like prostitutes."

4. The Beastie Boys - "Paul's Boutique": Possibly the most lawsuit-inducing album of all time, due to its ubiquitous samples.

5. GZA - "Liquid Swords": The gilded age of the Wu-Tang Empire.

Five Reasons Why FM Radio is So Monotonous:

1. At any moment in the day, at least one station will be playing that new Coldplay single.

2. Despite their silken voices delivering deliciously informative stories, those NPR anchors really aren't very attractive in person. Otherwise they'd be on television.

3. It ensures that "Carry on Wayward Son" and "Witchy Woman" will live forever, much like Styrofoam plates or zombies. Meanwhile, Thin Lizzy tunes appear to be biodegradable.

4. I haven't heard one song by the Wu-Tang Clan on "Hot 103 Jamz!"

5. Contemporary country music ad nauseam.

gsnider@unews.com