The songs of summer — it’s so true. There’s something about certain songs that just mean summer. Over at Soul Sides, they’ve been running lists of summer songs (Check it out here, here, here, and here). Certain songs bring back memories of particular summers. For example, TLC‘s “No Scrubs” was the summer jam of 1999; they played the damn thing every ten minutes and I never got tired of it. Prince‘s whole Purple Rain album brings back the greatest summer of my life: 1984. Particularly memorable are the album track “When Doves Cry” and the B-side “Erotic City.”
So, check out the comments from the beginning of the Soul Sides series (Go here and then to comments). Three people recommend DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince‘s song “Summertime.” I hate that song! It’s a lame-ass summer song. You know why? Because it’s a total rip-off of the much superior “Summertime” that was released by Doug E. Fresh two years earlier, in 1989. Take a listen for yourself. Sorry that the audio isn’t the greatest quality.
The song uses a sample from Dr. Savannah’s Original Buzzard Band’s “Sunshower,” which has also been referenced in the song “Sun Shawa” from the hot new British-Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A., who’s just been nominated for a Mercury Prize in Britain. Consider it a bonus summer song.
Doug E. Fresh – Summertime
M.I.A. – Sun Shawa — BUY
UPDATE: There’s a discussion over at Stereogum about the songs of this summer, based on an article from the NY Daily News.
One Response
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JOHN FOSTER Says:
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN………….IF YOU GET A CHANCE, CHECK OUT “SUMMER DREAM” OFF OF MY WEBSITE: http://WWW.JOHNFOSTERMUSIC.COM KIND OF A COOL VIBEY SUMMER SONG. THANKS JF