Music to Savor Summer’s Last Stretch
By Laurel Sanders
Image Sourced through Pinterest
In May of 2024, Sabrina Carpenter released “Espresso,” and within hours of its release, it was clear it would be a hit single. From the sound to the music video and the radio stations that only pressed replay, everything declared that single the song of the summer. In 2024, Carpenter essentially served as America’s summery, musical groundhog.
And well, this year hasn’t felt as clear. Earnestly, this may be because this is my first summer out of college, and there was no cram for finals or the sweet release of break. Instead, my 9-5 just continues on. But now it’s hotter out, and I have to finagle work-appropriate outfits. But in general, the music hasn’t felt as decided or set. It still feels like everyone’s stuck on BRAT summer or Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. No new song is really sticking out. Every time I turn on the radio, they are playing Benson Boone’s infamous “Moonbeam Icecream” or Alex Warren’s weirdly Christian “Ordinary,” and I’m simply not feeling it.
Obviously, one does not need a “song of the summer”; that’s ridiculous. It’s just like any other season, listen to music you like. But as I've spent the last week listening to The Smiths and Radiohead, decidedly not summery, I pushed myself to make a little playlist. Reviewing old playlists from summers past, I picked some of my favorite songs that have stood the test of time.
There are some oldies but goodies I had to include just for the nostalgia. ABBA, of course. A Beatles song, obviously. Charles & Eddie’s “Would I Lie To You?” Just a few feel-good songs that might get you excited in the face of a sweaty, oppressive summer day.
Image Sourced through Pinterest
In general, summer is a weird and confusing season since you have literally more sunlight hours, making you restless and motivated. But it’s also exhausting and hot, and you just want to lie by the AC and slow down. To kind of capture this latter feeling, I threw in some modern synthier, slower songs. A favorite of mine is Remi Wolf’s “Prescription,” the 7-minute extended version. Another good example is Remy Bond’s song literally titled “Summer Song.” A last one to mention, which conveniently describes most days in NYC, is “Melting” by Kali Uchis.
I needed to balance this out with some nice folky, Indie music. Some light and breezy tunes that serve as a perfect musical backdrop. Wilco’s “Whole Love”. Courtney Barnette’s “Before You Gotta Go”. Vampire Weekend’s “Capricorn”. Just some sweet songs for while you are lying on a picnic blanket or looking out the window on the way to work.
Lastly, I think I started this piece on a negative note. There’s definitely a lot of good music that has come out this summer. Apologies in advance, as I have not gotten around to Lorde’s album Virgin or PinkPantheress’s Fancy That. I quite liked Addison Rae’s debut album, so I threw in my favorite of her singles, “Headphones On”. I also have grown to appreciate Role Model’s “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out”. And my personal song of the summer at the moment is CMAT’s “Take a Sexy Picture of Me,” which feels like a funny mix of happy and sad while also being a groovy ballad and a pop single.
Summer’s not done yet, but I also feel August looming around the corner. Now seems a good time to really romanticize the most of summer, before the heat fatigue fully settles in.
Image Sourced through Pinterest
A Link to Laurel’s Summer Picks: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/122GRCcjMUGQ7LrGp1HIht?si=SJ5RRz_ITISiAl27EpFsew&pi=ocYcTWRCQ4qNe
