9 Situational Songs for Summer 2017

By Mike Nelson

What’s your song of the summer? It’s a question everyone always wants to know right before Bieber drops new tracks that give us a direct answer.

I consider myself “very qualified” to recommend good music. I consider myself “barely qualified” to predict what will be a hit song, as my music judgment typically ignores commercial success and radio airtime.

So instead of giving you a list of contenders for “Song of the Summer” and just re-hashing the work Rob did (okay, we do overlap on one song...come at me, Rob), I’m giving you something a little different.

Summer presents many different situations and emotions. Being outdoors more and interacting with humans will do that. So to prepare you for those interactions—with me, for yourself, for you to encounter, whatever they may be—I give you my Situational Songs of Summer 2017.

If this comes on at a wedding, I’m going absolutely bananas, and my gin and tonic is inadvertently spilling all over your nephew please get him off the dance floor right now I promise this will be quick.

I'm throwing a hipster dance party, which is really just an '80s dance party with stupider hair and less attention to hygiene for whatever reason.

I don’t care if it came out last year, this is the first summer this song has been around, and I’m going to embrace it because it is universally enjoyable and fits summer perfectly.

I’m an aged hipster and I want in on this '80s-style dance party, but I kinda fell out of touch and shower every day. These guys are still cool, right?

I can’t stand “stadium country,” but I like a little twang, and this is a good compromise for me and my country-loving friends while we take a long drive.

My friends visited from overseas two weeks ago, and they introduced me to this song...soooooo good!

Sitting on a porch, staring out at a lake with a bottle of moonshine, and I have no idea how I got here.

I need something on my summer playlist that says I’m cooler and more culturally aware than I actually am.

My son and his friends want to drive around and play “mailbox baseball,” but they only have their learner’s permits, so guess who gets to drive and has no say in what we listen to.

The Writer’s Guide to Music Archives

Feel-Good Friday: 6 Joshua Radin Songs To Soothe Your Soul

Photo credit: Stephanie Schaefer

By Daniel Ford

I wanted to pay forward some advice that singer-songwriting Joshua Radin shared during his appearance at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre this past Wednesday. He said he was really nervous and unsure of himself when he first started touring, and someone told him that he needed to ditch his envy and his fear.

Naturally, he wrote a song about it, fittingly titled, “No Envy No Fear.” The opening lyrics are perfect advice for any troubled creative type.

Some are reaching, few are there/Want to reign from a hero's chair/Some are scared to fly so high/Well this is how we have to try/Have no envy and no fear

Here are nine more songs to help soothe your soul

“Underwater”

Key lyrics for writers: They keep talking at me/I can't hear what they're saying/I need somewhere I can go/Underwater is where I'll go

“Brand New Day”

Key lyrics for writers: Most kind of stories/Save the best part for last/And most stories have a hero who finds/You make your past your past

“Belong”

Key lyrics for writers: The rain falls over your face/Drowned in this place too long/Well I know that the sun shines and fights for your day/You hear it say be strong, and let it go....

“My My Love”

Key lyrics for writers: So many moons have come and gone all alone/I heard this song inside me to wait/I was told but now I found a different sound/I hear when you're around me/It's something new because of you/I hope I hear it forever

“Tomorrow Is Gonna Be Better”

Key lyrics for writers: Sometimes it's easier to hit the road/When the world is givin' you a heavy load/But if you stay and face it, I know.../Tomorrow is gonna be better

The Writer’s Guide to Music Archives