song of the summer

I don’t listen to podcasts regularly, but I absolutely love Vox’s Switched on Pop, in which musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding talk about various popular hits over the years and unpack why they’re so great. (Some of my favorite episodes: Billie Eilish is a Different Kind of Pop Star, The Pure Pop of Charlie Puth + Carly Rae, Harry Styles, Eschatology and Teen Girl Fandom, and How to “Make Me Feel” with Lizzo. Just to name a few.)

On July 7, Nate and Charlie released an episode in which they compiled a list of their listeners’ favorite summer songs, organized them into brackets, and decided which of the twelve songs deserve the title of Song of the Summer in 2020. (And for the record, out of the twelve, I’d pick “Do It” by Chloe X Halle.) This episode got me thinking: what even is a “song of the summer”? How do we even begin to define that term, especially during a time when not many people are driving around listening to music with their friends, and they’re also definitely not going out to clubs and hearing music there? How can something be a true song of the summer if we’re just listening to it while bored and quiet in our homes?

I texted some friends and asked them two questions: 1) How would you define a “song of the summer”? and 2) What is your song of the summer? Here are their fun, thought-provoking answers (edited for length and clarity):

WHAT IS A “SONG OF THE SUMMER”?

“I think it has to be a certain level of upbeat. Something you can shake your booty to. Generally pop or hip-hop or rap are the most common genres for song of the summer. It has to be something that you would hear played in the club all summer, but we’re in a pandemic so there are no clubs… Everybody has to be talking about it, it has to be the talk of the town.”

-Ally

“Pre-pandemic, I’d define a ‘song of the summer’ as a tune that was catchy, exciting, dynamic, energetic, and possessed a universal appeal (garnering fans across racial, ethnic, and class lines). Something boppy, like ‘Wild Thoughts’ with Rihanna, DJ Khaled, and Bryson Tiller immediately comes to mind when you ask me about a ‘song of the summer.’ They also have to be relatable in some way; we, as consumers of pop culture, must see ourselves, somehow, in our beloved tunes.

Pandemic-present world, any song that instills a sense of jubilance, calm, peace, or any feeling of emotional unwind in general qualifies as a ‘song of the summer’ for me. The COVID-19 pandemic has felt like a rollercoaster-whirlwind hybrid of emotional unease, and music has been a respite, an oasis in a desert of uncertainty and fear. Whichever tunes act as balms to the spirit qualify as ‘songs of the summer,’ as far as I’m concerned.”

-Amaya

“I would define a ‘song of the summer’ as a song released in a particular summer which is seemingly defined by its ubiquity during that particular summer; it is a song that, in a typical summer, you can’t go anywhere without hearing it over store speakers or on the radio. It may or may not reach #1 on the charts, but there’s a certain recognition factor that makes it so the average person at the very least knows the tune. Often, songs of the summer reach that level of ubiquity by being a pop song with a) an upbeat tempo b) simple lyrics and c) a catchy hook. Of course, this isn’t a rule, but the ideal ‘song of the summer’ is easily shareable, very universally relevant, not too deep, but not so simple it’s annoying either.”

-Elizabeth

“A song of the summer is a song that you listen to repeatedly, for at least one to two months. Ideally something that you discovered in May or June. July is cutting it close, but it’s fine. You need to listen to it all the time. And if you get tired of it while it’s still the summer, then it’s not the song of the summer, clearly.

Actually, you might not even realize something is your song of the summer until the summer is over. And then later you listen to it and realize, ‘Oh my God. That’s my song of the summer.’ That’s how you can really coin what your song of the summer is.”

-Sabrina

WHAT IS YOUR SONG OF THE SUMMER?

“My own personal song of the summer [is] ‘Rascal‘ by Tinashe. Sadly for my queen Tinashe, I don’t think it’s gotten the traction to be considered a song of the summer. So I think the song of the summer right now is WAP, obviously. I’d say that Flo Milli’s album Hoe why is you here is the album of the summer.”

-Ally

“The song of the summer has been canceled until further notice, because summer was canceled.”

-Mike

“When talking about a specific person’s ‘song of the summer,’ the ubiquity and release date are no longer a factor — instead, it’s replaced by repetition and relevancy. Someone could be the only person in the world listening to that song, but as long as they listen to it on repeat enough that when thinking back on this specific summer they think of this song, then it’s the song of their summer. By that metric, I’d say the two songs of my summer are ‘seven‘ by Taylor Swift and ‘Mexico‘ by The Staves.”

-Elizabeth

“My song of the summer is ‘Bad Habit‘ by Your Smith. I love how it conjures a dreamy, unhealthy, but fun love. The sound of it is really exciting to me… It’s [my] song of the summer because the summer has been really hard for me, with family dynamics and the uprisings and losing my friend… I’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors, and I always play this song on my bike speaker when I’m biking. It’s such a good song to breeze through the trees to.

My friend who passed, Zahara, I was going through her Spotify playlists and this song was on her algorithm playlist of songs she couldn’t get enough of in June. So I feel connected to her through this song.”

-Anju

“These are my songs of the summer, in no particular order.

A) “Complete the Work” – Dorinda Clark-Cole, Florida A&M Gospel Choir, Twinkie Clark         

I’ve been finding myself going back to the music of the Black church. Maybe that’s not a precisely perfect statement; Black gospel music never left me. Even before the pandemic, my church attendance had been waning ever since I turned 18. However, I’ve always wanted to deepen my familiarity with Black gospel and learn more about the Black gospel tradition. I’ll link the live performance here for you.

B) “Greasy” – Ojerime                 

This gave me ’90s vibes the first time I heard it, and I couldn’t get over it. I love the sound and the smoothness of Ojerime’s vocals. I definitely wish I could be out on a dancefloor somewhere, surrounded by my girls, bopping to this song. I’m surprised by how underrated she is; the YouTube video has less that 10,000 views.  

C) “Foreplay” – Shenseea  

I fantasize about being able to dance to this song in a group setting. Shenseea, a Jamaican singer, boldly proclaims her love of foreplay on this track, and I love it. I think her song reflects what I’d like to see in the world, namely a world where Black women can fully and unabashedly express our sexual desires without shame. 

D) “WAP” – Cardi B ft. Megan thee Stallion               

Of course, ‘WAP’ follows ‘Foreplay’ perfectly. Just like Shenseea’s song, we have a continuation of Black women’s articulations of sexual desire(s). I’m a fan of this song not just because I find the beat infectious, but also because it pushes me to think about how society receives Black women speaking our sexual yearnings. In my upbringing, scant space existed for a full-bodied and luscious expression of sexuality; the possibility of being considered hypersexual or a ‘Jezebel’ precluded that. Yet, I look to the future to see how we continue to claim and reclaim ourselves as sexual beings, in and outside the direct eyes of pop culture.”

-Amaya

“It’s Red Hearse. It’s their entire album, but really it’s ‘Born to Bleed.’ That is my song of the summer. I found it last month and I’ve been listening to it nonstop. I don’t think I could ever get tired of it, but I will at some point. I’ve made four playlists with it. I discovered it in late June.

There’s a difference between [the world’s] song of the summer and your individual song of the summer. Remember ‘Get Lucky’? That was a song of the summer for 2013, but it wasn’t necessarily my song of the summer. My song of that summer was probably a Linkin Park song. If my song this summer is called ‘Born to Bleed,’ then my song of the summer in 2013 was probably a Linkin Park song.”

-Sabrina

Okay, hi! Back to me. It’s Geej again. You know what I realized during this journey? There’s a difference between asking “What is the song of the summer?” and “What is your song of the summer?” and I hadn’t thought about that distinction when asking these questions! Oops! Anyway, these answers were so great to read, and I’m so excited to listen to all of the songs mentioned.

As for myself, I’d say that “WAP” is the song of the summer, while my song of the summer is undeniably, unquestionably “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” by Caroline Polachek. The pandemic has been all about yearning, which means that this summer has been all about yearning, and this track is perhaps the ultimate yearning song. Here’s the thing, it’s not just that Caroline’s crush is hot. It’s the fact that they’re hot, and Caroline can’t see them! They’re not around! She wrote this song about what it’s like to be in a long-distance relationship while on tour, so… pandemic mood? Absolutely.

The climax of the song sounds like it might be a guitar solo, but listen again and you’ll realize that it is not! It is, in fact, Caroline making the wildest sounds you’ve ever heard come out of a human being’s mouth! She’s also singing, “Show me the banana” over and over in the background, but I’m not talking about that bit, I am talking about the guitar solo she does with her VOCAL CORDS! Just listen to those twenty seconds and you’ll be able to mentally, emotionally, and spiritually understand what I have been going through this summer.

What do you think a song should sound like in order to qualify as a “song of the summer”? What do you think is the song of the summer this year? What is your personal song of the summer this year? Please let me know in the comments below and I will happily listen to all of your recommendations. In the meantime, if you need me, I’ll be in my apartment trying to learn the dance that Caroline does in her music video. Bye!