Summertime is approaching soon, which means that it is time to start listening to your summer playlists and albums. I love to assign albums to specific seasons, though I honestly will still listen to these albums year-round.
Many albums just fit a certain season more than others, and when I think of a summer album, I think about upbeat songs that I would play on the beach and relaxing songs I could play while reading and sitting on a porch. I won’t talk about all of the albums I associate with the summer season, but just a few that I like.
The Big Revival – Kenny Chesney
This album has Kenny Chesney’s most popular song on it, “American Kids.” Just from hearing this song, you know that the rest of the album will have a similar vibe. This album is such a good country summer album. The most relaxing, laid-back song on it is “Don’t It,” but it still has a nice summer feeling. This album isn’t the only Kenny Chesney album that gives off summer vibes — his other albums have a similar feeling, too. I think this specific album is just the first one I think of when I think of Kenny Chesney, especially when I play his music in my car with my windows down or when I’m sitting on the beach with my family.
Danger Days – My Chemical Romance
This album has mostly upbeat songs, except for “The Kids from Yesterday,” which is definitely the saddest song on the album. Danger Days is most different from the other My Chemical Romance albums. This band doesn’t normally make summer albums, and I would say their other albums fit the fall and winter seasons more. When Danger Days was released, a lot of people didn’t really like this album too much. I think people were upset with the difference in genre. Do people hate joy and whimsy? My Chemical Romance dropped this album, and it is incredible. I personally do not care how different it is from their other ones. They wanted to switch up the vibe, and they did it perfectly so that it fit into the summer season well. They quite literally have a song on this album called “Summertime,” and it is a beautiful song.
American Heartbreak – Zach Bryan
Zach Bryan has amazing albums. I found that a lot of the songs on this album were in my summer playlists. This album is a solid two hours long, and it is one of my favorite albums to put on during a nice summer day. This album fits the feeling of sitting on a porch on a hot summer day, eating some snacks with a drink in hand, chatting with your family and friends. Or maybe even just chilling outside by yourself with a book. Some of the songs are nice and relaxing, while others are upbeat and danceable. I think that is what makes the album so summerlike in my eyes. This album has a nice mix of relaxing and upbeat songs, and even though I listen to this album all year round, I always get reminded of the summertime. The one song I think has the most summer vibes to it is “If She Wants a Cowboy.” This song is one of the upbeat ones, though the song “Late July,” which opens the album, is super calm and relaxing, and I associate it with summertime, quite literally because it has a summer month in the title.
Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen
This is a quintessential summer album to me because it specifically reminds me of a friend of mine who moved down the shore. When I say “down the shore,” I mean from Philly to the Jersey Shore. A close friend of mine I went to high school with now lives in Wildwood, New Jersey, and she loves Bruce Springsteen. She definitely got me more into his music. I love listening to this album year-round, but there is something about it that makes it better to listen to over the summer. The song “Glory Days” on this album especially reminds me of driving through Philly or driving in Wildwood and Cape May with my friend. Bruce Springsteen has some incredible songs, but this album has always specifically stuck with me during those summer months because of my friend.
Californication – Red Hot Chili Peppers
This album just immediately reminds me of a vacation just because of the album title. The guitar, vocals, drums, and especially the slap bass just tie everything together and make this album a summer album. I love the way the Red Hot Chili Peppers will just speed up their songs at some point — there is something so groovy about their music, but I had to just pick one of their albums to talk about. This album opens with “Around the World,” which starts off with a vacation vibe already. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are from California, so they definitely know what a hot summer is like. There is something about bands from California that always perfect a specific genre of music, like indie, rock, pop and more.
I love a good pop-punk album in the summer, and “Ocean Avenue” by Yellowcard is one of them. What makes this band different from many other pop-punk bands is that they use a violin in their songs. The violin immediately makes me jump with joy to describe it in the best way. When I heard the song “Ocean Avenue” for the first time ever, I was shocked to hear the violin. I immediately listened to the rest of the album, and I have associated it with the summer season ever since. Many people know Yellowcard because of this album — that’s how I know them, too. I honestly feel like they are a bit underrated in the pop-punk community, even though “Ocean Avenue” is their biggest song. I do think their other albums are a bit underrated and get pushed aside.
Overall, there are plenty of other albums I associate with the summer, but I cannot talk about all of them in just one column. I could go on and on about all the albums I associate with the summer because there are so many. I am someone who enjoys associating albums with specific seasons, and I even make season-based Spotify playlists as well. Summer albums have such a beautiful feeling to them, and I hope I gave you some new suggestions.
Have summer album recommendations? You can email them to Irene at inm24@pitt.edu.