Summer is always a time for ultra relaxation, taking a breath, and finding lots of new music. This summer, I traveled from my usual indie and pop genres and got to know some new artists. See who I met along the way.
“Away from You” by Pleaser
Fave Lyric: “now you invade all my dream, i can’t get no sleep. a life without you, don’t feel like life to me”
“Where I’m From” by Digable Planets
Fave Lyric: “It’s hip, what’s hip? When hip is just the norm. ‘Cause Planets pledge allegiance to the funk in all its forms. The kinks, the dance, the prints in all the shirts. My grandmother told my Mama that it’s Africa at work”
“Everybody Wants To Be Famous” by Superorganism
Fave Lyric: “I think it could be me. The world’s too small for me. My face up in your face. My face on every screen.”
“This Night Has Opened My Eyes – 2011 Remaster” by The Smiths
Fave Lyric: “And I’m not happy. And I’m not sad.”
“Cupid’s Chokehold / Breakfast in America” by Gym Class Heroes
Fave Lyric: “It’s been a while since we talked last. And I’m tryin’ hard not to talk fast. But Dad, I’m finally thinkin’ I may have found the one type of girl that’ll make you way proud of your son.”
“Miss Mary” by Sarah and the Sundays
Fave Lyric: “Do you remember when I said I was moving on? Yeah, just forget it. Do you remember how my life just went to shit because I let it?”
“Boyfriend” by Dove Cameron
Fave Lyric: “I don’t need to tell you twice, all the ways hе can’t suffice. If I could give you some advicе, I would leave with me tonight.”
“Pool House” by The Backseat Lovers
Fave Lyric: “I’ll risk it all to find a place where I can hear my thoughts. This song is playing too loud. But upstairs they’re still making out. I’m getting all choked up, I guess it’s just my luck. And I’m stuck on the porch. What am I waiting for?”
“Gay Bar” by Rosie Tucker
Fave Lyric: “Well I think I coulda stayed for forever in the disco. Dancing by the fractured light.”
“superiority complex (big noise)” by illuminati hotties
Fave Lyric: “Oh my god, are you a cop? It’s just I never seen you with a drink before. I mean I, I never seen you take it easy before. So heads up, I’m tossing you another Big Gulp, grah. Big noise. Decoy. You want it? You want a real shot, cowboy? Big noise. Decoy. You want me? You want the real stuff, real noise.”
“General Electric” by The Ophelias
Fave Lyric: “I wanna be just like the girls you like. I wanna be what you fantasize.”
“Wrath Pinned to the Mist and Other Games” by of Montreal
Fave Lyric: “Maybe I’ll never die. I’ll just keep growing younger with you, and you’ll grow younger, too. Now it seems too lovely to be true. But I know the best things always do.”
“Waste My Time” by The Crystal Casino Band
Fave Lyric: “Because we’re just friends. The friends who undress. The friends with loose ends that kiss your neck. And I don’t mind if you waste my time, ’cause I’ve got some I can lose.”
“cult leader” by KiNG MALA
Fave Lyric: “I don’t need your roses, I like men on their knees. Praying up to their god, seeing visions of me.”
“Jealous of Paris” by Haley Joelle
Fave Lyric: “So I guess I’ll just cancel my flight. You’re not the guy I knew who used to try to make things right. If anyone knows how hard it is, it’s me. I tried to tell you but you couldn’t see. Beyond that city”
“Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales” by Car Seat Headrest
Fave Lyric: “And it left you feeling empty as a car coasting downhill. I have become such a negative person. It was all just an act. It was all so easily stripped away.”
“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” by Elle King and Miranda Lambert
Fave Lyric: “I got some new best friends forever, see, I met ’em at the bar. Well, the whiskey goes down better when they don’t know who you are.”
“dorothea” by Taylor Swift
Fave Lyric: “Ooh, this place is the same as it ever was. Ooh, but you won’t like it that way. It’s never too late to come back to my side.”
“FUNERAL GREY” by Waterparks
Fave Lyric: “I said that you can call me, beep me if you want my skin. She rolled her eyes, and then she said, ‘I know your dying wish is to be baptized in my spit.’”
“Fourth of July” by Sufjan Stevens
Fave Lyric: “Did you get enough love, my little dove?Why do you cry? And I’m sorry I left, but it was for the best. Though it never felt right, my little Versailles”
“Mateo” bu Tove Lo
Fave Lyric: “Never see you on your own, but you’re alone. Don’t know why the need to fix you turns me on. Think whoever took your heart is gone forever, is gone forever. And now all the pretty girls, now all the pretty girls, they wanna love you, yeah. Hurting all the pretty girls. That never heard the words ‘It’s not about you.’”
“Blood Orange Morning Light” by Andrew Montana
Fave Lyric: “Sheets like sculpture sliding down your shoulders. I grab my hair, you pull a chair and watch me, watch me.”
“Twenty-something Socialist” by The Crystal Casino Band
Fave Lyric: “Now the Billionaires are up in space. Sky’s no limit if you can pay. We can’t escape our fate. It’s gonna take some time to get along. Polarized in a standoff. But will it be enough?”
“Painkillers” by Rainbow Kitten Surprise
Fave Lyric: “My queen won’t feed on milk and honey. She impartial to the summer sun. She’s a lone fire burning in the sand. And a cold, lonely night without one.”
“She Looks So Perfect” by 5 Seconds of Summer
Fave Lyric: “Let’s get out, let’s get out. ‘Cause this deadbeat town’s only here just to keep us down. While I was out I found myself alone, just thinking. If I showed up with a plane ticket. And a shiny diamond ring with your name on it. Would you wanna run away too? ‘Cause all I really want is you.”
“Better and Worse” by Fishing in Japan
Fave Lyric: “She’s just joking, I’m sure they all say that shit. Wasn’t hoping for what we ended up as. Let’s grow old and get no better. Let’s grow bitter of each other.”
“You Make Me Wanna Die” by The Shivas
Fave Lyric: “Oh, why don’t you need me? Why won’t you see me? Don’t know but you’re on your own. Oh, why don’t you love me? Push me and you shove me?”
“Oak Trees” by Daniel Nunnelee
Fave Lyric: “Cause I’ll be dancing, I’ll be singing, I’ll be spinning ‘round in circles, I’ll be jumping, I’ll be screaming. When I see that silver lining.”
“High Tops” by Del Water Gap
Fave Lyric: “Touch me like you know me, baby when you’re lonely, kiss me on my open mouth. I’ll throw you a rope. I’ll keep pulling you out.”
“Ur Name on a Grain of Rice” by Runner
Fave Lyric: “And I’ve been sick since seventh grade. And it’s not terrible but it’s too long. And we still talk but now it’s changed. Does it hurt more to just move on?”
“Dry” by Rancid Eddie
Fave Lyric: “And it’s torture when you go away (Away). And it’s boring when I see your face (Your face). I think we need some sort of breakaway.”
“The Kiss Of Venus (Dominic Fike)” by Paul McCartney and Dominic Fike
Fave Lyric: “Then I asked her, have you read the paper? Okay. People talking about which side they’re taking. And if you know, then, baby, what’s your take on it? Does it make you wanna leave? ‘Cause I could look the other way for you.”
“Rapido” by Mikey Vanhailen
Fave Lyric: “I tried to get in contact with you but you blocked me though, damn, you did that shit rapido. And I promise that I’ll recover but you got me though (I lied).”
“Friends” by emma løv, Loote and JORDY
Fave Lyric: “We can make out. Don’t count if we’re closing our eyes. Don’t you know that you and I could have the time of your life? If you’re scared you’re gonna want some more, I can be the friend you’re looking for.”
“Anybody” by BIZZY
Fave Lyric: “Lately I’vе been thinking ‘bout the standards that I set and they’re high, but I think I could climb down for a night.”
“Made Up Story” by Andi
Fave Lyric: “Your lips speak the truth and my heart is yours to take. Ever trusting you would be my best mistake. ‘Cause every word is smooth when I’m looking in your eyes. I wonder what it feels like when the time is right.”
“Participation Trophies” by Madelline
Fave Lyric: “Now 3 a.m., I’m playing words with friends. I go to bed but I’m way too wired (Ah). Start a new job tomorrow. Oh, wait! It’s already tomorrow. Wash my sheets first time in six weeks. Found my airpods in thе dryer (Ah). Something is wrong with me (ahh). Guеss I’m just too Type B.”
“Past Tense (Bonus Track)” by JORDY
Fave Lyric: “Let me say I miss you. Don’t got to say it back. I’ve tried to keep my mouth shut. And keep us in the past. You’re the only one that’s ever really known me. But lately I’ve been kinda jealous of the old me. So let me say I love you. You use to say it back.
“Strangers” by Mercer
Fave Lyric: “Nothin’ ever feels right. Shirt stained with red wine. Can we go to August back in time? Wish I could tell you, startin’ to resent you. Hittin’ up your exes late at night.”
“12.38 (feat. 21 Savage, Ink & Kadhja Bonet)” by Childish Gambino, 21 Savage, Ink & Kadhja Bonet
Fave Lyric: “‘This better not be no molly.’ She just laughed and closed the door. Dark chocolate, sea salt, I took a bite. She said, ‘We gon’ have a special night.’”
“Do You Love Me (Part 2) – 2011 Remastered Version” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Fave Lyric: “And the city streets crack and a great hole forces me down with my soapbox, my pulpit. The theatre ceiling is silver star spangled. And the coins in my pocket go jingle-jangle.”
“Maeve” by Indigo
Fave Lyric: “We’ll have an old-fashioned car with some plants in the window. Mark my words. And a place you crochet by the fire when it snows. Mark my words.”
“Bon Vivant” by Popa
Fave Lyric: “Bellini, Martini, Jacuzzi e bikini. Veline velini servizi esclusivi. Bon vivant bon vivant bon bon.”
“Surfin’” by Kid Cudi and Pharrell Williams
Fave Lyric: “Uh, tonight is electrical. I done told y’all, this the cinema, I am on my Kubrick horn. Like a Spielberg Close Encounter form.”
“Sugar Daddy” by Qveen Herby
Fave Lyric: “Looking back on the boys that I dated (Ooh). All the popular boys overrated (Ooh). Give me brains, money bags, if he’s ancient. I’m a young lady taking donations (Yeah, yeah, yeah). CEO, might take me on trips (On trips). Pack a suit, might have a few ships (Few ships).”
“Can’t Hurt Me” by Haiden
Fave Lyric: “I hear what you aren’t saying. See you being shady, but let it be.’Cause I’m too weak so. I kiss your head on your way out. But can’t ask you where you’ve been. ‘Cause I believe that what I don’t know can’t hurt me.”
“Teenage Dream” by Stephen Dawes
Fave Lyric: “Before you met me, I was alright. But things were kinda heavy, you brought me to life. Now every February, you’ll be my Valentine, Valentine.”
“Maybe My Soulmate Died” by iamnotshane
Fave Lyric: “Maybe my soulmate died, I don’t know, maybe I don’t have a soul. What if I saw you on the train last night and I just walked on by?”
“I’m Ready To Move On/Mickey Mantle Reprise” by Bleachers
Fave Lyric: “I’ve gotta get myself back home soon. Goodbye to the kids I’d have. I’m trying to get myself back home. Everybody who lent me a favor”
“I Fall In Love Too Easily” by Chet Baker
Fave Lyric: “I fall in love too terribly hard for love to ever last.”
“Mr Loverman” by Ricky Montgomery
Fave Lyric: “I’m headed straight for the floor. The alcohol’s served its tour. And it’s headed straight for my skin. Leaving me daft and dim. I’ve got this shake in my legs. Shaking the thoughts from my head. But who put these waves in the door? I crack and out I pour.”
“Melbourne” by Melanie MacLauren
Fave Lyric: “Ooh ooh ooh you’re gonna make me go insane. Ooh ooh ooh sandy shoes and pick up games.”
“Pierre” by Ryn Weaver
Fave Lyric: “On the Fourth of July, I met a man, “Pierre.” Lied about his age, but I didn’t care, Spoke in broken English but the heart was there. In those eyes of sky and ocean blue. ‘Cause I wouldn’t be with you.”
“Strawberry Sunscreen” by Lostboycrow
Fave Lyric: “Don’t really care if it rains or it shines, I’m still stuck inside. The treasure chest center of both of your eyes. Kiss with them open, see what it’s like to be loved.”
“Double Vision” by 3OH!3
Fave Lyric: “I’m thinkin’ maybe, I can’t have relationships. ‘Cause lately, they’re not making any sense. And baby, you’re the one thing on my mind. But that can change anytime.”
“Hold It In” by Jukebox The Ghost
Fave Lyric: “If there’s a God, He’s embarrassed, and it’s no secret why. Only thing that He can do is hold it in, hold it— *gasp*”
“Empty” by Kevin Abstract
Fave Lyric: “I hate my yearbook photo. I hate my passport, I hate my last name, I hate everything it stands for, I should probably fucking transfer. Blue and brown JanSport, tired of public transport. I never went to prom, now I’m stuck on the dance floor. Just holding your hand, just holding your hand. // And I’ll be right outside your front door on my 12 speed. I got your emotions tattooed on my sleeve. I think about you all the time, I’ve waited for you all my life. // I love my mom, I hate my boyfriend. Do you love my mom? (I love my mom, I love my mom). Do you hate my boyfriend? (But I love my mom).”
Note: If I could paste this whole song in here, I would.
“for the people in the back” by ROLE MODEL
Fave Lyric: “I found a place to be myself. And there’s not room for no one else.”
“Chloe (You’re the One I Want)” by Emblem3
Fave Lyric: “Front page magazine. Everybody says that she’s a queen. But that’s you to me, I just wanna let you know that. She likes the flashing lights. I love the way that you like candle light.”
To listen to the songs of the summer, go here!
For April’s songs of the month, go here!
For March’s songs of the month, go here!
For February’s songs of the month, go here!
For January’s songs of the month, go here!