It’s almost summer. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to make this summer the best one yet.
This starts with the music that we choose to subject ourselves to. It’s time to change up our playlists for summer (yes, even if you use Apple Music). No more sad Noah Kahan songs for cold, rainy days. Instead, let’s brighten up our playlist with energetic tracks from various artists that will set the stage for sunny memories.
Here are five songs I think you should add to your summer 2024 playlist.
- “Riptide” – Vance Joy (FlicFlac Remix)
This 2013 classic is probably familiar.
However, listen to this FlicFlac remix if you are looking for something to quickly spice up your summer days. It is one of my absolute favorite songs to sing along to on a JBL speaker at the beach with my friends.
Also, Vance Joy doesn’t miss. I especially like “Saturday Sun” by him as well.
- “Barely On My Mind” – The Regrettes
This is a song I recently discovered that I love to scream aggressively while driving. I don’t even remember how exactly I discovered it, but now I can’t remember my life without it.
The chorus is the best part: “Barely on my mind/All the f*ckin’ time.” It’s just so relatable.
This song sums up my thoughts into one sentence perfectly: even when someone is physically gone, they can still easily take up unwanted room in your mind.
Overall, the song is a great reflection of the process of coming to terms with distance.
- “6s to 9s” – Big Wild (ft. Rationale)
Similar to most everything else by Big Wild, this song makes you transcend — particularly the beginning.
The phrase “6s to 9s” derives from the 1967 Jimi Hendrix song “If 6 was 9.” In this original, Hendrix sings that if everything he knew changed (for example, 6s became 9s) and the world didn’t even exist tomorrow, it would simply not phase him.
But Big Wild says that a woman comes along and changes all his 6s to 9s. She completely turns his world upside down despite the fact that he previously thought this would never happen. Romantic and uplifting, right?
- “Run the World!!!” – Dayglow
This is a happy, empowering song.
The first time I heard this song by Dayglow was two years ago at his concert. I did not know a ton of his songs, so I naturally had no expectations.
However, this song immediately released serotonin for everyone in the vicinity. Dayglow was jumping up and down on the stage while performing, and fans were reflecting this exact energy in the crowd.
This song reminds me of “Mean” by Taylor Swift in a sense. They share the idea that we need to brush off negativity from others and not let that affect our perception of what we can accomplish in the world, which I think especially rings true in the summertime.
We shouldn’t take anything too seriously. Sometimes we just need to dance it out with a song like this.
Seriously, I can’t stop my body from dancing every single time I listen to it.
- “Following The Sun” – SUPER-Hi & NEEKA
This is a random techno song that I weirdly love.
I am mostly obsessed with the chorus: “If you’re looking for me baby/You know you can find me/Following the sun/Somewhere running up my heartbeat/I don’t look behind me/Following the sun.”
I think it’s a beautiful way to think of yourself in the summer: chasing the sun and only spending time focusing on the things that make your heartbeat speed up.
I also love the idea of people needing to put in effort to find you because you are independently living your own life. Yet, you are also so well known by others that you can easily be found if needed. It brings up a really interesting duality in being yourself.
So as you curate your summer 2024 playlist, consider allowing these five songs to be your “main character” soundtrack. This means summoning up the courage to ask for aux, too — but that’s a whole ‘nother thing.