Teenagers have to bitch. It's a way to let off steam, and Eddie's got so much steam that it's fogging the windows. The boy's just gotta rock 'n' roll.
"Sometimes I wonder, what I'm a gonna do
For there ain't no cure
For the Summertime Blues."
He knows exactly what he's "a gonna" do: he's going to sing this song. He's going to rock 'n' roll. That's the cure for the "Summertime Blues": a song as great as this.
"Born to Run" - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (1975)
The greatest song about driving ever recorded - insanely delirious energy squeezed into the front seat as Springsteen and "Wendy" speed in search of "that place [they] really want to go" where they'll "walk in the sun," because tramps like them, baby, they were born to run.
"I Can See Clearly Now" - Johnny Nash (1972)
Interesting that one of the greatest reggae — and one of the most effervescently optimistic — songs ever recorded was written, sung and produced by a soul singer from Texas, Johnny Nash, who caught the reggae bug and began recording in Jamaica in the late-'60s. It didn't hurt that he was backed by the Wailers or that his smooth tenor is ideal for declaring "I can see clearly now." It's "gonna be a bright (bright) sun-shiny day" indeed.
"Three Little Birds" - Bob Marley and the Wailers (1977)
The sunniest song by the royalty of reggae, with loping beat, island breezy melody and utterly infectious imagery: "Rise up this morning/Smiled with the rising sun/Three little birds pitch by my doorstep" - the three birds being both a literal image, and representative of Marley's female backup singers, the I-Threes, who trade lines with him throughout the song.
"No Shirt No Shoes (No Problems)" - Kenny Chesney (2002)
Jimmy Buffett isn't the only country-leaning American singer with an affinity for the Mexican Caribbean. Chesney's rich voice and spirit lift this classic get away tune:
"Want a towel on a chair in the sand by the sea
want to look through my shades and see you there with me
Want to soak up life for a while
In laid back mode
No boss, no clock, no stress, no dress code"
It's the "Margaritaville" scenario without the internal conflict because the stay isn't open-ended.
"California Sun" - The Dictators (1975)
This version of "California Sun" by NYC proto-punks the Dictators, is an explosive, jungle-drumming, speaker-switching, guitar-ripping take on the Riviera's surf classic. The band's occasional goofiness is (mostly) set aside here as they spy the California ideal from 3,000 miles away.
Article comments
1 - Tim Hall
I thought of this post yesterday afternoon. The sound of "Good Vibrations" was blasting out speakers outside HMV in Manchester. And the weather was typical Manchester at this time of year, cold and wet.
2 - Eric Olsen
thanks for thinking of it Tim! We've had pretty great weather of late - mostly clear and warm, but cooling over the weekend. As bright and azure the sky, it felt like fall when I was out mowing the lawn: the angle of the sun in the sky casting very long shadows
3 - Jessica
Cool list!
4 - Eric Olsen
thanks Jessica - Swedes rule! Apart from Norwegians, of course