Summer Fun!

Although my summer won't really begin until June 23rd (the day after the last day of school when I'm done teaching the little rugrats), today the warm weather hit for real. With temps in the 80's and humidity to match, today was the first day it was sticky enough that I just wanted to sit around, kick back, and drink refreshing beverages. To top it off, the forecast calls for temps in the 90's on Monday. So, to celebrate the warm weather, I've assembled some songs that invoke the spirit of summer. Download, listen, and consume your favorite beverage that has a little umbrella in it.

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Summertime (mp3) - Homebase

Back before Independence Day, Men In Black, and Hitch, there was no Will Smith, there was only the Fresh Prince. This song came late in his Fresh Prince period and truly sums up all that is good with summer: cruising for girls, block parties, basketball courts, and barbecues.

Nat King Cole - Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer (mp3) - Buy some Nat

I know, I know, what is a guy like Nat doing on a summer tunes mix? Believe me though this song has summer picnic written all over it.

that dog - One Summer Night (mp3) - Totally Crushed Out!

This band came, they saw, and they disappeared (after releasing a couple of catchy pop-ish albums). I really can't tell you much about this group other than I like them.

G. Love & Special Sauce - Cold Beverage / Gold Digger (mp3) - Live 1-14-06 at the Gypsy Tea Ballroom ~ Buy some G. Love

OK, so I know this isn't specifically a song about summer...but what better time is there to crack open some cold beverages (preferrably micro-brewed)? It took me a little while to really appreciate G.'s brand of blues/funk/rock/what ever ya call it. If anyone has this entire show (or any other live show for that matter), PLEASE think about sharing it with yours truly.

Van Halen - Ice Cream Man (mp3) - Van Halen

What would the summer be without ice cream? We call the little ice cream truck the ding-dong-cart in these parts. I'm not sure if that is the universal name for them or not since I asked my wife (who's from Long Island) and she didn't have the faintest idea what I was talking about. Is ding-dong-cart just a Massachusetts thing?

(to download, right click and then "save as")