The Ultimate Song of the Summer: Across the Ampliverse
Ask, and the Ampliverse will answer: in this new series, the creators across all our channels share a little bit about themselves. This week, we’re kicking summer off with some serious tunes, moods, and lyrical inspiration by asking, “What’s your ultimate song of the summer?”
I honestly am like the one person in the universe who doesn't designate songs to the time of year, but I would say a song that always gets me hyped is Burnin ‘Up by The Jonas Brothers. Doesn't matter the mood or situation if I hear that song I'm about to Turn Up! I also love good road trip sing-along type things like Boston's Rock and Roll Band or Tom Cochran's Life is a Highway. Gotta have some solid road trip anthems for any summer playlist.
Jill, The Bourbon Study
Honestly, any Katy Perry or Carly Rae Jepsen song to be honest. I always associate their music being around summertime, they just have such pop vibes but also got some really chill pop vibes as well. Plus they're pretty catchy and like everyone knows at least one or two songs from either of them. Perfect music for the pools, car rides, and the beach just because they're so easy to remember in terms of lyrics and so they give off such fun energy. Which is important for a summer drive, with the windows down and just yelling out the song loudly. I did not have a teenage job haha, I did not work until I got out of high school so my memories of driving down the road in the summer were to my job as a grocery bagger on a military base after I graduated high school.
Franky, Frankly Franky
This year, I’m going with Kaytranada and Durand Bernarr’s Freefall. The instrumental version too, why not! You’ll understand when you hear it.
Terrence, Star Kids
There is no simple question that I cannot turn into a complicated premise. To me, you cannot consider a song to be the ultimate song of the summer if you cannot listen to it with the windows down. Of course there are two types of windows-down driving in the summer: day driving and night driving, and they call for completely different vibes. If the sun is shining and it's a gorgeous day, there's no greater feeling than rolling down the windows, pretending you're a teenager, and turning up Dammit by blink-182. If it's just past dusk- peak twilight hour- Happiness by Elliott Smith just hits different. Nothing can make me feel my feelings quite like hearing "What I used to be will pass away and then you'll see/That all I want now is happiness for you and me" while the cool wind blows through the window. If all else fails, All Things Considered on a summer afternoon can't be beat.
Honorable mention? My 2020 song of the summer - Sugar On The Rim by Hayley Williams
Allie, Harry Potter and the Anxious Millennials
This one might feel a little on the nose, but when I think of the ultimate summer song for me, the tune that pops into my head is Boys of Summer Not the original version by Eagles but the cover by The Ataris. When I hear this song I am instantly transported back to my home town in the summer of 2003. It was the summer before my freshman year of college, which was not my favorite, but I would not trade that summer for anything. It was last summer I would spend in my childhood home. My family moved the following year. It’s almost like I can feel the air on my skin when I hear the song. The lyrics ultimately don’t mean anything to me and it’s more the music accompaniment and the feeling associated with it, but it is a song I will forever associate with that specific season, in that specific time.
Ryno, The Bourbon Study + Podcast Rangers
My ultimate summer song is a little bit of an odd one, but it has to be His Name Is Lancelot from the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Monty Python’s Spamalot It always reminds me of my summers doing theatre with all of my friends in Oklahoma. I loved watching this number from the wings of the stage and trying to do the choreography with my fellow crew members. Those were some of the most fun and memorable summers for me!
Taylor, Limited Time Yum! + Mental Health Monthly
People usually go to the windows-down experience of the summer when they want to find their song, but I’m actually going to set a different scene. You’re lathering yourself up with sunscreen, and its distinct smell fills your nostrils along with the chlorine from the resort pool. You’ve just laid down the towel on a poolside chair, and a man in tight swim shorts brings you a minty mojito. You give him a wink as you lay down and take a sip. The poolside bar blasts I Wanna Go by Britney Spears and you can’t help but mouth the words and bop your head as you feel your skin toast up into a beautiful bronze… Whew I’m in heaven just imagining this summer scenario.
RJ, The POPsicle + Resident Services
My song of the summer is Butter by BTS, hands down! Any song by BTS is a win, but I’ve been playing Butter in particular non-stop since the release. From the start of the song the drums pull you in, making it impossible to not tap your foot along with the beat. If the first verse doesn’t have you hooked, the chorus will do the job! Last but not least, the bridge and dance-break in this song deserves a standing ovation because WOW. What a moment. Just like the members of BTS, Butter is sure to melt your heart into two.
Arri, Star Kids + Harry Potter and the Anxious Millennials
I defy anyone to listen to Karen O’s YO! MY SAINT (Feat. Michael Kiwanuka) and not feel like they’re on the brink of creating, discovering, or bumping up against something absolutely thrilling. Karen O parachuting straight down into the swell of this moody duet and cracking it wide open is a certified day changer.
Kim, Ampliverse Essay Copyeditor and Couch Rodent
If you want to jam out to the Ultimate Song of the Summer playlist, here’s the link and enjoy!
