1.) Pavement “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain”
We’ve all had one: the girl that broadened your musical and sexual horizons, but “outgrew” you before you even figured out how to talk to her. All you’re left with, aside from those mechanically-typed letters you reassembled with scotch tape following the first stage of grief, are the mix CDs. Gosh, did your heart really ever flutter over a Mountain Goats song? Most importantly, you have “Spit on a Stranger.” It’s when Pavement’s nonsensical lyricism, for a glorious but oh so brief moment, actually resonated, holding your hand through an abstract carousel of betrayal and almost elderly regret. That song isn’t on this album, but that’s good, because it’s too painful to listen to at this point anyway. So enjoy “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain,” whatever that’s supposed to mean.
Summer Standouts: “Elevate Me Later,” “Unfair” and “Gold Soundz”
2.) Beach Boys “Today!”
No list of summer albums would be complete without at least one inclusion from the sunbathed California sounds of the Beach Boys. “Today!” captures the group at a turning point in their careers, as Brian Wilson and company were abandoning their surf-rock roots for the avant-garde beauty of the genius”Pet Sounds.” The wide-eyed innocence of “Today!” provides the perfect soundtrack for remembering a time when summer meant absolute freedom from school and all of our worries.
Summer Standouts: “Do You Wanna Dance?” “Help Me Rhonda,” “Dance Dance Dance” and “In The Back Of My Mind”
3.) Panda Bear “Person Pitch”
One-fourth of the experimental rock group Animal Collective, Panda Bear’s spiritual odes to the coast of Portugal transcend the hapless experimentation of his main band. “Person Pitch” is hazy, sunny and most of all, still a refreshing burst of air even after its release four years ago. Like the Beach Boys 40 years before, Panda Bear utilizes the innocent freedom of summer to provide the listener with a feeling of limitless possibilities for their summer.
Summer Standouts: “Comfy in Nautica,” “Bros” and “Pills”
4.) Real Estate “Real Estate”
An instant summer classic after its release two years ago, Real Estate’s eponymous full-length debut prides itself on its sandy New Jersey shore roots with hazy lo-fi odes to the simple summer pleasures of running through a sprinkler and sitting on your back porch watching the sun set. It’s a beautiful debut, and we can only hope their follow-up that is going to be released later this year will be as flawless.
Summer Standouts: “Beach Comber,” “Suburban Dogs” and “Black Lake”
5.) Eric Dolphy “Out to Lunch”
This is a little specific. You’ve got to like jazz. Also, while this album is ideal for summer, it’s best played late at night. Maybe you’re the last one left at the campfire with the bottle of Southern Comfort and an almost too-clear view of the stars. Human beings may be alone in the universe, but Eric Dolphy and this, his best album, would be great company in such a situation. He works all three of his primary instruments — the sax, clarinet and flute — and maintains a searching, yet heavily percussive tone.
Summer Standouts: “Hat and Beard” and “Straight Up and Down”
6.) Paul Simon “Graceland”
The concept album that not only redeemed Simon’s less than stellar string of preceding releases in the early ’80s but also lead to an explosion of interest in the world music genre. The Afro-Pop fusion of “Graceland” can still be heard today in acts like Vampire Weekend, Gang Gang Dance and — regretfully — nearly every single Simon release after the album’s initial success.
Summer Standouts: “Gumboots,” “You Can Call Me Al” and “That Was Your Mother”
7.) Bob Dylan “Nashville Skyline”
Even back in 1969, “Nashville Skyline” was already about the fourth great leap in Bob Dylan’s career, but it’s difficult to appreciate how odd it must have been at the time. It’s the height of psychedelia, the anti-Vietnam War movement and the year of Woodstock, yet here’s Bob Dylan tossing out an album of humble little country songs sung in a soft, welcoming croon. In the scope of of his checkered and eclectic career, it’s less of an oddball today. Dylan would color these country textures with a lot more of his own voice later on, but this record remains one of his breeziest detours.
Summer Standouts: “The Girl From the North Country,” “To Be Alone With You” and “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You”
8.) Bruce Springsteen “Born To Run”
Graduations and weddings go along with summer for a number of reasons, but the open embracement of cliches might be the most universal. “Born To Run” is an album full of suburban teenage cliches, but that’s what makes it a perfect snapshot of that time of your life. It’s hard to think of any other artist who have stood the test of time as well as Springsteen, and flawless albums like “Born To Run” are the main reason.
Summer Standouts: “She’s The One,” “Born To Run” and “Backstreets”
9.) The Beatles “Rubber Soul”
This is the album where those cute Liverpool heartthrobs finally matured. In the song “Run for your Life,” this meant maturing into creepy, abusive stalkers, but elsewhere they’re just lovable, shaggy folkies. Don’t ask what they were thinking trying their hand at vocal harmony, though…a little charity for Brian Wilson’s ego, maybe?
Summer Standouts: “Michelle,” “Nowhere Man” and “I’m Looking Through You”
10.) The Modern Lovers “The Modern Lovers”
Continuing with the cliches of youth, Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers knew what they loved: Rock N’ Roll, New England and girls. Sadly one of the great lost records of music history, The Modern Lovers eponymous debut is a timeless narration of the young Shakespeare (or Pablo Picasso) in all of us waiting to come out at the sight of our next true love at the Fenway or the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Summer Standouts: “Astral Plane,” “Road Runner” and “She Cracked”
