Summer time

As we come up to the solstice, it is becoming clear, in the UK, Southern UK, OK London, that summer is soon upon us. The warmth brings us out of our shells and enables us to shed our winter coats (literally) and venture blinking into the sunlight. Like we were some sort of hibernating animal. There is little better than a lovely warm day, a drink of some alcoholic description and some tunes to get everyone into a good mood.

So with that in mind, I am putting together a summer time playlist. I welcome your additions to the list as I think that it is not always a song about summer, but a song that puts you into a good mood.

That said, this is a great summer song . .

That is a great version of Janis's version if you know what I mean. The intricate playing actually gives a summer's day more of a proggy feel, doesn't it? If by some strange reason you are not a fan of Janis, I doubt it somehow, how about this version of the same song by the mighty Ella Fitzgerald

That recording has too much bass in it. I can not quite work out if that is just Ella's amazing voice hitting bass notes that they weren't expecting , or a bad recording.

All  bit too Retro? Then there is this version by Will Smith Still known as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince when this came out

Ok , so it is a completely different song. But it is actually good to hear that song again. I think that when it came out I was a little bit too into the metal and gangsta rap thing. It is a good song to get across the vibe of summer I think.

Ok, so instead of a playlist I have gotten into a post about the different versions of Summer Time there are. Not what I intended and as such here are some other great summer songs

Take it Easy - The Eagles
Sweet Home California - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Summertime Rolls - Janes Addiction
1979 - The Smashing Pumpkins
Get up Stand up - Bob Marley
Harvest - Neil Young

Time for a song. Out of the above it is hard not to want to hear Harvest isn't it? I am however going to taunt you a little and play some music I haven't played or even spoken about before. Ska. Ska is great for the summer time . . listen to this by Prince Buster

I had always been vaguely aware of Ska. When I was 8 or 9 the English Band Madness were huge. I had a mate who was English and his older brother was massively into them. He played a lot of Madness but then some other Ska stuff. It was cool, but I was 8 or 9 and didn't know any of the names of the bands or the songs. It then kind of dropped out of the mainstream a bit and it was a bit lost to me. When I was living in Japan the last time I was in a surfer style bar and restaurant. Surfer style , because it was in Tokyo, a long way from the beach I am afraid. Anyway, they played a lot of ska. I got my extremely embarrassed girlfriend of the time to ask what they were playing, then spent the next 3 hours talking about music to the guy behind the bar. Don't think my friend was so happy about that either.

Anyway, Ska is cool, Ska is summer and you should listen to it during a BBQ on a sunny day.


If I am honest though, the thing you need on a summer's day is a song with a cool groove and a funky beat. Something like this

I am not ever going to be as cool as Kool and the Gang. I get that. There is something about their laid back style that makes you just want to tap your foot and groove along. You know, if you get that feeling you should just go with it. Pretend you are that cool and who knows what might happen . .

Then, when the summer day is over and you want to go out you should put on this. Because KC was cool too.

So, if you could please let me know your summer tune I would be most appreciative.