SUMMER SONGS 08: LAUNCH!

I got this IM from a friend the other day: "every winter I think to myself "Summer songs...what a dumb concept...why should music be seasonal???" and then during the springtime I think, "I can't wait to listen to music this summer."

I could only chuckle since he's exactly right. As much as I - along with others - invest in the idea of a "summer song," it can certainly feel like a forced concept yet, as his ambivalence reveals, it's still such a seductive idea that we find ourselves buying into it despite ourselves. Such is the power of summer.

Welcome to the 4th annual Soul Sides Summer Songs Series. I began the series as a way to try to articulate a muddle of thoughts I had about the relationship between summer and music and four years later, I'm no closer to any conclusions but I have used this as a great excuse to invite some valued friends and peers to muse along with me. Here's my own contribution for this year:

Ray Barretto: Pastime Paradise (O-Dub Edit)
From La Cuna (CTI, 1981)

Quantic and Nicodemus: Mi Swing Es Tropical
From Ritmo Tropical EP (Tru Thoughts, 2005). Also on Shapes.

Gotta thank my man Rani D for these two songs - I had heard both in passing didn't really pay attention to it until he dropped it during our pairing at last month's Boogaloo[L.A.]. Now I can't get 'em out of my head.

I know it's cliche to use some Latin/Brazilian sabor as a "sound of summer" example since you might as well offer up a picture of some salt and lime to go with it but I just can't help but think of summer when that electric piano comes in at the beginning of both songs. Love. That. I don't care if you want to throw a drink umbrella on it. So be it.

The Barretto is another example of how vital that man was to Latin music throughout his entire career. I wouldn't have thought an early '80s Barretto jam would pull off a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" but the sound of this song is just so gorgeous (at least in parts). Ok, I admit, I did lose interest in the song once the vocals cut in. And then there was some cheesy sax. And then bad, Santana-wannabe rock guitar. So I just cut all that out and left you with a 1/3rd length "best of" edit from the song. Love it or hate it.

I'm more familiar with QSO than I am with Quantic proper and I realize: I need to get familiar. Great tune...I just wish I had been playing this for three years now instead of discovering it three weeks ago.

Marlena Shaw: California Soul (Diplo Remix)
From Verve Remixed 4 (Verve, 2008)

Inkfat feat. Moonrocket: California
From Surfacing (???, 2005). Also available on Asian American Hip Hop For Dummies.

Just when you thought Dockers may have ruined this song permanently, trust the folks at Verve and Diplo to pull it back. I admit - I was a little skeptical at first at the idea; Shaw's song is so much a classic that it's hard to imagine what one could do with it but I gotta credit Diplo here - instead of piling on, he pulls back, keeping the audience anticipating - but never quite delivering - the crashboombam they expect, at least until the very end where he brings back those gorgeous strings again. I don't care if you're not from Cali - feel this vibe. (By the way, make sure to also check out the fantastic Mike Mangini remix of Nina Simone's "Gimme Some").

With "California" by Vallejo's Inkfat - I have DJ Phatrick to thank for putting me up on it; it's one of the cuts featured on his new Asian American Hip Hop For Dummies mix-CD. When I first heard the song I assumed it was from the late '90s, especially given the production style and how Inkfat reminded me of Makeba Mooncycle). But I was very surprised to learn it was from just a few years ago (and moreover, obscure enough that you can't even find a mention of the album online. Looks like someone needs to step their marketing up!) I'll be straight up: as far as lyricism goes, this is not what you'd call a "masterpiece" and I'm not trying to dog on Moonrocket but "calamari" is an awkward word to work into any rhyme (though perhaps not as bad as "crouton"). But despite those critiques, I like how the song sounds - it brings back all kinds of nice memories of living in the Bay Area and the creative era that presumably influenced a song like this. Plus, Bob James-esque keys = a good look (or, er, sound).

Alton Ellis: Gonna Take a Miracle
From Sunday Coming (Coxsone, 1970)

This, along with his cover of "What Does It Take To Win Your Love To Me" have been in heavy rotation the last few weeks. I'm a late-comer to reggae soul in general and Ellis in particular but he's my new minor obsession - most of what I've heard from him so far has been sublime.

The Cool Kids: 88
From The Bake Sale EP (Chocolate Industries, 2008)

I'll have much more to say about this group later this summer. I have no doubt a lot of dudes want to hate on them and I'm even partial to some of the reasons why. But for real? I can't stop bumping "88" (or "Black Mags" for that matter). And hell, I don't even own Bapes.

Lil Wayne: Let the Beat Build
From Tha Carter III (Cash Money, 2008)

Sure, it's not as good as Carter II and arguably not even as fun as Dedication 2 or Da Drought 3 but I'm not mad at Carter III (less Auto-Tune would have been nice though). Of its songs, "Let the Beat Build" feels the best executed and it has this beautifully patient momentum that builds that feels perfect for summertime. Just wish they hadn't named it "Let the Beat Build" - let the song do the speaking, not the title.

The Impressions: They Don't Know
From This Is My Country (Curtom, 1968)

Doesn't this song seem apropos right now? Recorded in the wake of MLK's assassination, "They Don't Know" is simultaneously defiant and affirming, perhaps not quite as anthematic as something like "We're a Winner" or "Keep On Pushing" but coming after a tragedy that left so many demoralized, the song tries to find a moment of uplift in all that darkness. I did cringe at the part where they sing, "every sister's a breeder" (whereas the "brothers" get to be the leaders) but this bit of gender role anachronism aside, "They Don't Know" feels like a grand theme to charge towards November with.

By the way, I've had Impressions 45s for years but never invested in their LPs much (not compared to Curtis' solo work) and I'm now kicking myself for not being up on this since pre-natal. This album is amazing - incredibly beautiful songs and listenable end-to-end. Be sure to check "Fool For You," "My Woman's Love" and "Stay Close To Me."

--O.W.