The Feel Good Hit Of The Summer

With only three (woo-hoo!) days left before we head downtheshore, my mind has finally turned to what I need to pack. The missus tends to get a little more anxious about this than I do, and yet she often overlooks one of the more important vacation items: the music.

Every summer, one of the CDs (or cassettes, back in the day) I take down with us will stand out and become the defining soundtrack of that year's vacation. Corny, huh? It's not like I set out to do this, just one year I noticed that, after listening to it a lot downtheshore, every time I heard something from Nirvana's Nevermind, I thought of our vacation. Then I noticed that this happening every year. Now it's gotten to the point where I probably put too much thought into it, but what are you going to do, I'm geeky that way.

So here are the soundtracks of our six years of going downtheshore (yes, it's one word, and no, it's not downashore):

First off, since this is the Jersey shore we're talking about, I always bring a Springsteen disc or two, ideally early Bruce, but the missus prefers his newer stuff (and can't stand his old stuff), so last year we brought The Rising, which is definitely not a feel-good summer album.

1998: Nevermind by Nirvana. By this time, this album was already seven years old and Kurt Cobain was four years gone. I had this cassette in my truck for a long time, but something about listening to it down the beach made me finally connect with it.

1999: The Globe by Big Audio Dynamite II. This was actually on the flip side of my Nevermind tape (pretty eclectic tape, no?). Not understanding the whole "summer soundtrack" dynamic just yet, I assumed that I would re-connect with Nirvana again. But it was BAD II that caught the summer spirit that year. I was a big fan of the original Big Audio Dynamite (and, of course, Mick Jones' other band, the Clash), but The Globe seemed gimmicky and never did much for me, until that summer.

2000: Altered Beast by Matthew Sweet. Okay, this one I liked way before taking it down the beach, but from 2000 on it will always remind me of riding in Ocean City with the windows down.

2001: It's A Shame About Ray by the Lemonheads. By now I was trying to guess what would make a good beach album. I don't remember what other tapes I took in 2001, but it was the Lemonheads that ended up working for me. I need to get this on CD.

2002: No family vacation due to the birth of our second child. We really didn't want to deal with the hassle of taking a three-month old out in the sun for seven days. I'm guessing he wouldn't have gotten much out of it.

2003: Life On Other Planets by Supergrass. Someone burned this CD (the first CD on this list!) for me just before we went on vacation that year. You wouldn't think of it as a "summer sound," but every single song on it just rocks. I think the missus hated it and the kids didn't seem so thrilled about me playing it every time we drove somewhere that week, but oh well.

2004: In Reverse by Matthew Sweet. Hmm, if one album couldn't cover two summers, could one artist? Apparently, yes, if it's Matthew Sweet. I hadn't really given this disc a lot of attention before that summer, but after listening to it on the ride to and from Ocean City I think the missus and I both had a greater appreciation of the album. Strong from start to finish. I think it might be his best work, but what Matthew Sweet CD I like most changes depending on my mood.

So there you have my past picks, now I have to decide the five or six discs I'll take with my this year. I assume that one will be by Wilco (I'm thinking Summerteeth) but I haven't thought of any others yet. You guys should know my musical tastes by now, any suggestions?

Comments

[egadfly]

Just got back from downtheshore myself. Listened a lot to the first disc of Rhino's great Graham Parker anthology, Passion Is No Ordinary Word. Highly recommended.

[Mark]

Great suggestion! I don't have the anthology, but maybe I'll take my Squeezing Out Sparks disc.

[Sam]

We're headed down to the shore this weekend too, though we'll be about an hour north of you guys. I plan on bringing some Damien Rice & the new White Stripes, haven't had a chance to listen to it much.

[Mark]

I haven't heard a lot from that one, but I could easily see "My Doorbell" being a great summer song. I'm hooked on it already.