And I'm intentionally excluding anything by the Beach Boys or anything older than me.
Let's start with a song that puts all of us Philly people in the right frame of mind -- Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's 1991 smash "Summertime". It was destined to be a true Song of Summer, and despite some funny styles and outmoded dancing, it still holds up. Although Will Smith's rhymes at times seem a bit forced ("As I think back makes me wonder how/the smell from a grill can spark up nostalgia"?)
Last Summer, the world couldn't escape "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People. Even Weezer was bitten by the bug -- here's their version, live from August 4, 2011 in Costa Mesa. It's pretty true to the original.
(By the way,: Foster the People actually returned the favor a week later, covering Weezer's "Say it Ain't So" in Brooklyn and again in San Francisco and here. Total props to FTP for that classy move.)
This year, Gotye seems to have the inside track to Summer Supremacy with "Somebody I Used to Know".
But I'd argue that it's been ubiquitous all Spring so it may have peaked too soon.
Peter, Bjorn and Jon's "Young Folks" was everywhere in the summer of 2006.
But to me, the greatest summer song of all time remains "Steal My Sunshine" by the Canadian hip-hop band Len. Each year, Summer truly begins when I put the windows down and play this one.
Gotye does not count. I posted about them in the late winter. Look for my rebuttal soon.
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