Grease

Grease

Summer's officially over, there's no escaping it but, to be honest, we're not quite ready for it to end.

What better way to keep the summery feelings going than with a playlist of some of the best tracks with "Summer" in the title?

Well, we've put together just that, featuring everyone from The Beach Boys and Grease to Taking Back Sunday and Kid Rock.

There's some you'll know, and probably some you won't, but we like to think we've found a ballance.

As always, you can listen to the playlist right here, and read our thoughts on each track below.

There's more - as this week was such a hard one to get down to just 12 songs, we've also published our "shortlist" of over 50 summer tracks (you can listen to that here).

We'll know doubt have missed some of your favourites, so comment and let us know, and we may even add it to the extended playlist.

1. Summertime Blues - The Beach Boys

We could've gone with the original Eddie Cochran version, but there's no way we could do a summer themed playlist without The Beach Boys being in it somewhere.

Well, they kick us off this week with a faithful, up-beat cover of the classic 'Summertime Blues'.

2. Dusk And Summer - Dashboard Confessional

A band known for their tenderness, it's no surprise Dashboard Confessional make our playlist with their acoustic summer ballad.

Chris Carrabba's vocals are soaring and sweet throughout, and this is a warm, tender and beautiful song.


3. The Best Summer Yet - Scouting For Girls

Although they're ridiculed a lot for their repetitive pop singles, this b-side was a surprisingly sweet ode to summer.

It captures the innocence of childhood and teenage summers, and the chorus hook of "Let's make this the best summer yet" is a bit cheesy but works well against a slow but catchy piano accompaniment.

4. All Summer Long - Kid Rock

We're by no means the biggest Kid Rock fans in the world (far from it), but there's no denying this is a catchy tune.

Admittedly it "borrows" the instrumentation from 'Sweet Home Alabama', but the chorus is infectious and summery, and we just had to include it.

5. Summer Nights - Grease (John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John)

Ok, one of the last cheesy ones, we promise! The whole film captures summer, and this song is a great tale of, well, summer love.

There's that, and nobody can hear this and not tap their toes and at least try to sing along.

6. Girls In Their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Bringing back the mood back for just over four minutes is the Boss on a typically epic track.

With big hits like 'Born In The USA', it's easy to forget that Springsteen had moments like this - big, catchy driving ballads showing off his great voice.

7. Summertime - My Chemical Romance

The newest song on the playlist this week, it's taken from My Chemical Romance's latest album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.

It's a huge song, showing how much the band have grown since their "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" punk days into...well, this. Take a listen, you'll be surprised.

8. You're So Last Summer - Taking Back Sunday

Continuing a rock theme towards the end of this week's playlist, this song was taken from Taking Back Sunday's stunning debut Tell All Your Friends.

A bitter track about a lost summer, it's not the most summery of songs, but fits with the playlist and gives us something a little different.

9.Last Summer - lostprophets

A staple at their live shows and any festival they play, it's one of those songs that will just stay with you.

From the anthemic, relatable chorus to the summery feel of the song, it's almost the perfect summer song from the Welsh masters of alt-rock.

10. Summer Song - Forever The Sickest Kids

We're big fans of pop-punk here, and we couldn't leave Forever The Sickest Kids and the next band out of our playlist.

It's pop-punk at its finest, with an acoustic guitar in the background to emphasise the summer theme.

11. The Boys of Summer (cover of Don Henley) - The Ataris

It was the band's biggest hit (making it onto Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 14), despite being a cover.

Whilst the original's fantastic, the heavy rock influence gives the song a new breath of life and energy, and The Ataris more than did it credit.

12. Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams

We did say 'Summer Nights' was one of the last cheesy tracks, and this is the last one to round off our summer playlist.

Anything that could be said about this song has been said before many times, so just sit back and enjoy. All together now: "I got my first real six string..."

That does us for another week of the Weekend Playlist. Do check out the playlist here (and the 52-track extended version here). If we've missed off your favourite summer song, or you have a suggestion for a playlist theme, let us know by commenting below.

Female First - Alistair McGeorge


Tagged in