Best Alternative Songs about Summer
Unconventional Tunes about Sunshine, Swimming Pools and the Sea
May 12, 2009
Summer, the season that evokes thoughts of sunny days, pool parties,ice cream trucks and apparently according to one alternative artist, radioactive bathing suits. Here are some alternative songs to kick off the season.
Sunshine and Suntan Lotion
Lots of songs have been sung about sunshine and sunny days, but there have also been some sung about sunscreen. In Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen), Baz Luhrman professes his number one tip for high School graduates in just two words, "Wear sunscreen".
- Anita's Miracle Suntan Lotion - Magic Dirt
- Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes
- Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - Baz Luhrman
- Reach for the Sun - Dangerous Summer
- Sun - Concrete Blonde
- Sun - Live
- Sun - Mary Prankster
- Sun, Sun, Sun - The Elected
- Sunshine - Vertical Horizon
There are at least three songs by alternative artists with the title of Sun. There are also several alternative songs titled Ocean and Summer.
Summertime Songs
The remake of the song summertime by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes is a new twist on an old classic, while The Samples song of the same title is an original tune.
- All Summer Long - Southern All Stars
- Dusk and Summer - Dashboard Confessional
- Jewel of the Summertime - Audioslave
- Summer - Buffalo Tom
- Summer - Malbec
- Summer - Rookie of the Year
- Summer - Smashing Pumpkins
- Summer - Sum 41
- Summertime - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
- Summertime - The Samples
The Southern All Stars song All Summer Long may be the most well known tune on the list. The lead singer, Kid Rock, sings about what it was like in the summertime of 1989.
Pool Parties, Bathing Suits & Ice Cream
Ever heard of a radioactive bathing suit? The alternative band Smothered in Argyle sings about one in their song of the same name.
- Ice Cream - Dan Nichols and Eighteen
- Jump in the Pool - Friendly Fires
- Pool Party - The Aquabats
- Radioactive Bathing Suit - Smothered in Argyle
- Swimming Pool - The Submarines
To bring back the memory of the ice cream truck coming down the street, give the song Ice Cream by Dan Nichols and Eighteen a listen. The memories will just come running back.
Islands & Surf
No alternative song captures the feeling of summer better than Weezer's Island in the Sun. The simple lyrics convey images of having fun while vacationing on a sunny island.
- Charlie Don't Surf - The Clash
- I Can't Surf - The Reverend Horton Heat
- Island - The Starting Line
- Island in the Sun - Weezer
- My Wave - Surf Punks
- Surf - Lanterna
- Surf City - The Ramones
- Surf Goths - Wavves
- Surf Song - Fenix TX
- Surf Wax America - Weezer
- The Hazards of Sitting Beneath Palm Trees - Hayden
- The Surf Instructor - Surf Punks
The Hazards of Sitting Beneath Palm Trees, an alternative song by Hayden, is not actually about sitting beneath a palm tree, but is about a girl on the beach in the summer and how a man she's not interested in is trying to talk to her.
Sand & Sea
Into the Ocean by Blue October is a song about a boy who falls overboard and does not know how to swim. It's an addicting tune, and Justin Furstenfeld, the band's lead singer sounds very much like a modern day Peter Gabriel.
- Castles Made of Sand - Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Into the Ocean - Blue October
- Ocean - The Velvet Underground
- Ocean Breathes Salty - Modest Mouse
- Standing on the Shore - Empire of the Sun
- Susie at the Seashore - These United States
- That's My Beach Towel - Thanks to You
- The Ocean - The Bravery
- Walk on the Ocean - Toad the Wet Sprocket
- Warmth of the Sand - Dashboard Confessional
Give some of these alternative summer songs a listen. They just might inspire a walk on the beach, a dip in the pool or a run to catch the ice cream truck.
