Oh those Summer Nights...

Here in London we have been blessed with a rather unusual summer - in that it's been hot, sunny and actually like a proper Summer. It's a bit of a given that certain songs sound better in the sun, but for me, hot sticky Summer nights also can add something special to songs. That late night, not a breath of air closeness that happens in the Summer requires a special kind of music - intense yet mellow, personal and heartfelt, it's music that is about desire and want that is not always entirely fulfilled. Here are a few of my choices.

Gayngs - Faded High [download left hand side of screen]
Bon Iver's Justin Vernon goes soulful R&B - who knew? 'I want your body on me...' definitely the hottest late night track around right now.

Candie Payne - I Wish I Could Have Loved You More
This Liverpudlian singer captures a real 60s Dusty Springfield-esque vibe on this song. After touring with Mark Ronson she's somewhat vanished from view - a shame as the sparse, echoing feeling to this one really captures that late night feeling of panic and guilt.

Bat For Lashes - What's A Girl To Do?
Natasha Khan combines a 'Be My Baby' style beat with creepy piano and almost whispered lyrics to create a truly eerie late night paean to desperation. Helped of course by a weird as video featuring BMXing bears.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Hey Joe
Stone cold classic.

Death Cab For Cutie - 405 (Acoustic)
A bit more upbeat than some of the other tracks here, this ticks the wistful box instead.

Fink - This Is the Thing
Probably best known for being featured in a Mastercard advert a few years back, this is classic late night anxiety: 'And the things that keep us apart keep me alive/and the things that keep me alive keep me alone'

Rolling Stones - Tumbling Dice
Bluesy Rolling Stones should ONLY be played on hot summer's nights...

Warpaint - Billie Holiday
Hailing from Los Angeles, I would imagine the ladies of Warpaint have experienced plenty of hot sticky nights - perhaps that's why their music is so perfect for night time. Billie Holliday is a cross between a spelling bee and My Guy - but somehow its dreamy, Cat Power-esque vocals make it work.

Sorry it's been so long. I'll try to post a bit more regularly!

Don't need no good advice

'List Advice That You Follow From Song Lyrics'
- (idea courtesy of Music Listography/High Fidelity)



Advice songs are tricky. You don't want to be preached at - who are these privileged rock stars telling us what to do? - but when you turn to music in moments of doubt, you look for something, for a sign of what to do with your life. Also, because of the essential nature of advice, they are very personal. One person's sage words of wisdom are another's crackpot philosophy. Here are mine, anyway.

'If you always get up late, you'll never be on time'
Broken Social Scene - Swimmers

'You must stick up for yourself son! Never mind what anybody else done.'
Yeasayer - Ambling Alp

'We've got a lot to learn from each other, we have got to stick together'
Ra Ra Riot - Oh, La

'Sometimes there's gonna be days like this, sometimes there's gonna be rain like this, sometimes you're gonna feel pain like this, sometimes you gotta work hard for it'
Amerie - Gotta Work

'Thou shalt not put musicians and recording artists on ridiculous pedestals no matter how great they are or were. The Beatles... were just a band.'
Dans Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Thou Shalt Always Kill

'You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need.
Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want

(PS - Forget what I said before, I hate Glee for this)

{Photo courtesy of locket479 on flickr - there's a great story behind it, check it out!}