Summer in the City

Going through summer without having a "summertime jam" is like going to the prom without a theme...in a dress that you hate...with your cousin. So while I have been hitting the streets, trying to do all the free stuff I can in Chicago, I have been thinking about my own personal "summertime jam."

What exactly is the criteria for such a jam? Does it have to be upbeat? Does it have to sway you? Must it have the word "summer" in it? All good questions. I asked my music snob friend, Smith, and she said "Electric Field by MGMT, but that was last year's summer jam." Then I explained my question a bit further and she agreed that it should be something that is upbeat for it to be a true summer song. And I'm willing to go along with that. I remember when Taking Back Sunday's "Make Damn Sure" was the summer song---and it truly was. But what about at night? Should there be a different summer time song for night than there should be in the day? Something more "twilight-ish?" And by "twilight-ish" I am not referring to something that is vampiric--calm down you blood-sucking crazed teenys---this isn't about Edward or Jacob. Bands like Death Cab and Fleet Foxes, that to me is "twilight" music...the kinda of tunes you can lay in bed with your lover, holding hands on a sheetless matress and sigh in the twilight of the evening.

There are many songs that have to do with summer: "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry, "Summertime" by Will Smith (ala DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince), The Ramone's cover of "California Sun"...and then there are those that just remind you of the summertime because you spent your day (or night for that matter) cruising around in your mother's Camry, listening to The Violent Femmes or Offspring, 311 or Smashing Pumpkins. Or maybe you spent it watching MTV when they used to play music videos--when Bill Bellamy was still hosting MTV JAMS and you weren't sure if you liked Kennedy yet. How simple times were then...before you had to choose your own path to a summertime jam.

As I got older, punk/ska music became more of a substitute for my summertime jams. It was fast paced, rather intelligent and insightful (depending on the band) and it just seemed to make sense at the time. Summer was for punk, acoustic for Fall, Harder stuff for Winter, Warmer music for Spring...the cycle continued. Until one day, you have to stop it and come into your own. You get to decide what your song will be--it can follow the events of the time, be it historical or personal. Something tells me that many will be putting Michael Jackson as their summertime jam for 2009. You already know how I feel about that, so we'll move on.

In the end, I suppose I will have to keep searching for this thing, known as the "summertime jam." I may find the even more elusive creature--the summertime romance, first.