It was a summer I will cherish for years. Memories of Portugal, Spain and a plethora of festivals/concerts/sets will never leave me. The past couple times I’ve done a songs of the summer list, I’ve only included songs from the year in question. I’ve asked different questions in 2016, so the songs herein are from whenever. Here are the songs that helped soundtrack my unforgettable summer:
30. Ryan Hemsworth – Surrounded
29. That Poppy – American Kids
28. Biffy Clyro – Friends and Enemies
27. Daughter – Doing The Right Thing/How
26. The Joy Formidable – Liana
25. One Republic – Kids
24. Ofelia K – I Love My Lawyer
23. Bob Moses – Tearing Me Up
22. The Tragically Hip – The Depression Suite
Bonus: Grimes – Go
21. Catfish and The Bottlemen – 7
20. Fidlar – Cheap Beer
19. Broods – Freak of Nature f. Tove Lo/1000x/Bedroom Door
18. Bear’s Den – Gabriel
Bonus: Wolf Alice – Soapy Water
17. Kanye – Fade/Waves/Saint Pablo
16. Glass Animals – Youth
15. Band of Horses – Casual Party
14. Gareth Emery – Reckless
13. Britney Spears – Make Me/Love Me Down
12. John Grant – Marz
11. The Chainsmokers – Roses
Bonus: The Vaccines – Post Break-Up Sex/A Lack of Understanding
10. Benjamin Francis Leftwich – Some Other Arms
Slow-tempo magic. I adore this song.
9. Dan Deacon – When I Was Done Dying
The sound of flight. Of rebirth. Of mice and men and death back then. The sound of making anew, and birds as your crew.
8. The 1975 – Loving Someone
Loving Someone really came alive as I saw the band twice this summer, thrice overall this year. The chorus is massive.
7. Marshmello – Alone
Undeniably dope, Alone is one monster dance track.
6. Hana – Clay/Underwater/White
I fell in love with Hana’s music this summer. These 3 songs are why.
5. The 1975 – A Change of Heart
It’s been several months since I first heard this track, and I cannot escape it. It remains indomitable. One of the best songs of the year, hands down.
4. Two Door Cinema Club – Cigarettes In The Theatre
When I experienced this song at Nos Alive in Lisbon, the crowd went mental. Out of the countless songs and sets I’ve heard live, this ranks at the top for/of memorable performances. An already fabulous song made immortal.
3. Jamie XX – Gosh
I threw all kinds of shapes and danced like my body was a singular fit conniption. I saw Gosh at two different festivals this summer, on back-to-back nights, in Portugal and Spain, and the music took me to another place both times. A place where my body and the beat were present, but where my mind moved to nether regions. I will never forget that transportation.
2. Villagers – Nothing Arrived (Acoustic)
I waited for something, and something died, so I waited for nothing, and nothing arrived.
1. The 1975 – You
I didn’t know You.
I heard the song live thrice this year, though it didn’t immediately clutch claws into my arm and smack me upside the head. Only on the last occasion did I get an inkling. But I didn’t really know You until…
I found You in Barcelona.
I was walking down Passeig de Sant Joan to the Arc de Triomf and the sun was grinning cheekily behind marshmallow-white clouds. I saw a man blowing soap bubbles for passers by, children rapt by the disappearing orbs, a rollerblading girl with strawberry blonde hair dressed in a black tank-top and black shorts, and I found You there.
I locked into You as my over-ear headphones carried the message. I sat and smiled, I walked and smiled, and the sounds that held my face muscles in place encouraged — necessitated — the abandonment of everything. Everything but You.
It takes a bit more. More than any or most or pretty much all other songs to do what You did.
To add marvel to the day. To forge some clarity amidst the fray. To let me see the shadows shake hands with the brightness. To take a moment. To make that moment linger. To reveal a layer or two, about me, about You.
You did all that.
The Pun Is Sure 