Nada Surf//Popular

Fun in the Sun, Catchin’ the Rays, Loose Interpretations: Surf Week.

Nada Surf isn’t SURF music but “Surf” is the second word in their name, so why not?

This song was a total summer jam in 1996. I bet you remember watching the video. I remember watching the video. A lot. I was in middle school.

Nada Surf, despite getting loads of music-industry breaks (a major label, a hot producer, solid tour connections), was relegated to relative obscurity after this really awesome one-hit-wonder faded out. Elektra, convinced that there wasn’t a single-worthy track on their next album, dropped them and they were forced to sue for control of the collection. After this, they went indie. I actually saw them, probably in 2001, in the final glory days of that teenage Jersey bastion of punk/hardcore/metal/ska/emo, The Wayne Firehouse.

And so, with this golden piece of 90s indie (kinda), I declare Surf Week to be officially over. I’m going camping.



Popular.mp3

I'm head of the class.
I'm popular.
I'm the quarterback.
I'm popular.
My mom says I'm a catch.
I'm popular.
I'm never last picked.
I got a cheerleader chick.

Surf Week Fact #4: Move over, bike gangs. Local surfers can sometimes use intimidation and violence, in an attempt to guard their surf break against use by outsiders in an attempt to avoiding crowding. This is called "localism." Some surfers have been known to form gangs that surf a certain break, and fiercely protect their spot from outsiders. These surfers are typically referred to simply as "locals".

Beck//Where It's At

Awkward Angsty Adolescent SUMMER JAMS!!!

When I was 13 (1996 OH MY GOD), I went on this family trip with my mom, my stepdad and my (cooler, older) stepbrother Joel. I’m pretty sure we went to Massachusetts..or was it upstate New York? It’s all foggy. Here’s what I can remember from this trip:

1. Joel rented a car. It was a bright purple Neon. It was hilarious.
2. We spent a lot of time driving (and walking) around graveyards. Morbid fun! I think this may have been the best time we had.
3. We visited my 2nd cousin’s ice cream store. They let me make the bubblegum ice cream. I can remember pouring a bucket of rainbow Chiclets into a giant cold mixing machine.
4. At one point, Joel and I shared a hotel room. We were watching MTV when the (weird/awesome) video for this song came on. I changed the channel. Joel said, “Hey. Go back to that. That’s Beck. He’s cool.”

Although we’re not super close, I’ve always really enjoyed spending time with Joel, not to mention the fact that he has been pretty influential to my musical tastes. He has given me plenty of interesting albums and mixes over the years. He’s responsible for my discovery of Aimee Mann, Jon Brion, Jason Faulkner, The Greys and Ron Sexsmith. Oh, and uh…Beck?

Maybe it’s just that this song is inextricably linked to that weird ass summer (because, let’s face it, being 13 is odd), but whenever I hear Odelay (released in June of ’96, album name trivia), I literally SEE the summer. Glittery shimmery heat waves rise up off the asphalt, just like in that one part of the “Devil’s Haircut” video. The weird sonic pallet and the old school beat is crystallized as a quintessential summer sound to me.



Where It’s At.mp3

I got two turn tables and a microphone.

Summer Jam: In the summer of 1996, The Nintendo 64 video game system was released in Japan and The British rock band Oasis played the biggest free-standing concert in UK history at Knebworth, Hertfordshire.

Outkast//Hey Ya

It was the summer of SUMMMER JAMSSS!

So yesterday we were revisiting summer 2003. Today, let’s fast forward one year to summer 2004, in which I returned to the states after a long and weird time in Europe.

This was another song that hit the scene in the fall/winter season (of ’03). Even so, I’ll still always think of it as the jam of 2004, as it showed up at every dance party and bar that I hit that season.

“Hey Ya,” by classic ATL hip hop legends (and style mavens) Andre 3000 and Big Boi of Outkast, is one of those rare tracks that you feel genuinely excited to hear every time it starts bumpin’. The whole thing is brilliant. Outkast has always been known for pushing the envelope, so it’s no surprise that in terms of structure, rhythm and production, it (in addition from the song’s experimental parent album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below) was a real step forward for the genre. Of course, not to mention it’s just a solidly catchy track.

Like many summer jams, after the 516th time played, it’s magical charm starts to wear off. Even so, listening to it now after a fairly decent break kind of does make me want to jump up and dance. But that would be very inappropriate considering where I am now. So…I’m not going to do that. Although, it doesn’t mean you can’t.



Hey Ya.mp3

Now I wanna see y'all on y'all baddest behavior--
Lend me some sugar. I am your neighbor.
Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it,
Shake it, shake it, shake, shake it, shake it, shake it ,
Shake it, shake it like a Polaroid Picture!


Summer Jam: In the summer of 2004, Ronald Regan died and my parents kept their American flag at half mast for like three weeks, which I thought was kinda creepy (and an extra weird way to return to the states from the UK). Saddam Hussein was also on trial for war crimes. Remember that? And they finally broke ground on the “Freedom Tower” at 9/11 (my daily commute gives me an update on how much progress has been made in five years on that one) and I watched from suburban NJ as James McGreevey got outed in BIG GAY SCANDAL and made a slimey fool of himself, which may have leant new meaning to “Don’t wanna meet your Daddy. Just want you in my Caddy.”Just a thought...?

Missy Elliott//Work It

It’s 90 today and we’re heating things up with a seaonsal preview: SUMMER JAMS!!!

While Missy’s Under Construction came out in the fall of ’02, I’ll always think of this song as a quintessential track of the summer of ’03. Yep, that summer.

Ali tried to buy a new Stereolab album. The cover and packaging looked fine, but the record inside was actually the single for this song. That and the fact that it was blaring out of every passing car on East U. contributed to it ending up on our summer mix.

I was recently telling the story of how in that particular summer, Ali and I attempted to cover up our previous tenant’s acid trip wall scribbles with pages of vintage books we pasted up. This was a brilliant plan, until the weather got hot enough to losen the art-school glue we used to affix our homemade wallpaper. Page by page, they slid from over our heads onto our faces while we slept. Rude awakening.

Not rude awakening: this song, which spent 15 weeks at the top of the charts and served as a soundtrack to many drunken college-era evenings. Missy is the damn coolest. Besides helping to popularize the term “Badonkadonk,” (Urban Dictionary, eat your heart out) she and Timbaland have serious beat and production chops, with this track serving as a shining example. In fact, Missy and Timbaland got their start as a production/songwriting team, crafting material for groups like SWV, Destiny’s Child and Aaliyah. All that know-how shows, especially on an album like Under Construction, which relied heavily on the “old school” hiphop sound. What also shows is how each track is a “MISSSSY. ELLLLLIOOTTTT. (sometimes ONE TIME!) EXCLUSSSSIVE.”

The video for this track won plenty of awards and attention, but I’ll always still love the video for “The Rain” most, with that awesome, awesome giant garbage bag-looking getup. Dude. What was that?



Work It.mp3

Picture Lil' Kim dating a pastor.
Minute Man Big Red can outlast ya.
Who is the best? I don't have to ask ya.
When I come out, you won't even matter.
Why you act dumb like, "ughhh, duh?"
So you act dumb like, "ughhh, duh?"
And the drummer boy go pa rum pum pum pum,
Give ya some some some of this Cinnabon.



Summer Jam:In the summer of 2003, 101.3 degrees in Kent became the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK and a sweltering heat wave took all of Europe by storm, causing the heat to rise to over 112 degrees in Paris. In other news, Martha Stewart and her broker were indicted for insider trading and (somewhat ironically) SARS (totally, totally) was declared to be contained by the Worth Health Organization. Did somebody say “Swine Flu”?

Pomegranates//Beachcomber

Golden rays, ocean breezes, Monday Mail.
What is Monday Mail?

I don’t know about where you are, but here in NYC, the weather was beautiful ALL WEEKEND LONG! I had a lovely time outside at a rooftop bbq, a backyard houseshow and the Brooklyn Botantical Garden. With that in mind, I officially declare it Summer Jams Week at OSS. To help you gear up for Memorial Day Weekend, all week we’ll be featuring quintessential jams from summers past as well as warm-weather-themed new jams.

This M!M! comes from a band whose new album makes reference to the nice weather (Everybody, Come Outside!) and whose sweetest song is called Beachcomber! It’s Monday. It’s 80. If you’re not stuck inside, break out the sunblock!

This from Clyde at Fanatic:

Artists such as French Kicks and Islands responded to Pomegranates’ dynamic live set by inviting them out on the road. Everybody, Come Outside! shows a marked improvement both creatively and sonically from its predecessor, channeling influences that range from Talking Heads and Brian Eno, to French Kicks and Fela Kuti.



Beachcomber.mp3

Pomegranates play Mercury Lounge on May 13th.


Summer Jam: The hottest summer on record in the USA was that of dust bowly 1936, when the average nationwide temperature was 74.6 degrees.

Lil' Kim & Timbaland//The Jumpoff

Have you ever played Kaoroke Revolution? I bet you have. What you might not know is that there’s a slightly less prevailent version of the game that only features hip hop tracks (we used to call it Rap Rap Revolution, but the internet has informed me that this is definitely not its official name).

Katy and I always opted to select The Jumpoff in a heated game of Rap Rap Revolution, partially because it was the only Lil’ Kim song available, but mostly because it’s so awesome (Timbaland production values, anyone?). In fact, our obsession with this song became so all-encompasing that we became, for a brief time, those annoying people who got really drunk and insisted to rap a complete (if slurred) version of The Jumpoff in all manner of public spaces and events. So tough and classy! Just like Lil’ Kim herself, who once had a reality tv show about preparing to go to jail, in which a manicurist plastered her nails with ACTUAL CUT UP $100 BILLS. Money ain’t a thing; throw it out like rice.



The Jumpoff.mp3

Lil’ Kim, who appears to have had almost as much plastic surgery as Michael Jackson, is currently and hilariously being sued by Simon and Schuster for not actually writing her forthcoming autobiography, despite taking the generous advance.

Don’t worry, Kim. I still love you. And I can’t wait to read your awesome book, whenever you get around to writing it.

Badly Drawn Boy//Once Around the Block

I never really got into Badly Drawn Boy. To be honest, I think he’s kind of overrated. That said, this song is one of the best I’ve ever heard.

My friend Ali put this on one of the first mixtapes she made for me. I used to drive around listening to it or sit in my old room in my parent’s house reading and blaring it out of my boombox. It was the last summer (or extended period of time for that matter) I lived with my parents, the one between Freshman and Sophmore year of college. It was a carefree time of hanging out with home friends, mountain biking and working a crappy wage slave-y job. Ahh, suburban summer.

This song fit perfectly with how I was feeling. Catchy and upbeat, but a tinge of sad is in there somewhere (I think I knew my aimless irresponsibility couldn’t last forever). Mr. Drawn Boy also makes some unconventional sound/arrangement choices, which I can totally get down with.


Once Around the Block.mp3

This track is from Badly Drawn Boy’s breakout album, Hour of the Bewilderbeast. I suggest you copy this over to a tape and listen to it that way for max enjoyment.

BDB recently released a download only album in February called The Time of Times. More info is on his site.

Keep your heart on your sleeve and your sole in your shoes.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings//How Long Do I Have to Wait for You?

How long do I have to wait for the weekend? Just one more day, actually!

Yeah, it’s Thursday. What better way to celebrate the impending two days of freedom than with the soulful sounds of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. This amazing Brooklyn band sounds so much like authentic late 60s/70s soul/funk that it’s almost unbelievable that they are a contemporary band recording in today’s mostly digital world.

I first heard the album Naturally on vinyl out of a little standalone box player a few years ago at a friend’s house. I was instantly blown away by the sound quality, the hooks and the sheer power of Jones’ performance.



How Long Do I Have to Wait for You.mp3

Because they use only analog recording equipment, they sound just as fantastic live as they do on tape. Jones is a dynamic soul diva and the 10 Dap Kings never miss a note or a beat. I had the privilege of seeing them last year at Castle Clinton, part of the River to River fest. Unfortunately, it just came to my attention that I have to miss out on their NYC Summer Stage show this year (Aug 16 @ Central Park) –but you shouldn’t!

Aesop Rock//No Regrets

Listening to Aesop Rock reminds me of driving around during the summer of 2006, blaring hip hop mixtapes out of my silver two-door piece-of-shit Hyundai, going to the lake with all my friends for a day of swimming or making a run across state lines to buy illegal fireworks. Those were the days.

This song happens to capture not only an excellent summertime groove, but also a lot of deep reflection on what it means to be an artist or an outcast in our modern society. This song is about purpose and viewing your life as an opportunity to actualize a vision. Of course, the perfectly crafted lyrics also make note of the isolation that can come with this drive. The creative in all of us can identify with Lucy’s plight, which is at once pretty and a bit melancholy.




No Regrets.mp3

You can catch Aesop Rock live at McCarren Park Pool on August 17th. He’s also on tour this summer elsewhere in the US.

Now, get to the lake for me.