Friday Collective Mixtape

FCM #2 - SUMMER This week's theme is "Summer," and i think you'll all agree that everyone put their best foot forward. Click here to download the whole FCM #2 - SUMMER or hunt and peck below. Thanks to Walt this week for submitting the cover. If you like something or hate something or whatever, please make a comment! Some of these files are m4a format, so you should download them all with the link above or right click and save them to your machine.

Next week's Theme - Cover Songs!

"Green River" Creedence Clearwater Revival - 1969
Chris writes: If you're anything like me you can't deny the sweltering swamp rock that Creedence Clearwater Revival embodies, and you certainly crank that (bleep) up when you're cruising around town and those trademark guitar strains start picking their way through your car stereo speakers. Can you hear the bullfrog calling you? CRANK THAT (BLEEP) and come on home to Green River.

"When Alice Comes Back To The Farm" The Move - 1970
Jane writes: In high school, just outside of town, there was a small field surrounded on three sides by woods and one side by cornfield. On summer nights we could sneak down, make a small fire, pass around a bottle of cheap whiskey, sweat, laugh, fight, love, and hang out until morning... On the best nights, someone would carefully navigate their car through the trees just so we could pop the trunk open and listen to the cassette deck. And either the adults in town didn't know about this place or collectively agreed not to wreck the mystique of it all. We were appreciative. Looking back now, I realize they'd probably enjoyed the spot when they were younger too. But at the time, it was so rebellious. This was the heaviest of guitars... with violin; rock with shuffle. This was a bunch of Brits in silk shirts in the 60's with an incredible take on blues.

"The Good Life" Weezer - 2000
TJ writes: This just brings be back to high school with my friends, having a gay old summer time!!! Nothing beats that!! Enjoy!!

"Girl" Beck - 2005
Margaret writes: When I was in college I worked at a summer camp in northern California for a month, and they played this song everytime a new group of campers would arrive. Everytime I hear it, I immediately go back there. Plus, it just sounds like summer to me.

"Summertime" DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - 1991
Bryan writes: Just reminds me of the summer of 91 and being an 11 year old kid. listening to it on my walkman in the parking lot while playing games or family bbqs. fun times.

"Another Summer" 213 - 2004
Ben writes: This song evokes summer weekends like no other i've heard. Barbecue, pool party, kids running around, etc. Snoop's flow is as smooth as ever, and the song mixes up rap, soul, and R&B into something truly magical. Gotta love the smooth Kanye West production too!

"Pit Stop (Take Me Home)" Lovage - 2001
Brian writes: There are A LOT of songs that remind me of summer, but Mike Patton was a topic of discussion today so... Lovage... Pit Stop...

"Everyone's A V.I.P To Someone" The Go! Team - 2005
Nick writes: I first came upon the Go! Team's debut album "Thunder, Lightning, Strike" in August 2004, and it quickly became my favorite album of the year (sorry, Arcade Fire). This is the last track on it. I have lots of memories of driving around North Carolina in 95 degree weather with the windows down, listening to this album the whole way through again and again. As for this song, you pretty much can't beat the part when the drums come in, halfway through.

"4th of July" X - 1980
James writes: Nothing says "summer" like the Fourth of July. Growing up in the Windy City, I've always thought of Independence Day as a time when sweaty fat people in neon tank tops stood elbow-to-elbow after paying far too much for chicken-on-a-stick at the Taste of Chicago. The fact that the holiday actually commemorates America's birthday? Well, that's the proverbial gravy on the chicken-on-a-stick.

X always appealed to me with the way they hung on images of American squalor. Consider the following line when you fire up your Weber Grill meat orgy on the Fourth:

"On the stairs I smoke a / cigarette alone / Mexican kids are shootin' / fireworks below / Hey baby, it's the Fourth of July"

Happy Birthday, America!

"This Is the Sea" The Waterboys - 2004
Sean writes: (nothing?)

"Crack The Liar's Smile" Drain STH - 1997
AJ writes: Drain STH is an all girl metal band from Sweden. They don't scream, they sing. Bad ass chicks, and actually attractive. It reminds me of summer because they were on Ozzfest the year I went to 3 different Ozzfests. The singer married Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath after the tour.

"Open All Night" The Urge - 1995
Christine writes: Summertime in STL in high school meant that we would head down to Mississippi Nights for the $1.05 Urge Shows. I don’t think we listened to anything but ska and punk back then so it was really lucky that we had one of the best ska bands around in our city. This is just a silly song from a really talented band.

"Battlescars" Ozma - 2001
Justin writes: This song for me paints pictures of my end days of high school joy riding around the suburbs with my friends on an endless search for something, anything interesting to occupy our time. On our search we crank up the stereo sing our hearts out (to this song) then we arrive at IHOP and spend 4 hours there talking about our dreams. Oh youth!

"Summer Wind" Frank Sinatra - 1966
Walt writes: There are so many good summer songs out there, it's hard to choose. Certainly there are those that are titular in nature but there are also those that tied to summer, at least for me. John Cougar's Jack & Diane, Bobby Bloom's Montego Bay and, heck, even John Williams theme from Jaws evoke summer. That said, I'm going with Summer Wind by The Chairman of the Board.

Several summers ago I was was walking south on Wabash after crossing the river and a band, fronted by a guy who did a more than passable Ol' Blue Eyes, was playing this song. It reminded how much I liked it and how much time had past since I last listened to it. The funny thing is, I rarely listen to it in the summertime. It's more of a winter song for me, as I anticipate the sun and warmth returning to my life.

Labels: hip-hop, mixtape, pop, rock