Sounds on the Summer Wind

Summer has a lot of mainstays to define it: heat, tank tops, pool parties, long days, short swimsuits, and music. Yes, as sure as the Lord made little green apple-tini, (s)he made summer songs.

Summer is closer with each passing day. Our iPods and phones will soon need something to blast on loop at a moments notice. The music landscape has changed a lot since The Beach Boys and Martha and the Vandellas gave pop culture their summer songs. Changed, not just in terms of sound, but variety.

In order to help me find this summer’s song, I decided to turn to an expert. Jake Giles is music connoisseur and the devilishly handsome founder of the only music site you’ll ever need, Sift-thru.com

That’s SIFT-THRU.com *winks to camera*

SS: Jake, thank you so much for joining us today. I want to start by asking you a simple question: what are three of your favorite summer songs?

JG:Simple… ha! There are dozens, but three that always put me in the mood are Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy”, Alex Guadino featuring Kelly Rowland with “When Love Takes Over,” and Jennifer Lopez’s “Waiting For Tonight.” All of them correspond to different summers of my life, but they all have that carefree vibe about them that makes you feel euphoric.

SS: Other than the season, what makes a summer song?

JG: If it’s going to be *the* summer anthem, it has to be relatable across demographics. You have to be able to hear it at the gay clubs just as much as the straight ones. For example, you’ll have your viral smashes like “Call Me Maybe’ that everyone rallies around. It’s accessible and doesn’t take itself seriously, which makes it a blast. Otherwise, anything that can capture the energy of summer – people outside all the time, cookouts, late nights, tanktops – those are the songs that stick around for months. I remember 2010 had some fantastic anthems: Katy Perry, Usher, Lady Gaga, and Taio Cruz all had addictive hits.

SS: Seriously though where is Taio Cruz…I’m worried.

JG: Good question… maybe Kylie murdered him for releasing the Travie McCoy version of “Higher” in the US?

SS: The overall sound of summer songs seems to have dramatically changed. I remember when Katy Perry’s “California Girls” ruled the airwaves and last summer it was all about indie darlings Tegan & Sara’s “Closer.” What artists and songs do you think we should expect to see on the soundtrack of Summer 2014?

JG: Tough call since we have a couple of months left, but my money is on Iggy Azalea for sure. “Fancy,” her song featuring Charli XCX, is slowly climbing the charts and has that crossover potential I mentioned. It seems we’re slowly stepping away from EDM, so I think songs with a strong hip-hop groove will standout more in the summer. A song I’d love to see catch on is the new Robyn and Royksopp tune “Do It Again.” It’s pure, unabashed dance pop but it has an amazing aggression to it. It’s a shoe-in for the gay clubs, that’s for sure.

SS: Anything else you want to add?

JG: Every summer should have a Robyn anthem. That needs to be a law.

SS: Yes…yes it should. I’ll um…call Michelle and get on that. Michelle Obama not Williams…duh. Jake, thank you so much for joining us during Not Safe 4 Werk’s launch week, we’re huge fans of Sift-Thru so having you has made us all (Chiffon) giddy as school girls. Feel free to join us again, anytime.

JG: Thank you for having me.

Please be sure to stay up to date with the hottest releases in music by visiting www.sift-thru.com and on Facebook here.

Summer is coming folks. It might not be tomorrow or the day after, but it is on its way. It’s marched to April and now onwards to May. You’ll know with each passing day that we’re closer because the sounds of summer will be more audible the closer it gets. I know I can’t wait to dance to each step of the way.

As a side note, for future reference. It’s WAY better to google “summer music” when looking for pictures. If you type “gay summer music”, 90% of what you get is Donna Summer pics.

Keep geek.

-Sidney

P.S. Please feel free to leave some of you favorite Summer Songs, past, present, or future, in the comment section. We’d love to hear from you!