10 Dark, Weird Candidates for “Song of the Summer”

We’ll admit that this year, we’re just a little overly-invested in the battle for “song of the summer.” It’s partially because we hate how damn catchy Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” one major contender for the #1 spot, is, partially because the song it’s going toe-to-toe with, Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe,” is legitimately amazing, and partially because we’re unable to get the incredibleness of jj’s new High Summer EP out of our heads. Now, we know what you’re thinking: there’s no way the dreamy electronic pop of Swedish duo jj’s going to end up in a knock-out fight for the top Billboard spot, but it should. In fact, this summer there’s a plethora of tunes that are just begging to come blasting out of every boombox in the park on sweltering Saturday afternoon, but for whatever reason — too dark, too weird, too obscure, etc — it’s just not going to happen. So here, then, are our candidates for alternate “song of the summer.” And tell us, please, in the comments, what songs are in the heaviest rotation on your iPod this season.

jj, “High Summer”

Like a little gift, evasive Swedish duo jj released High Summer last Friday, and it’s just, for lack of a better word, dreamy. They’ve cemented themselves as basically a  New Age rap group (we could digress here on how The Tough Alliance, jj’s labelmates at Sincerely Yours, essentially invented #seapunk, the ultimate summer genre, but we’ll save that for another time), making opiated soundscapes and spitting fire on top of them. “I’m a nice girl/with some nice dreams,” go the The Weeknd-referencing lyrics to the EP’s title track, drifting on an ocean of bliss. Seriously, if you don’t put on High Summer at least once to accompany some mid-afternoon Summer Friday day drinking, we can’t be friends.

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Yo where the FUCK is Weapon of Ass Destruction - "Grimes and Pictureplane" like come on man are you ASKING to get murked?

The first 4 are unremittingly awful. I couldn't finish listening to any of them.

that JJ ep is nothing special, neither are JJ to be frank. TTA were. no contest.

These are pretty godawful.

Sarah Jaffe - Clementine Death Grips - I've Seen Footage Scissor Sisters - San Luis Obispo Little Big Town - Pontoon Marina & the Diamond - Prima Donna Azelia Banks - 212 Sleeper Agent - Get Burned Delta Spirit - California Flo Rida - Wild One (Boy nothing gets me off my ass like this song!) LP - (all of them)

@Tayler: well damn, you're right. Good call.

Ariel Pink & Dam Funk-Baby Kitty Pryde-Okay Cupid Nite Jewel-One Second Love Anything from the new Peaking Lights "Lucifer".

I do believe that The Weeknd was actually referencing Pharrell's line in "Drop it Like it's Hot".