Summer is officially here. Finals and graduation have passed, marking the start of summer internships, classes, jobs and most importantly, rejuvenation. And for this all-essential rejuvenation, music is absolutely vital. After all, there is nothing quite like listening to a carefully curated playlist while driving on a hot sunny day or a warm and breezy night.
The best songs for the season are upbeat, uplifting and have an energy that can only be fully appreciated in warm weather. Finding these perfect songs can be difficult, so here are four of the best songs to blast on the road during these next few months.
“No Surrender” by Bruce Springsteen
“No Surrender,” a track from Springsteen’s classic 1984 album “Born in the U.S.A.,” is definitely a deeper cut on a record that contains popular hits like “Glory Days” and “Dancing in the Dark.” It’s just as catchy however, and the perfect classic rock tune to blast with the windows down on a warm and breezy day.
The song deals with the realities of getting older, and Springsteen sings about his desire to escape that aging through music. Springsteen starts the song singing, “Well we busted out of class / had to get away from those fools, / we learned more from a three-minute record, baby / than we ever learned in school.”At least for the summer, it would be prudent to follow Springsteen’s path — forget about school for a while, and just enjoy the rock and roll.
The bittersweet lyrics don’t take away from the fact that the song is just as catchy and easy to sing along to as Springsteen’s bigger hits, with its simple yet affecting chorus backed by the E Street Band’s hearty instrumentation. “No Surrender” is a timeless anthem for the freeing first few weeks that come right after the end of the semester.
“GOMD” by Veeze
“GOMD” is relentlessly confident. In the three-minute track, rapper Veeze compares himself to Justin Timberlake, Gucci Mane, Michael Jordan and even Beyonce — “Man I feel just like Beyonce, ****** love to say my name.” It’s impossible not to feel on top of the world after listening to “GOMD,” the repetitions of the chorus, which the title of the song abbreviates are sure to make any listener feel untouchable.
Almost any track on Veeze’s 2023 album “Ganger” could be on this list, but “GOMD” is the closest thing on the tracklist to a mainstream rap hit on an album that verges on experimental. Summer is both a time of coming back to your roots and exploring new things, and Veeze exemplifies this through his adherence to the Rio da Yung OG and Babyface Ray school of Detroit rap while putting his own colorful, cartoonish spin on it.
Veeze’s effortless flow, somehow at the same time sounding incredibly sharp and like he just woke up, fits perfectly over the synth instrumental produced by Tye Beats. “GOMD” is a song fit for almost any situation from the gym to the pregame, and the car is certainly no exception.
“Running on Empty” by Jackson Browne
“Running on Empty,” the title track from Browne’s 1977 soft rock live album about life as a touring musician, is both sonically and lyrically a great song for the open road. It is about not knowing where your path is taking you, but moving forward nonetheless — an important message during the often unpredictable time of transition that is summer.
Browne’s timeless vocals on “Running on Empty” sound like they were perfected in a studio — his smooth tenor voice helps animate the nostalgia, desperation and tenderness found in the lyrics. “Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels / Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields,” Browne sings.
In addition to Browne’s singing, Danny Kortchmar’s guitar and Russ Kunkel’s drums help drive the song into just the right gear, a tempo perfect to cruise along to. The lyrics describe a state of aimlessness — “I don’t know where I’m running now” — but Browne encourages himself to just keep running — “I’m just running on.”
“Ski” by Young Thug and Gunna
It’s a shame that Young Thug and Gunna quit collaborating after a fallout stemming from the highly publicized YSL racketeering trial, because in the last 10 years the duo, formerly partners on YSL Records, worked together on a long list of now classic tracks. One of their best collaborations, “Ski,” comes off of the 2021 album “Slime Language 2.”
The track’s colorful instrumental, with a pounding bass sure to shake any car, in conjunction with Thug and Gunna’s melodic, energetic flows make “Ski” a surefire summer hit.The song’s chorus is nothing incredible — Thug repeats the words “yeah” and “ski”, but his enthusiasm in his flow is what makes the song stand out. The duo isn’t really saying anything in this song — “Wunna, these vibes wanna love me / Not wifey, and no lovey-dovey,” Gunna raps — but the point isn’t to think too much.
With “Ski” — as with the rest of these songs — all you need to do is turn the volume up, roll the windows down and vibe in the summer heat.
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