Hot Vaxx Summer

collage by HSR

For a lot of us, the idea of a vaccinated, less restricted summer is what is getting us through right now. The spring semester seemed to have dragged on so slowly, and every glimpse of warm weather nearly sends me into a spiral thinking about the unrealistic optimism I have for the upcoming months. To feel the buzz of a summer evening when the blue night reflects purple on the pavement from the streetlights' influence, and when the heat goes straight to your head causing a sort of dizziness disguised as excitement. This is what I cannot wait for. To have actual plans that feature both a dress code and strangers seems so exquisite; simple pleasures really have a newfound allure.

This summer I’m going to allow myself to sink fully into the gooiest, sugary pop and feel-good music I can think of – I feel that everyone just needs a little weight lifted right now. Here are a few songs I will have on repeat in the upcoming months, which will help convince me that any bad decisions were great ideas. 

“Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)” - Lady Gaga (2008) 

The Fame Monster was the first album I made my mom download onto my purple iPod nano as a kid, so naturally, it has a strong presence in my mind when considering my personal favorite pop songs. While basically the entire album can be used as the soundtrack to being young, reckless, and brazen, none hit quite like “Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)”. The speaker is truly carefree and rejects taking the blame for their actions after dumping someone and meeting someone new, but, like a pop song, the listener gets the feeling maybe everything doesn’t need to be so complicated. The vibrant synths work in conversation with one another as the up-tempo drum machine creates a layered ballad, as when Gaga sings, “Wish he never looked at me that way”, there is no time to feel remorse because it’s already a party. 

“Percolator”- Charly Bliss (2017) 

As one of the most exhilarating tracks from Charly Bliss’ debut album, “Percolator” is a trainwreck from start to finish. The song’s driving bubblegum pop-rock sound and tempo that raises like a heartbeat are paired with charming, irreverent lyrics like, “I’m not scared to lick the floor/ ‘cause I have sucked on something worse” and “I cry all the time, I think that it’s cool/ I’m in touch with my feelings.” Eva Hendricks’ soaring vocals are both teasing and unashamed, for she is a flirt that could care less about the stares, and you cannot stop staring. When she ends the song with the line, “You say that I make you feel like a man”, and the instrumentation hesitates before launching into a chorus of drums and guitars, the listener becomes washed in a wave of - you guessed it - bliss. 

“BFF”- Slayyyter, Ayesha Erotica (2019)

If you grew up with 2000s pop this song is a no-brainer - it’s like the grittiest Kesha

song times ten and just by listening to it, it makes you feel like you are scamming older men. Rarely are there songs about friendship, and while this one depicts more of a Paris Hilton/ Nicole Richie dynamic rather than anything remotely attainable, at least hyper pop darlings Slayyyter and Ayesha Erotica are aware of this (“Tryna pull up into the real world/ But I think I’d rather stay in Dior”). The song opens with a bass-heavy synth that is downright ominous in an ode to the dangerous allure of being professionally f**ked up, for “BFF” is a perfect hedonist fantasy, dripping with excess and lacking of worry. 

“If I Was Your Girlfriend”- Prince (1987) 

“If I Was Your Girlfriend” is basically “I Wanna Be Your Lover” for a lonelier night. Prince sings of the jealousy he feels for his girlfriend’s female friendship in this song, as he wishes to inhibit the platonic aspect of intimacy as well as the role of lover, wanting to help her pick out an outfit or cry together at the movies. By subverting the gender binary, Prince opens the song up to many forms of interpretation, though it ultimately remains one of yearning for a reality that is just out of reach. The whispered repetition of the song’s title haunts the listener while battling desperation in the guise of being hopeful, and the slap of the bass serves as a slap in the face of disillusion, though sometimes you cannot help but dwell in the aura of what could be. The song is funky enough that it helps ease the agony of desire and serves as a pleasant reminder that if Prince can feel this hopeless, naturally at some point you will too. 

“JUST LIKE WE NEVER SAID GOODBYE”- SOPHIE (2015)

In an ode to SOPHIE, I wanted to include this song of ecstasy that I have been enamoured with since its release in 2015. I have both cried and partied to it, so of course, it deserves a place in this summer dream of pseudo-freedom. “JUST LIKE WE NEVER SAID GOODBYE”, tells of a reunion with an old lover, making the song a perfect fantasy for anyone returning to their hometown. The song’s premise is a fairly mundane experience that becomes improbable and monumental when examined through SOPHIE’s crystallized lens, and the chorus still makes me want to tear up when they sing, “When you looked at me that way”, and “When you held my hand that way”. The industrial-synth production manages to highlight the tenderness of the lyrics as if reflecting the internal explosion that occurs when falling in love. I get goosebumps every time I hear, “Still got that glint in your eye/ Like you did the very first time”. SOPHIE, you were a treasure. 

“Muthaleficent”- BbyMutha (2020)

In an interview with Crack Magazine, Brittnee Moore a.k.a. BbyMutha said, “I feel like my rap style is just poetry, arguments, and jokes. Like when you be in the shower and you’re like ‘Damn that’s what I should have said in the argument!’ I turn them into raps.” This is exactly the experience of listening to her music and why it feels so satisfying, for it conjures a sense of un-botheredness, and as a result, confidence follows. When she raps, “Goddamn, Ion claim ‘em bitches, you are not my kid/ Ion recognize you bitches who the fuck that is?” it creates a feeling of being unstoppable, and even if you are really quite stoppable, for a moment this fearlessness feels unquestionable, which is a small dose of magic.  

“Can’t Tell Me Nothing” - Kanye West (2007) 

While “Can I talk my shit again?” from “The Glory” has been revived as a trending sound on TikTok, and is admittedly perhaps the best argument to lead into this summer with, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” embodies this line for four-and-a-half minutes straight. A discussion, or in this case playlist, of unbothered ego cannot run its course without a mention of Kanye West, because plainly no one does it better. He is fully aware of this, for on this song he raps, “I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny/ And what I do? Act more stupidly.” His personal practice of this sentiment is infuriating to some, and for good reason, but sometimes it serves as a valuable reminder to not take everything so seriously and to live at least part of your life for yourself. Sometimes, and as a writer, it is nearly impossible to admit this, everything does not need to be so hard, for the glorification of the grind can come at the cost of spirit, and then can you say it was really ever worth it? 

“Someone to Chill With”- Erika de Casier (2021) 

Erika de Casier’s sound is compelling, as she conjures ‘90s R&B with a more 

contemporary outlook, yielded by her sultry vocals that come off as timid while remaining defiant. Sensational, her latest album that came out in May, contains songs that are all sonically individual but are united in themes of agency, loss, and the denunciation of excess. In the album's seventh track, “Someone to Chill With”, de Casier wishes for nothing serious on her own terms, singing: “Not looking for the one and only/ Don’t need anybody I got me.” The song glides and bounces with ease as the Danish songwriter remains in control, both of the composition and song’s sentiment, emphasizing “Just cause I’m alone, don’t mean I’m lonely”, which serves as a great reminder to all.