Monday, July 12, 2010

THIS. IS. IT. Mack to the Future's patented Summer Jam countdown

Take a deep breath, things are about to get real. This is the post for which this blog (and our band Body Language, and possibly our entire friendship) was created. (Editor's note: for proof please see: the title of this blog) In honor of the sweltering heat in our respective coastal towns, we present the to you THE SUMMER JAM POST. After much g-chatting, soul-searching, and dehydrated drunk summer dancing, we've compiled what we believe to be a foolproof list of the greatest Summer Jams of all time. No. Big. Deal. As we've discussed previously, we firmly believe Summer Jam to be both the greatest genre of music and the greatest state of mind. Perhaps more than any other jam, Summer Jams will instantly take you back to the place, person, and buzz level you were at when you first jammed to it, a feeling that is part Proust, part Party in the U.S.A.

Now, before we launch into the list, some clarifications: to be a summer jam a song doesn't have to be about summer. It doesn't have to have been released in the summer. All it has to do is evoke the summer. This, of course, means different things to different people, so for some this list may not be comprehensive. We fully admit to a huge gap in the 1980s, made up for in our opinion by a tight focus on the '90s and early 2000s, clearly the golden era of the Summer Jam (as ushered in by Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff). In the name of full disclosure, we refer to other good treatments of the Summer Jam subject: MTV recently put up a great rundown, and Vulture tackles it with a brilliant category system every summer.

So, with much love, here, in chronological order (because order of importance would be far too painful), are THE MACK TO THE FUTURE JAMS OF SUMMER. Do us (and your friends) a favor and bring some of these sweet tracks to your next roof party. Do us ANOTHER favor and tell us your favorite jams that we may have missed!

ARTIST

SONG

YEAR

BEACH BOYS

All Summer Long

1964

THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS

California Dreamin'

1965

DONOVAN
Sunshine Superman
1966

THE 5TH DIMENSION

California Soul

1968

MUNGO JERRY

In the Summertime

1970

CHEAP TRICK

Southern Girls

1977

GREASE

Summer Nights

1978

EARTH, WIND & FIRE

September

1978

BLONDIE

Heart of Glass

1979

MICHAEL JACKSON
Rock With You
1979

ADAM & THE ANTS

Los Rancheros

1980

DON HENLEY

Boys of Summer

1984

FRESH PRINCE

Summertime

1991

INNER CIRCLE

Sweat (A La La La La Long)

1992

MONTELL JORDAN

This is How We Do It

1995

MARK MORRISON

Return of the Mack

1996

TUPAC & DR. DRE

California Love

1996

WEEZER

El Scorcho

1996

OMC

How Bizarre

1996

NOTORIOUS B.I.G.

Mo Money Mo Problems

1997

MA$E

Feel So Good

1997

SUBLIME

Doin' Time

1997

SNOOP DOGG

We Just Wanna Party

1997

WILL SMITH

Gettin' Jiggy With It

1998

ACE OF BASE

Cruel Summer

1998

JANET JACKSON
Together Again
1998

MARIAH CAREY

Heartbreaker

1999

LFO

Summergirls

1999

LEN

Steal My Sunshine

1999

SISQO

The Thong Song

1999

TLC

No Scrubs

1999

CHRISTINA AGUILERA

Genie in a Bottle

1999

JESSICA SIMPSON

I Think I'm in Love With You

1999

JENNIFER LOPEZ

Waiting for Tonight

1999

SHAGGY

It Wasn't Me

2001

BLU CANTRELL

Hit 'Em Up Style

2001

NSYNC

Pop

2001

EVE FT. GWEN STEFANI

Blow Ya Mind

2001

KYLIE MINOGUE

Love at First Sight/Can't Get You Out of My Head

2001

CAM'RON
Hey Ma
2002
R KELLY
Ignition (remix)
2003

CIARA

Goodies

2004

PARIS HILTON

Stars are Blind

2006

AKON/ GWEN STEFANI

Sweet Escape

2006

RIHANNA

S.O.S.

2006

SEAN KINGSTON

Beautiful Girls

2007

CUPID

Cupid Shuffle

2007

LIL MAMA
Lip Gloss
2007

NELLY FT. ASHANTI

Body on Me

2008

KID SISTER

Family Reunion

2008

KANYE WEST FT. ESTELLE

American Boy

2008

MISSY ELLIOTT

Ching-A-Ling

2008

R KELLY FT. SNOOP
Happy Summertime
2008
GET 'EM MAMIS
Cold Summer
2008

MILEY CYRUS

Party in the USA

2009

JESSE McCARTNEY

Body Language

2009

JEREMIH

Birthday Sex

2009

YOUNG MONEY
Bedrock
2010


(Ed Note: because there are so many dearly beloved songs here, we'll spotlight individual jams separately in the future, to give each one the love and attention it deserves.)

2 comments:

  1. Part of this table is off the screen.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Word but we don't know how to fix it and were way too stoked about these songs to hold back any longer. Any ideas?

    ReplyDelete