2009 Songs of the Summer

Posted at 05:00 PM

In Section: On Music Posted By: Evan Rytlewski

As we enter the final stretch of summer, magazines and newspapers have begun to crown their choices for 2009's song of the summer. The New York Postcalled it for Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow," ironically the worst song of the summer, but better options abound. I'll submit 10:

1. Jeremih - "Birthday Sex"

A slippery hook put Jeremih's debut single atop the charts; legions of birthday girls with unimaginative radio requests kept it there.

2. Young Money ft. Lil Wayne - "Every Girl"

Sure, it's censored beyond recognition for the radio, but the introductory single from Lil Wayne's Young Money collective says in blunt, clever terms what every other rap and R&B song is thinking.

3. Pleasure P - "Boyfriend 2"

Infidelity, justified.

4. Drake - "Best I Ever Had"

Can you tell Kanye West directed the video?

5. The-Dream - "Rockin' That Thang"

Hormones make The-Dream say all sorts of things he doesn't mean.

6. Keri Hilson ft. Kanye West and Ne-Yo - "Knock You Down"

"The Girl Is Mine," with Kanye West and Ne-Yo filling the Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney roles, but told from the woman's perspective. Brilliant.

7. Maxwell - "Pretty Wings"

Because people over 25 listen to the radio, too. Sometimes.

8. Chrisette Michele - "Epiphany (I'm Leaving)"

Chrisette Michele's most elegant moment yet.

9. Jamie Foxx ft. T-Pain - "Blame It"

"Blame It" peaked a little too early to be the song of the summer, loosing much of its appeal when your parents began singing along with it. Still, for a couple weeks there...

10. Kid Cudi - "Day n Nite"

Because Top 40 is a sucker for songs that can be easily transformed into mega-mixes.

2009 Songs of the Summer

Lil Wayne w/ Young Jeezy, Soulja Boy, Jeremih Lil Wayne @ The Marcus Amphitheater Animal Collective Alienates Fans at Lollapalooza Sanford Grizzly Bear Heats Up the Album of the Year Race Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks @ Red, White and Pabst Blue Ribbon

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anonymous

Here's 10 songs I've been listening to this summer. 1. "Psychic City" - YACHT 2. "Over It" - Dinosaur Jr. 3. "Auditorium"- Mos Def 4. "Lakeside" = BLK JKS 5. "Dominos" - The Big Pink 6. "Walkabout" - Atlas Sound 7. "DC Comics and Chocolate Milk" - Art Brut 8. Hurt Feelings - Flight of the Conchords 9. Endless Love - The Fresh and Onlys 10. Drop Out - Times New Viking

Evan Rytlewski

That's a great list; I've been enjoying much of the same myself. I wasn't familiar with Big Pink or The Fresh and Onlys, but I'm really impressed by what I heard on Myspace.

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anonymous

what are you trying out for a gig on kiss fm? why do the songs of summer have to be bad rap music?

Evan Rytlewski

I'm going by the Kelefa Sanneh definition of Song of the Summer: "By tradition, the modern Song of the Summer has to have a certain sound. The basic template is hip-pop; duets are encouraged but not required; the preferred subject is love (although lust works too, so long as there’s plenty of flirting); and the preferred feeling is breezy. In an earlier era, when bombastic R&B ballads and earnest rock songs regularly scaled the charts, this summery sound might have seemed like a break from the norm. But it has been over a decade since Toni Braxton howled “Un-Break My Heart,” and these days the sound of summer is the sound of pop music, period."

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