I’ve used these blog posts as a medium to talk a lot about what I did this summer, people I met, things I learned, etc., and it’s all important. But one thing that is really, really important to me that I never went into is MUSIC! I discovered and rediscovered a ton of sweet tunes this summer so I’m dedicating this post to my 12 favorite songs from this summer. Why 12? I don’t know but it was too tough to cut the list down to 10. Each of these 12 were at some point either stuck in my head for elongated periods of time, on repeat throughout the summer, perfectly complemented a moment, or all of the above. I think each of them are worth checking out at some point. Enjoy.

1. My Mind Is Playing Tricks On Me – Geto Boys
   • I really discovered this song this past spring but it’s so damn good that this classic 90s banger was played continuously throughout my summer. While I can’t relate to the Boys and their situations, as a person who frequently gets lost in his thoughts I definitely resonate with the song’s title and dominant hook: my mind is playing tricks on me. The song weaves through four different narratives each told by one of the Geto Boys. Some are comedic, some are real, all are dominated by an insanely strong and personalized flow and a consistently upbeat tempo. Just when you think the song is done Bushwick Bill comes in and keeps you going with his rugged voice for just one more verse. Definitely a classic.
2. Eat Your Heart Out – Hungry Kids of Hungary
   • I heard this song on my first day in Oregon. Catie and I were riding in Julia’s car on the way back from Newport and my iPod was on shuffle when this song came on. I can’t really explain what makes this song so distinctive and special to me. If it was played at another time on another day I might not have truly appreciated it. But that first guitar riff and its melancholic message perfectly complemented this chill drive with strangers who would very soon become friends.
3. Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head & Last Living Souls – Gorillaz
   • I put two songs for this one because they both were played in succession during a drive to Siskiyou National Forest. This was my first weekend in the South Coast and my roommate Brendan and I had only known each other for a total of two days but we decided to escape the wind and go camping for a night. While Brendan was driving, playing his chill tunes, “Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head” came on. I can’t remember anymore if I had selected it, if he had, or if it just came on at random, but within seconds I was reminded just how incredible this story of a song was. In a desperate attempt to keep the vibe going, I randomly chose another song off Demon Days that I had never heard before. “Last Living Souls” was slow at first but thirty five seconds in I knew I had made the right choice.
4. Dope on a Rope – The Growlers
   • Now the Growlers are probably one of my favorite indie rock artists. Frontman Brooks Nielsen’s grainy, unconventional voice gives new meaning to every one of their songs. It’s no different with “Dope on a Rope.” The Growler’s album City Club was one of my favorites for the first half of the summer but this has to be the song that I would play constantly. I played it during Fourth of July when some of the South Coasters came over for burgers and it was the perfect ambience for such a day. Really pay attention to the bass line, like most Growlers songs it doesn’t follow a consistent rhythm. It’ll knock your socks off, trust.
5. Suburban Beverage – Real Estate
   • I relistened to Real Estate’s self-titled album while roaming around Battle Rock and the beach in Port Orford. I’m a huge lover of Real Estate but their first album never captured me the way their later ones have, so when I was looking for some chill music to accompany this relaxed yet adventurous-feeling jaunt I figured this might be the perfect time to get into it. Real Estate’s emphasis has never been on their lyrics or vocals and this trend is most obvious in their self-titled. This particular song’s only lyric is “Budweiser Sprite, do you feel alright?” and for 3 minutes the band just repeats this ambiguously nonsensical phrase until crescendoing into a 3 minute jam sesh of emotion-driven, lyric-devoid instrumentation that will just make you FEEL.
6. Sketch – Stereo MC’s
   • This groovy British hip-hop gem played on my way home from work on a Monday. I give attention to the day because Mondays are always those days where the routine seems so set in stone. In an attempt to escape this comfortable prison I put my iPod’s 15,911 songs on shuffle. I was blessed with Sketch, a 6 minute long groove cruise of British-accented flow, and I DUG it.
7. Secrets – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
   • I love 80s music. I like to think that I’m pretty versed in this unique musical era but OMD is a group that I did not even know existed until this summer. Based on the suggestion of a friend who was seeing them in concert I decided to give them a listen and god damn god damn, “Secrets” is so beautifully 80s electro-pop it makes me want to throw up. With a catchy synth riff, a theme that could have been taken directly out of a teenage girl’s diary, and a continuous, longing outcry from a female singer who most likely is wearing something studded with too many rhinestones, “Secrets” is an anthem and my favorite 80s song of the summer.
8. California – The Lagoons
   • Now of these 12 songs, this might have been the one that most suited the moment in which it was played. This moment occurred during the Mid-Summer Check-In. I had just gotten my full dose of the North Coaster’s lifestyle with a bonfire on the beach that was part of a goodbye party for a chill dude by the name of Brady. It was a beautifully memorable night shared with beautiful strangers that was concluded with a tight, illegal squeeze in Brady’s truck bed with people who were no longer just strangers. Combine the company, the night lights from the bay bridge, the Oregon beach breeze, and this sexy sax-filled song and you’ve got a liberatingly content moment out of a Stephen Chbosky novel. Shoutout to Sarah for being such a great DJ.
9.  ALL OF EVERYTHING NOW – Arcade Fire
   • Ok first off f*** the haters, this album is incredible. It’s not the Arcade Fire you’ve grown up with, it’s not the Arcade Fire you love, but it’s the Arcade Fire of today and I am fanboying HARD. I listened to this album three times within 12 hours. The first time I heard it I was at the Punchbowl trying to play putt putt as I danced along to the album. With every song that came on I thought “Wow, that was fantastic, it can’t possibly get better” but I am so happy to say that it did get better, and it got better and it got better and it got better and…(do I need to keep going?). The second time I heard Everything Now was the next morning at 7am when Catie and I drove up to Depoe Bay to go whale watching. I was so filled with joy to discover that my love of the album was still just as strong after a night of sleep. It made me even more happy to see that Catie was digging it just as much as much as I was. The third time I listened to it was that evening while cleaning my room. Nothing special, but still just as dope as the first two times.
10. Pyramids – Frank Ocean
    • Apparently it’s a sin if you didn’t fall in love with Channel Orange in high school. The first time I ever heard it was my junior year of college and I only really liked three songs off it so I’m basically the devil. But a week ago I needed to organize my negatives and I knew it was going to be a long and lonely process. So, I cracked open a cold one and threw on Frank’s Blonde. A few beers later and I had finished Blonde and started Channel Orange. The combination of repetitious work, booze, and Frank’s stories created a vibe that would get you ready to call up your ex. Pyramids nine minute ballad and its disgustingly encapturing transition really made me understand Frank’s music.
11.  Uncle John’s Band – The Grateful Dead
    • One of my goals this summer was to get into the Grateful Dead. My roommate Brendan is a Dead Head and he would make it a point to show me their music here and there. It took eight weeks but my eyes were finally opened on his last night in Coos Bae. As I sat in my room, a live version of this song played in the kitchen. I can’t describe exactly what set Uncle John’s Band apart from all the other Dead songs I’d heard before but it felt like I was listening to the Dead for the first time. Since then I’ve listened to their Blues for Allah and the song Shakedown Street (which I am in love with). If things keep up I may be a late bloomer to the Dead Head scene.
12. Young Folks – City of the Sun
    • I was so fortunate to have Catie as a co-worker. We carpooled for more than half the summer and with every drive we would listen to music. Let me tell you, her music taste is on point. This was the last song she suggested I listen to and it’s been playing at least three times a day for the past three days. Peter Bjorn & John are great and this is a truly creative and commemorative tribute to a classic.

“Cheers to the end of a great summer and a larger music library!” is what I would say if I didn’t have one last blog post to do. I’m an awful Scholar I know. Stay tuned.