#fivesongsthat is a feature in which someone selects and discusses fives songs that…do something collectively. Political, personal, perhaps a mixture of the two – it encourages people to consider what certain tracks might represent when placed together. That and it gives us a chance to indulge in some great music.
I adore warm weather, and this week the UK has had it in bucket-loads. From cycle rides in Hyde Park to swimming in the Hampstead ponds and beyond, London in the warm weather has been a real treat. Having been immersed in the warm-ish climate for a few days now, and with some suggesting the warm weather is set to continue for the foreseeable future, I thought I’d provide you with a warm weather playlist to soundtrack your BBQs and sunbathing this weekend. Enjoy! – JF
1. I’ll Be There – Chic, Nile Rodgers
If you don’t like the work of Chic and Nile Rodgers, I maintain you must be dead inside. They’re back with their first new track in over 20 years, and ‘I’ll Be There’ doesn’t disappoint. It’s infectious, it’s joyful and it’s perfect for a hot weekend in the sun. Think classic Chic with some contemporary influences.
2. Peaches N Cream (feat. Charlie Wilson) – Snoop Dogg
Not since ‘Signs’ has Snoop Dogg sounded so fresh. This, his lead single from his impending new album, sounds like a summer anthem in waiting. A typically laid-back production style from Pharrell? Check. Hooks for days? Check. Charlie Wilson vocals? Check. Seriously, if you’re not sipping on a cocktail in a roof bar whilst this is playing in the background by the end of June, you’re doing summer wrong.
3. The Bay – Metronomy
This Metronomy track from 2011 ALWAYS sounds good in warm weather. The Bay, and the record it is lifted from have a very special place in my heart; not just because they’re great but they soundtracked my post A Levels, pre-uni summer. A summer in which I drove around the Kentish countryside in my little Nissan Micra with my friends, having what I remember to be endless amounts of fun. It’s breezy, it’s catchy and it’s all about summer lyrically – what more could you want from a warm weather anthem?
3. REALiTi – Grimes
Grimes returned earlier this year with REALiTi, a track that fuses her trademark electronic sound with a more traditional song structure to create one of her most accessible tracks to date. It sounds a bit like an old Girls Aloud B-side in parts, but is still distinctly Grimes – the video, meanwhile, is testament that you don’t need a big budget to create brilliant visuals. What’s more, REALiTi is only a demo, so who knows what Grimes has in store for us next? This is pure pop perfection, and a perfect addition to any summer playlist.
5. Be My Baby (feat.Cashmere Cat) – Ariana Grande
Ariana is now one of the world’s biggest pop-stars as a result of ‘Problem’, but if I had one complaint about her breakthrough second album, it’d be that it verged quite far from the original sound that made me first fall in love with her music. Luckily, her sophomore album still has a couple of standout moments, ‘Be My Baby’ being one of them. It’s classic r’n’b with a modern twist, and it sounds amazing in the summer sun. Ariana has one of those objectively amazing voices, and its track like these that really show that off.
James Fyfe
James is the Editor of MUSIC at PTL. Apart from a love of pretty much all things music, he also enjoys watching Question Time on Thursday nights, going out on Fridays and watching as many awful films on Netflix as he can. If James won the lottery, he would create a musical based on the works of Janet Jackson. Watch this space.
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