Monday, May 17, 2010

Summertime fun!

The warm weather is starting to hit the bay area and with that comes a completely different aesthetic. As much as I'm a fan of the beach and the out doors, I just can't bring myself to rock the typical summer attire. Luckily there are a number of bands that have served as inspiration on how to "stay cool" in hot weather.

Exhibit A: Nikki and the Corvettes


I'm not quite sure why but nothing says summer to me like colored denim and horizontal stripes. Maybe it's the 1960's surfer vibe that Nikki, Lori and Sally have in most of their promo shots... or maybe it's just because their songs are about summer, boys and cruisin' with the top down, but for whatever reason I can't listen to their self titled album (1980, Bomp! Records) without feeling like I'm at the beach.

Exhibit B: The Barracudas

While the above album cover would suggests they hail from somewhere in sunny southern California, the Barracudas were actually a London based group. These Anglo-Americans did a remarkably fine job at writing songs about the beach and the breaks in the late 70's/early 80's even though it's hard to believe a group of guys from London had a lot of opportunities to surf...

The Barracudas "Drop Out..." album holds a permanent spot in my top 10 favorite summertime albums and, with tracks like "Summer Fun", "Surfers Are Back" and "His Last Summer", you can probably guess why.

Exhibit C: The Beach Boys



Need I even explain why they're on this list?