EPISODE 130

Every year, critics and media outlets the world over put out definitive song-of-summer guides based on…well, we’re not always entirely sure. Certainly popularity, as measured by streams and radio play; not to mention that bewildering feeling that creeps up some time mid-July, prompting whispered exclamations of: “man, this song is everywhere.” But the most ubiquitous track isn’t necessarily the one you’ll have on repeat on those steamy summer commutes to work, nor is it the song you’ll want soundtracking this year’s vacations, graduations, summer flings and backyard cookouts.

In this episode, we abandon the pursuit of a single song of summer, and ask the question we’re more interested in: What does summer sound like? To answer that question, we asked you, our listeners, and got some downright awesome suggestions in return. Your voicemails covered everything from Hot Girl Summer anthems and nostalgia-inducing dance jams, to globally infused collaborations and just-released future-feeling indie rock cuts. Today, we travel across the full spectrum of summer feels, and the music that comes through when we need it the most.

PLAYLIST

Listen to all of these songs and more on the Switched on Pop Songs of Summer 2019 Playlist.

SONGS DISCUSSED

MUNA – Number One Fan

Amber Mark – Put You On

Jonas Brothers – Only Human

Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello – Señorita

Charlie XCX, Christine and the Queens – Gone

BTS, Zara Larsson – Brand New Day

Katy Perry – Teenage Dream

Post Malone – Sunflower

Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road

Pinkfong – Baby Shark

Khalid – Better

Megan Thee Stallion – Big ol’ Freak

Megan Thee Stallion, Juicy J – Simon Says

Saweetie – My Type

Petey Pablo – Freak-A-Leak

City Girls – Act Up

Megan Thee Stallion, DaBaby – Cash Shit

Clairo – Sofia

HAIM – Summer Girl

Lou Reed – Walk on the Wild Side

Mother’s Daughter – Miley Cyrus

Rosalía – Aute Cuture

Ariana Grande – NASA

BANKS – Gimme

Grimes, Hana – We appreciate power

Lizzo – Truth Hurts

Paul McCartney – Jet

Don Henley – The Boys of Summer

Santana, Rob Thomas – Smooth

Britney Spears – Toxic

The Slits – I Heard it Through the Grapevine

Missy Elliott – Slide

Freddie Gibbs, Madlib – Cataracts

Vampire Weekend – 2021