NPR Music - What makes for a summer song?

Episode Date: July 15, 2025

Robin Hilton, Anamaria Sayre and Hazel Cills gather to share songs that feel like summer — and that means staying indoors to avoid the heat as well as partying on a Brooklyn rooftop. (Note: A version of this conversation appeared in this feed last July.)'All Songs Considered' 25th anniversary segment: Our No. 1 songs from 2020Weekly reset: Grilling on a summer night just ahead of a thunderstormEnjoy the show? Share it with a friend and leave us a review on Apple or wherever you listen to podcasts. Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [e-mail] Hear new songs from past episodes in the All Songs Considered playlists in Apple Music and Spotify.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Well, it's blazing hot outside. We are totally in the grips of summer now. And, you know, I don't know about you, but, you know, summer for me is that time of year. You know, I like to pack a nice picnic lunch, you know, put on a pair of hiking boots. A little bug spray and sunscreen, safety first. You know, and I like to go for a nice long walk to explore some of the lesser-known off-the-beaten places in my house. Yeah, I was going to say, this is not cracking. I was like, keep going, but I'm not buying this. Yeah. I mean, how well do I really know that Cedar

closet in the basement? You know, there's always something new to discover. Adventure awaits. Anna Maria, if I had to guess, I'd say you love summer. What about me gives you that idea? You radiate summer. Everything about you says summer. Hazel. I am my season. I am year-round summer, lifelong summer. Hazel, you, I think what you, Hazel, kind of go either way with you. I'm not sure. Maybe not so much? I am definitely a reformed indoor kid. I think as a younger person, I absolutely hated summer camp, hated being outdoors, just wanted to be inside my home watching movies in a cold, dark space.

And now I feel like I really vibe with summer. Like I want to be outside in the heat of New York. I want to go to the beach. I want to go to the pool. I don't know what happened. I think it's, I realize that sunshine makes me feel good. Weird. And so I'm like, oh, actually, it's kind of a great experience.

Scientifically, it's good to be outside. Science is on hazel side. I learned this. That's why we have vitamin D supplements, which I am on. So we're going to do summer songs on this episode. But I thought, let's not do the obvious anthems or whatever big hit, you know, was released specifically to capital. on this time of year. And instead, I thought, you know, let's just do the songs that feel like summer or say summer

to us. And we don't need to start with my hibernation jams. So let's start off with one of yours. Yeah. So an artist that, to me, just screams summer is the DJ and producer K Trinada. And there's a song called Lover Slash Friend that to me is just absolutely perfect for the summer season. I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want.

I mean, it seems like an homage to that in some ways. I don't know. The whole, if you want to be my lover, you've got to get with my friends. Yeah, but exceedingly more chill. Yeah, oh my gosh. With Riz. With style. Yeah, I just feel like, I don't know, K. Trinada is a DJ at heart.

He's an incredible producer, but he is a master of vibe, a master of party. His music is such a continuous mix. It's like you can just put his songs on or put one of his albums on at a party and it completely sets the mood. And a song like this is just exactly what I want in the summer. Like, I can just see myself. It's surprising to me that this hasn't happened yet. Like, see myself on a rooftop in Brooklyn.

The sun is setting. I'm drinking a tequila soda out of a solo cup that I've made with questionable ratio of soda to tequila. And yeah, I just, Raquel Jordan is the vocalist on this song. And her vocals are so breathy and icy. and cool. It's just a great combination on this track for me and really is what I want to listen to in the summertime. I literally wrote down Hazel rooftop bar wind whipping through your hair. Literally, it's like this one is sexy slinky summer vibes. There's nothing as ethereal and elusive and enchanting as the heat and beauty of summer and that just pairs so perfectly with the ambiguity

of the friend, lover, whatever, like that is so perfectly communicated. Yeah, I mean, there's definitely a kind of gentle breeziness in the song that I'm totally down with. And I like how unbothered it manages to be, even though there, you know, I guess there's a little tension over the lingering, will they, won't they, sort of question in it.

But, you know, one thing I thought while listening to this and some of the other stuff we have is that the stakes for summer songs tend to be kind of low. And I don't mean that as an insult. I mean, it's not about getting too serious or too heavy or too caught up in something. It's more about just chilling out and letting go and letting loose, you know. And yet the stakes are so low, but they maybe soundtrack our lives more than anything else. Yeah, what I was going to say about summer, the stakes of summer songs is like, I feel like there are two kinds of summer anthems or summer songs.

There's the big summer banger which like captures attention and like captures. There's the sound or moment of a summer, which is not what we're doing on the show, as you said before Robin. And then there's another kind of summer anthem, which is more of what you're talking about, Anna, which is the music that you actually relax to and lean towards in the summer season. And it's something that you choose on your own and sort of matches your feeling and your interest and your vibe, as opposed to having a huge radio hit being shoved on your throat, like, every time you go to the public pool, which happens to me. I love to clarify backtrack. Stakes are low for a summer song.

I live for a summer song. I'm like, give me a song that I can vibe to walking, running at the pool, at night, whatever it is. I want my whole life to be a soundtrack in the summer. And this song, it wasn't readily apparent to me when you asked us to pick a summer song until I went literally to play this song. And I was like sitting there. I was like, what do I do? And I was like, oh, my God. I've been listening to this song constantly.

It's called Batadas de Arugado, and it's originally by the Latin Mafia and Hume, but it's a remix by Hugo. Party in this studio. I think our kids have more in common than you might think. I think we're at the same party. We're at the same party. You might be sitting in the corner, but we're at the same party. You were like a badge of honor, yes. Yeah, yeah. I really do. Hearing these first couple of cuts you all brought and knowing what I have, there is this thread that runs through them that is, well, I don't know what the word is for it, not melancholy, but sort of solitude or introspection or there's kind of almost a stillness in the music, even when there's a beat.

Yeah. Yeah. The beauty of this song for me was when this remix came out that's done by Hugo, who's, you know, doing all the big remixes right now. It really aided to me in getting to the original message of the song, which the message of the song is a beautiful, slightly sad but mostly beautiful love song where it starts, he opens with these lines. You smell like vanilla, I love you. But important distinction here between Tequero and Te Amo, Tequero being the more casual love, right? Like, I love you like a friend. He's like, you smell like vanilla. I love you like a friend. Do you want to hug me is basically what he says?

And then as the song progresses, like right as you get. to that really beautiful swell where the big piano comes in and the beat comes in really intensely. He's like, actually, would you hold me and hug me forever? But there's so much more happening there in terms of what is being delivered. And it just like, ooh, it hits me in the heart when I want it to. And also I just dance when I don't want it to. Yeah, I think, Robin, your point about it being melancholic or like the songs that we picked, sort of having this thread of introspection.

I think this song, Anna, is, you know, people throw around the term, tropical house or Ibitha house music, this style of house music or EDM that's more carefree and soft and sort of associated with seaside dance floors and vacation towns. And I think that is, it's like a remix that sort of tones down the more intense emotional qualities of the music in a way that's really beautiful. And I think fits really well with the Ketranata song that I just played. So Hazel and Anna, you know, after I listened to your picks, I ended up going down this rabbit hole of memories, well, or at least trying to access memories from when I was younger and single and dating. And honestly, even when I was

like a teenager or an early 20-something in college, the stuff I listened to in the summer was just so languid. You know, lots of ambient stuff, lots of instrumental stuff. And that's exactly what I reach for even now. You know, summer for me is a wake me when it's over season. And the music I want to hear tends to reflect that. So I got to go with this surprise, ambient and instrumental album from Keaton Henson, the singer Keaton Henson. It's called Somnambulant Cycles. And the song I want to play is called Sandwalking. I mean, I think this is a totally legit soundtrack to at least one side of summer. Yes, definitely. Yeah, it's not. To me, this is like I'm taking a walk by the beach and the sun is just rising,

or I'm walking in a beautiful field of wildflowers listening to birds in the distance. Like it feels like a song that could soundtrack really beautiful moments in nature or being outside and sort of, you know, I think what unites a lot of the songs that we've been playing is this state of relaxation or calm that may come with, you know, the small, beautiful moments that you might experience in the summertime. Keaton Hinson, for those who don't know, he is best known as a singer. He has a gorgeous voice. We have a great tiny desk of his up. People should check out.

He writes these very delicate, just wondrous little songs. So this instrumental album from him was a really nice surprise. So I am taking us maybe back to the party, away from the beach, to the party, maybe somewhere in between. Both. Yeah, both. With a song from the Nigerian artist Thames, this is her song Love Me J.J. Something I want to say Love Me Jeter. So fresh, so clean.

Love me in and out. I'll feelily. And I'll be down now. Anytime you call me, I'll be down. I'll be down. Because I love and I love and I love and I love. love and I love you only because I need and I need and I need and I need yeah you know I run and I run and I run and I run fly with you fly in the sky in the night with me your arms and your love

yeah you got me on your side now yeah I'm on your wave right now you then I don't want to know I don't want no story day and night it's on condition know got me leaving softly yeah yeah You know your love time me up like never Anything you want to do whatever Because I love and I love and I love and I love you Only Because I need and I need and I need and need you more Yeah

You know I run and I run and I run and I run Fly in the sky in the night Put me your arms and your love and your love You got me on your side now Yeah I'm on your wave right now I said, love me juggia, my tender. I mean, we're my sugar, my honey, a tender. I mean, we can talk about how super chill it is, you know,

and how similar it is to some of the other stuff we've been playing thematically. But let's talk about what's going on in the last 20 seconds or so. of this song here. When you hear somebody say... Your face, Robin. You were like... Huh? You hear someone say, I'm terrified.

And then there's this blood-curdling scream. And I thought, this is very on brand for Hazel. Well, I mean, I think it's funny. So there's just this effortlessness to this song that I love and this warmth that Thames brings to the song. And it feels like she almost like sang it in one take the booth and I was like, that was it. It's so beautiful. And I think that little moment at the end where there's chatter in the studio, I'm terrified and there's a scream, I don't know what's happening there,

but it's like this beautiful simple message, love me JJ, which means, you know, love me softly. She is really kind of making herself vulnerable. So when I hear that moment at the end, I'm like, I don't know if that's about her performance in the booth or like, you know, sort of like the bareness of what she's saying in this song, but I love this track. I was not super aware of Thames until some of our colleagues on the team brought her to my attention. And yeah, this song, I've just been playing it on repeat ever since I heard it. And to me, it's just a mini song of my summer right now. I mean, I don't know what the screams about, but when she says I'm terrified, I guess I thought she was saying she's terrified of love. Like she wants this thing, she, that she wants this thing,

but it also scares her. I guess I was thinking more like she's scared of asking for what she wants, like knowing what she wants but asking for it. I mean, even I love that line in the song where she says, I'm on your wave right now. That's just a simple thing to say, but I'm feeling this. I am into you. There's this sort of ambient sense to the song of if this is going to happen,

this is what I want from you and this is what I need from you. And I don't know. That can be scary. To me, like, if we're following this wave of this story of will, they, won't they of the summer, this to me is the next step in that story where it's like, oh, no, we're locked in. We're falling in love. It's happening. It's all songs considered from NPR Music.

I'm Robin Hilton. I'm here with Alt Latinos Anna Maria Sayer and NPR Music editor Hazel Sills. And we're talking summer songs or at least the songs that say summer to us. I mean, we've been doing vibes. We've been doing good summer vibes. But this next song I have is a full out blasted, banger, dance around the kitchen in the club, etc. song. This is, thank you, Hazel for dancing for me. This is If Ante de Uviera Conocido, and it's by Carol G.

What, we're going to rule out and it's the verano. Fuego! No, another cause You're close me Pone perigrosa For a bit Bessitto I do I want to whatever

Cosa The novia's Shella, and even She's hermose Hey, No, you're to be to be

to beck-a- She's like I She's timid And I'm She's not I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna'

I'm gonna' With her She's gonna with her But then I mean, I'm not I'm trying to hang it's I'm going to

I mean, it's got more drive than anything else we've played so far, but there's still like a softness in it, you know, that keeps it from being a full-on, hard-hitting banger to me. It's not like the Nanti-Paloosso cut that you played a few weeks ago. Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, merengue is a very moving beat, period. Like, it is one of the fastest beats to dance to.

It's really exciting. It's really fun. And this is a really cool electronic merengue with a little bit of a backwards mumbo to it that I think makes it soft and fun and summer and great to dance too. There was controversy around the song. I talked about this. On Latino recently, Hazel, I've talked about it with you, because it sounds pretty similar to Rosalia's despatcha. Some people say, more importantly, kind of open up a lot of conversations around who has a right to do merengue music, which is from the Dominican Republic.

Carol G is a Colombian artist. All that to say, it's brought a really interesting international conversation around, you know, electronic merengue, merengue del Caye from the street. And it's a very classically summer, danceable, in the kaya with friends type of sound. So it's exciting to see that people are listening to it, I think, in masses in this way. Yeah. I mean, in masses is interesting because I thought it was such a baller move to include that moment in this song at the end, where there's literally you can hear a crowd of people singing this song. Yeah.

Like it's everything about this song, you know, she put out this music video for this song that was shot in the DR and takes place at this. seaside karaoke bar where everyone gets up and dances to the song. She's really kind of serving you this summer hit on a silver platter. Yes. But if you want to dance on the roof of a car in Medell-Ying, I can think of nothing better to do that than this next song from Mary Lattermore, the harpist. This is a song that Hazel tipped me off to because she knows me so well.

It's called I spent the day inside. It totally rips. You know, I don't know, Hazel, if you pick this. just because of the title, but I actually think just the whole sound of the song is perfect, too. It's not just that it's a very beautiful song and one that you can sort of meditate or hibernate to. It's because, I think, when you listen to this song, it romanticizes the idea of staying inside. It is so lovely. It sounds to me like Mary Latimore is having the best day of her life just staying inside.

Yeah, I love Mary Latimore, a huge fan of hers. I've played her music on the show before. And she posted about this song on her Instagram. She was like, it's called, you know, I spent the day inside. And then in parentheses, she wrote, I did. So, you know, it's like she is romantic. I mean, she is in her home. I would imagine making this beautiful romantic music.

And that is something to celebrate. So we'll go out on this. Anna Maria Sayer, Hazel Sills. Thanks so much for hanging out and offering a glimpse into your respective son. summers. Thanks, Robin. Thank you. All right, and stay tuned. After the song, we will continue our 25th anniversary celebration of all songs considered this year with a look at our number one songs from 2020. We're up to 2020. Stephen Thompson, we'll be back here for that. That's coming up along with your weekly reset. Hey, Stephen. Hello, Robin. Somehow we've made it to 2020 in this

long haul through all of these years. We're in the home stretch. Yeah, I'm glad, I'm glad, Robin, that we have finally gotten to a nice, quiet, uneventful year. Just not a lot happened in 2020. You know, actually, joking aside, I really struggled trying to come up with what my number one song of 2020 would be. I kind of thought it would get easier once we got to the more recent stuff because we're in the final five years, but it's not gotten any easier, actually harder. It's going to get harder.

But what do you got? What do you think of when you think of 2020? Well. I think of just like out adventuring in the world. What do you think of with music at 2020? I mean, tempted as I am to force you to create a radio edit for WAP by Cardi B featuring Megan the Stallion. I'm going to go with this song right here. So we've been playing name that tune.

and this is Phoebe Bridgers, right? Yes. And this is Kyoto, which I think she says, that's like the first word she says in the song. It's like in the first line. This is from, I can't remember the name of the album. This is from, but this is their second one, wasn't it? Yeah, it's from Punisher.

Right, Punisher, yeah. Oh, that was a great record. It is such a great record. I mean, musically speaking, 2020 was full of bangers. You know, you had not only Wop, you had, you know, it was a big year for Megan the Stallion. Right. Because you had Savage with, you know,

Beyonce and Megan the Stallion. But then album-wise, for me, it was just this one-two punch where I spent the entire year, like, what's my favorite album of the year? Toggling between Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers and fetch the bolt cutters by Fiona Apple. Yeah. The Fiona Apple record was my number one album of the year. I didn't have a song from it that I would pick as my number one song of the year. But yeah, the Phoebe Bridgers, I remember just thinking that was one of the most gorgeous records I'd ever heard in my life.

They came out. So gorgeous and so insightful and so quotable, just about every song on that record has some great line that kind of stops you in your tracks. Like even that, you know, that song Kyoto, which is probably the biggest kind of pop-y banger from that record, has this amazing line. I wanted to see the world through your eyes until it happened. Then I changed my mind. What an incredible line. It's funny, too. It's so funny.

It's really, really funny. But I think my pick from that album would have been the song, I Know the End. Which I think that closes. That's a slow burn at the end until it builds to just this screaming. That's a pretty near perfect record. Well, so like I said, I had a hard time just finding a very clear winner for me for 2020. I thought about maybe Atheist by Christian Lee Hudson, which is from his album Beginners, which Phoebe Bridgers produced. She's been a big supporter of his.

But I think I'm going to go with this one. And I actually think that this song was maybe on your. personal top 10 for 2020. Oh, bad moves. Bad moves. Come on, man. With our colleague and friend, Dowd Tyler Amin on drums. I mean, come on, man.

That's so catchy. So infectious, so hooky. Great power pop. Bad moves. Great lyrics? Great lyrics. Oh, my God. So this is the song Local Radio from their album,

the second album that they put out called Untenable from Bad Moves. And yes, full disclosure, the drummer, Daugut Tyler Meen, a long colleague of ours here at NPR Music. And, you know, there's part of me that feels like, oh,

you shouldn't cover this bit, you know, just like the ethics and, absolutely, yeah, a bias absolutely exists, because we love Daoouy personally. But that's just so good. It's just so genuinely so good. This whole album was so good.

The album was called untenable, which, by the way, felt like the perfect word. Perfect word for 2020. For 2020. But, you know, right to me, a band that's right up there with like super chunk or pop or something like that. And heartbroken to know that the band has just this year announced that they're breaking up. They're going out with a bang because the album they put out last year is also great. But just undeniable.

Absolutely. But we'll go out on this for 2020. And until next time, thanks as always, Stephen. Thank you, Robert. And for NPR music, I'm Robin Hilton. It's All Songs Consider. later.