Summer heartbreak, sunburned flesh and sand in your pants, who needs that? Here are 20 songs to get any summer hater through the worst season.
1. Bob Dylan, “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”
Rain is the enemy of any summer sunner, but the rest know its best accompaniment.
2. The Magnetic Fields, “Summer Lies”
Magnetic Fields’ main man Stephin Merritt takes his summer heartbreak super seriously. And so should you.
3. of Montreal, “Oslo In The Summertime”
Summer vacations are the bane of any summer hater. Let Kevin Barnes take give you a heavy dose of schadenfreude with this recounting of a trip to the Scandinavian land where the sun never sets.
4. The Smiths, “Cemetry Gates”
If you simply must go out in the summer, make your way to a cemetery with your favourite dog-eared copy of Yeats’ The Tower… aka Moz’s happy place.
5. Violent Femmes, “Blister in the Sun”
Addictive, destructive and meaningless, like going out in the summer.
6. Blue Cheer, “Summertime Blues”
Blue Cheer’s bombastic cover brings just the right amount of rage to this anti-summer classic.
7. Franz Ferdinand, “Matinee”
Sun’s beating down outside, but there’s always solace in the dark of the Matinee. Also serves as a fun dance break.
8. St. Vincent and The National – “Sleep All Summer” (Crooked Fingers cover)
National singer Matt Berninger has a voice that beautifully echoes the sentiment put forth by the Crooked Fingers original. Bonne Nuit everybody.
9. Lana Del Rey, “Summertime Sadness”
Because what kind of list would this be without it?
10. Passenger, “Let Her Go”
‘Only miss the sun when it starts to snow,” Passenger’s Michael David Rosenberg notes. He’s not wrong.
11. Grandaddy, “Summer Here Kids”
A perfect chance to kill two birds with one stone, ‘Summer Here Kids’ condemns not only the season but vacations too.
12. Deep Purple, “Lazy”
Some days you just want to stay in bed. Deep Purple gets that.
13. Janis Joplin, “Summertime”
Beyond being one of the best cover songs of all time, Joplin’s version of the Gershewin classic seethes with sweaty loathing. Simply perfection.
14. The Decemberists, “Anti-summersong”
“I’m not going on/Just to sing another summer song.” You can always count on the Decemberists to take the road most meta.
15. Superchunk, “Cruel Summer” (Bananarama cover)
Bananarama’s tune is another can’t miss, but this Superchunk cover is muscly enough to turn off the summer loving ironic set.
16. Green Day, “Longview”
When you’re stuck in your apartment for days, stuff gets weird. But that’s cool. You do you.
17. F—ked Up, “I Hate Summer”
FU’s lead singer likes every season – except one. ‘I Hate Summer’ is two blissful minutes of a burly man screaming at the heat. Damn heat.
18. No Joy, “No Summer”
The perfect band, song title combo.
19. The Oh Wells, “I Hate The Sun”
Sun. Huh. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.
20. Twilight Sad, “That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy”
The title pretty much says it all. Especially when screamed in a thick Scottish accent.
Check out more tips from our Haters’ Guide to Summer
