summer listening?

km

Posts: 220
Joined: 2005-11-26

Dunno about everyone else, but I've been finding that my listening habits have been tending toward definite seasonal patterns; I used to think these were the kinds of things I should try and break, but lately have been a lot more into just going with them.

For instance, I find it a lot easier to dig deep into some Nordic folk music when it's wintry and chill outside (a crackling fire is helpful too, but since I don't have a fireplace that always ends up a little messy); and there are certain other sounds that just have to be heard as the leaves turn. And similarly for summertime, my ears (or maybe it's my body in general) call out for humid sounds from tropical (or just hot) locales. (I know, it's a fair question whether one can actually _hear_ latitude in music, but that's maybe another discussion...)

Lately, as the air gets all dense and sticky around here, I've been reaching for the roots reggae (_Heart of the Congos_ rules), classic Brazilian sounds (from the artistry of early-70s Milton Nascimento to some cool bossa for those cookout parties), and African music (there's this live Tinariwen boot I got in a trade that's been kicking my ass). That's just the tip of the iceberg obviously, but you get the picture...

So, anyone else out there have particular sounds that signify summer? Or, for that matter, other types of seasonal listening?

Submitted by km on Wed, 07/12/2006 - 9:16am. – printer friendly version

Nat

Posts: 304
Joined: 2005-11-23

May be a touch predictable,

May be a touch predictable, but I too experience this trend. The muggy days of summer almost demand I dust off my delta-blues records. There's nothing like Junior Kimbrough, some chilled bourbon, and our well-shaded front porch to waste away the swell of an unbearably hot Sunday. Other than that, I must concur with km, both with the African sounds (the early accoustic Baaba Maal & Mansour Seck LP "Djam Leelii" seems to stay near the front of my "in use" pile), and the Reggae (for sho' on the congos!)--I always seem to reach to my Abyssynians/Carlton & the Shoes friends even more on the bona-fide "Sorchas." No matter the origin, at peak-heat hypnosis seems to be what I'm after: sounds that reinforce the predilection for trance and deliberate inner travel. 'Course if the bourbon has been flowing long enough, the evenings seem to invariably lead to fully electrified rock. This year, that's included a revisit to Sonic Youth, as well as a couple of raging returns to the ultimate: Iggy & the Stooges. I think more than anything else, this is a result of nostalgia for youthful summer nights of indulgence and engagement. Alas, now, all I typically need is the sonics. Hmm.