The Songs of the Summer… Or Lack Thereof
“Espresso.” “Good Luck, Babe.” “Not Like Us.” “Too Sweet.” “Birds of a Feather.” “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” The entirety of “BRAT.” These are the songs that defined the summer of 2024. These songs are big, bold, upbeat and flourish in originality. Perfect for summer activities like parties, going to the beach, being outdoors, and soaking up the sun.
After a year of so many bangers, I had a feeling that summer 2025 would struggle to live up to the hype of summer 2024’s music, but I could never have imagined the pop music drought we are currently living through. Think about it yourself, can you think of any song that defined this summer?
You could make an argument for some songs, including “Ordinary” by Alex Warren and “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga, but I still think even those lack the effervescent energy of past summer pop hits. Even in terms of streams and radioplay it seems that there hasn’t been a ‘huge’ hit so far this year. The lack of a summer hit forced many of us to look into the past or lesser known corners of the music industry to find our own song of the summer.
My personal song of the summer was a little-known 2000s song called “Punkrocker” by Teddybears and Iggy Pop, which some of you may recognize from its appearance in the recent “Superman” film. This song has an upbeat sound and carefree energy, but has taken on new meaning since the “Superman” film. It has now become a song associated with hope and being a good person, and there’s nothing more punk rock than that. It is also just simply fun.
I was interested to know what other St. Lawrence University students’ songs of the summer were, so I inquired. Some answers I got included songs from Drake, Sabrina Carpenter and Lorde. Others were more niche. One student, Emma Rubin ’27, enjoyed “Jesus Freak Lighter” by Blood Orange, but also mentioned a song released in 1973 called “The Swimming Song” by Loudon Wainwright III. The latter features lyrics about being outdoors and has a clear campfire-song vibe to it. Another student, Charlotte Blake ’27, cited “Shake It Out” by Florence + The Machine as a great summer camp song and that its upbeat vibes were easy to dance to.
The song, which deals heavily with letting go of inner demons and personal turmoil through dance, is one that is certainly needed in times like these which can feel dark and hopeless.
Despite “TV Off” by Kendrick Lamar being released last year, it certainly made a mark on this summer as one student, Henry Hagen ’27 recalled hearing it many times. “Running Back Boy” by WonderBag was considered as Olivia Barbera ’27’s song of the summer because of its carefree indie vibe. She also stated that it is a good song while running on a nice day. Another student, Noah Donnellan-Doser ’26, claimed the track “Man Made of Meat” by Viagra Boys for its energy and being incredibly punk rock. He also stated that he enjoyed the anti-establishmental messages of the song, which is perfect for the current era we are living through.
All this begs the question: where is creativity? In a time that is politically scary, I’d argue that this is the time we need the most art. However, it seems that either creative inspiration is at an all-time low, or that current music is accurately reflecting the uncertain state of our world right now.