It’s become a tradition for me, creating a summer playlist each year during the holidays for me to enjoy. I personally enjoy listening to a wide variety of songs, so in this YouTube playlist I’ve created for you, I’ve included my favourite chill and groovy bops to listen to at the moment. I hope you like the songs that I’ve included and that you, too, can listen along to this playlist over the summer with me no matter where in the world we all are this year! In this article, I talk about a few of the songs in this playlist, the lovely memories I’ve attached to them, and why I love listening to these on repeat.
Click on here to listen to your Summer '22 Playlist!
1) Disciples – Tame Impala:
“And I had no idea / What that feeling could do to you”
Anyone who knows me even remotely well will testify to my love for Tame Impala’s music. I’ve been an avid fan of Kevin Parker’s music for the longest time, and don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it. I’m sure you’ve all heard ‘The Less I Know the Better’, and ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’, but ‘Disciples’ is an extremely underrated song from their Currents album that is, unfortunately, less than 2 minutes long. In my opinion, ‘Disciples’ is the best song on Parker’s album and I definitely believe it deserves more recognition. Featured first on my summer playlist, the song is testimony to just how talented Parker is. Being the sole creator of Tame Impala’s music, he writes, records, and produces his own music which I find to be by far the most impressive aspect of his music. I hope you check it out!
2) I Want You Back – The Jackson 5:
“Trying to live without your love is one long sleepless night / Let me show you, girl, that I know wrong from right”
Listen to then 10-year-old Michael Jackson of The Jackson 5, performing as lead vocalist in the band’s debut hit, ‘I Want You Back’. This song and performance are proof (if you even needed it) of Michael’s sheer natural-born talent – it’s no wonder he’s dubbed the “King of Pop”! When I say I haven’t been able to get this song out of my head for months, I mean it. I can listen to this song on repeat and never, ever get bored of it. It’s groovy, catchy, fun, and overall an incredibly enjoyable song to listen to no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Certainly one of my favourite songs, not just on this playlist, but of all time!
3) Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing – Stevie Wonder:
“Just don’t you feel too bad / When you get fooled by smiling faces”
It feels almost a crime to say this is one of the best Stevie Wonder songs, because all his songs are amazing. I truly don’t know how anyone could listen to this song and not bop their head along to its beat. I love Stevie Wonder, and was especially drawn into his music during my time performing in my high school’s choir. I will always remember walking into the choir room and seeing my fellow musicians absolutely jamming their hearts out to Stevie Wonder. Shout-out to my choir teacher for being the coolest instructor I’ve ever seen or heard of; on multiple occasions we’d perform pop songs from Black Eyed Peas’ ‘Where Is The Love?’ and Beyoncé’s ‘Halo’, and Stevie Wonder was an integral part of our choir’s jam sessions – we even had a huge poster of him framed in our choir room! I still cherish these memories and will continue to remember my time at choir forever.
4) Everything I Am – Kanye West:
“Here we go again / Everybody saying what’s not for him / But everything I’m not made me everything I am”
I truly will never understand why some people dislike Kanye’s music – I personally think many of his songs are amazing. If you are still of the opinion that Kanye isn’t a good artist, I implore you to listen to this song while following along with its lyrics. Released in 2007, the song is featured on his third studio album, Graduation. ‘Everything I Am’chronicles Kanye’s experiences with achieving fame; that he wouldn’t have gotten as famous as he is had it not been for his personality, his struggles, and his successes. If you don’t like rap in general, I urge you to listen to rap music while checking out the meaning of its lyrics on reputable sites like Genius. There’s so much more to the genre of rap than many think, and I wholeheartedly believe it’s worth a shot for those who haven’t yet gotten into the genre to listen to some good rap songs – Kanye is a great rapper to get into!
5) I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll and Ghost – Parekh & Singh:
“I cannot help it if I’m hard to love / There are things about me that you don’t know, I don’t like acting tough” – I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll
“Sometimes I get much closer than I intend / The other times I just like to sit out on the fence / Most times I can’t even tell the difference” - Ghost
I’ve yet to come across someone who’s also listened to Parekh & Singh – two musicians from Kolkata, India, who’ve made incredibly well-produced music videos and songs, and ‘I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll’ along with ‘Ghost’ are such good songs. Their songs are so heart-warming, with their music videos typically featuring contrasting blue and yellow colours. Filmed in India and all with such lovely close-up shots of symbolic objects like cameras and a packed suitcase, their videos convey the capturing and cherishing of memories that people hope will last forever. I love their songs so much, which is why I’ve featured two of my favourites from them and hope that you’ll enjoy them as much as I do!
I really hope you enjoy this playlist and check it out for yourself. I could honestly talk about my love for each and every one of these songs, but since I’ve included a ton of them, I think it’s best you check out the variety of songs I’ve included for you. I look forward to jamming along to these songs with you, wherever you might be this summer!
BY KAYLA COLLETT (UK & Malaysia) | CLASS OF 2023
