…for my Farewell to Summer Soiree. I’m having a cocktail party Labor Day weekend and want to put together some music for it. Here’s what I have so far:
Bewitched - Peggy Lee
Girl from Ipanema - Walter Wanderley
Ain’t That A Kick In The Head - Dean Martin
That Old Black Magic - Louis Prima & Keely Smith
The Pink Panther Theme - Hollywood Studio Orchestra
Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody - Louis Prima
Band of Gold – Freda Payne
Mack the Knife
Dancin’ in the Moonlight – King Harvest
Summer Wind – Sinatra
Hot Fun in the Summertime – Sly & the Family Stone
California Dreaming
What’s Up Pussycat – Tom Jones
Summertime – Billy Holiday
Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffet
Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran
So, fellow Dopers, what would you want to listen to as you downed your last martini of the summer?
Our household default summer album is Pink Martini’s Sympathique. Of note: “Amado Mio,” “Brazil,” “Donde Estas, Yolanda?”, and the rest of the album (as well as their second one, Hang On, Little Tomato) is excellent as well.
“Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer” – Nat King Cole
And even though it’s not “swanky” in the sense of the Rat Pack or 50’s-60’s lounge, you could put on side 2 of Something Else by The Kinks (beginning with “Love Me Till the Sun Shines” and it would be perfect. Those are beautiful, elegaic, elegantly crafted songs about summer, sunshine, some sort of ending, or a combination of the above. The whole album’s an absolute gem.
Ummm… try “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” by B.J. Thomas and “The Fool on The Hill” by Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66 and Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World.”
jellyblue. I’ve never even heard of Walter what’s his name – what’s wrong with “The Girl From Ipanema” by Austrud Gilberto and Stan Getz???
Just a piece of Stan Getz trivia. When he was in the Woody Herman band (where he became one of the Four Brothers at one point) Getz’s solo over the Ralph Burns chart of Summer Sketches later got recorded as Early Autumn and Johnny Mercer provided lyrics to it. It was a big hit for Herman and was associated with Getz for most of his career, even after the bossa nova splash.
Mercer’s lyrics were eerily evocative of the dying days of the big band era.
Wow, beaten to the punch in one post. Here’s another vote for Pink Martini!
Also of note:
Marc Cohn’s Silver Thunderbird
Barenaked Ladies Enid or Little Tiny Song (great filler, that one)
Phish’s Lawn Boy
Pretty much anything from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes’ album “Blow in the Wind” (punk covers of 60s folk tunes)
Vince Guaraldi’s Linus and Lucy
Anything that fits the mood by Brubeck
They Might Be Giants’ Dr. Worm (dig those HORNS, baby)
Beth Orton’s Carmella
…almost anything by Cake, but Short Skirt / Long Jacket and Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps come to mind.
Beck sings great summer songs; try Guero, Girl (“my summer girl”), and Tropicalia.
“The West Wing” viewers may appreciate Ronny Jordan’s The Jackal – probably the swankiest song here.
If your crowd isn’t paying attention to the lyrics, or if you really do want a menage a trois with two of your guests, then Snake River Conspiracy’s You and Your Friend is plenty… slinky. Maybe not “swanky” but very slinky.
“A Summer Wasting” and “Asleep on a Sunbeam” – Belle & Sebastian
“Cold Beverage” – G Love and Special Sauce
“Indian Summer” – Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham
“Beach Party Tonight” and “Season of the Shark” – Yo La Tengo
“It’s Summertime” – The Flaming Lips
“Here Comes the Sun” – The Beatles
Not so swank but still summer:
“AFK” – Pinback (Do you remember the summer in Abaddon?)
"Summer Babe (Winter Version) – Pavement
Askia: I don’t know who Walter Wanderly is either, but thanks to Zeldar for that stellar explanation .
Jurph: No! No threesomes! Just me and my intended in bed after the guests leave, thanks very much. Getting a tad old for THAT kind of action…I’m going to have to listen all the same, though. Slinky, eh?
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