Summer Guide 2016 

There's a melancholy vibe that settles in on a Sunday afternoon. You feel like you want to go all out and enjoy the rest of your freedom with a bang, but the responsibility of reality is weighing too heavily on your shoulders to do anything that you might regret in the morning. Kicking off summer 2016 in light of the upcoming presidential election feels like we're entering the Sunday afternoon before the world comes crashing to an end. Since, by all accounts, we're looking at the end of civilization as we know it come November, let's forget about responsibility this summer. Let's put the top down on the convertible, drink too much and wake up half-naked in a stranger's water bed. To help aid in this process, I've enlisted the strength of Utah's mightiest rock bands to craft a playlist that will go well with all manner of summer debauchery.

"Band of Mighty Souls" by Folk Hogan:
Five minutes of banjo-shredding, mythological imagery and epic poetry is enough to get one psyched up for any grand summer adventure. Unfolding like a pub song crafted by a group of whiskey-fueled fantasy geeks, "Band of Mighty Souls" is perfect for rallying your pals together for a week-long right-wing-hating bender.

"Ghost Boyfriend" by Baby Ghosts:
What's summer without a little bit of paranormal, punk-pop heartbreak? On "Ghost Boyfriend," the group's harmonious shouting crafts a sincere look at the woes of falling in love as a disembodied spirit. It could also embody the agony of trying to pick between two presidential candidates who are both worthy of a hard left swipe. #TinderJoke

"Touching & Moving" by Foster Body:
Foster Body's chaotic, Devo-esque song "Touching & Moving" is perfect for getting weird on the dance floor. Not so much the dancefloor at a club, but more like the dancefloor in your garage that you made out of flattened cardboard boxes and leftover Christmas tree tinsel. Excellent, weird punk rock that will help you to forget how badly democracy has failed us.

"Blooming" by JAWWZZ!!:
I know, I know. At this point, JAWWZZ!! has officially retired, and the band formerly known as JAWWZZ!! is now known as Sculpture Club, but they were called JAWWZZ!! when they wrote this song so get off my back! Anyway, there's something about "Blooming" that reminds me of early Joy Division, and it's perfect for those summer days when you want to stick your head into your headphones and pump some garage goth straight into your earholes while staring into the abyss that has become the American dream.

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"The Funeral" by Sammy Brue:
At the ripe age of 15, Sammy Brue has already been recognized by Rolling Stone as a young Bob Dylan. His wistful, delicately heartbreaking song "The Funeral" should be set aside for that one day during the summer when the slow burn of an impending tragedy finally comes to collect. His lyrical insight and musical talent make me retroactively embarrassed at my 15-year-old self, whose biggest achievement was beating Final Fantasy VII for the first time. It's a real shame that the world will end right before Brue can get a driver's license.

"Samundar" by L'Anarchiste:
My favorite thing about summer is driving fast on the freeway late at night with the windows down, and "Samundar" by L'Anarchiste is the perfect song for such an activity. Its slowly constructed musical arrangement makes each verse feel like a sunrise, and its lyrics rise and fall like the words of a traveling mystic. In an interview with NPR, lead vocalist Rob LeCheminant said, "Samundar was this dark, kind of mysterious place." It's the place where we find ourselves somewhere between midnight and 5 a.m., lost in the clutches of a summer night, driving with the windows down.

"Dungeon Master" by Visigoth:
When having the best, most irresponsible summer of your life starts to get regulated and legislated by the angry, fist-shaking grandparents that make up our state Senate, it's time to retreat to the basement for some Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Local metal gods Visigoth composed this lengthy ode to their many adventures through a world that has no electoral college. Excellent, riff-heavy metal to get any campaign started on the right greave.

"Crimson Sky" by The New Electric Sound:
Any of the songs featured on these Provo-based surf-rockers would be a home run on a summer playlist. I picked this one for many reasons—it's got a solid, driving bass drum that sounds like a heartbeat on the verge of doing something magnificent, and Ben Zabriskie's bounty of wild west guitar hooks conjures images of urban cowboys driving their Camaros into the sunset, searching for their destiny.

"Summer Nights" by Kaskade:
This is the song that surges forth from the darkness to remind us that, no matter who gets elected president, dance parties in the middle of July will still be fun. The infectious beats that Kaskade throws down can summon even the most awkward of dancers to the middle of the club. It's unbridled musical optimism, which is exactly what we need after hearing yet another inflammatory story about the psychos on Team Trump.

"Wonderwild" by Hive Riot:
Now that we're back to feeling good about the summer, let's close the list off with this synth-pop gem from Hive Riot. Mindy Gledhill's wispy vocals remind us that, at the end of the day, summer is about living in the moment and having no regrets. Well, some regrets might not be too bad.

Dust off the tank top collection and bust out the heavy artillery SPF, baby ... summer is here! OK, we're technically jumping the gun here as the first official day of summer isn't till June 20, but can you blame us? No other season has the effect good ol' summer has. Think about it, when was the last time you exclaimed, 'Fuck yeah, autumn!'