Lockdown! at the Disco #15: The Summer Episode

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In the precious, sacred words of Rob Thomas feat. Santana – MAN, it’s a hot one! Come in and cool off and grab yourself a rocket lolly out the freezer and let’s do this… 

TRACK ONE: “Summertime” – DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

That was DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince with “Summertime” which I think we can all agree is the unofficial anthem of Summer for the rest of time, and it was requested by Tom. This is Comics Youth Radio presents Lockdown! at the Disco and I am your very gross and sweaty host Amy Roberts here to say, my goodness I am too goth for this heat.

So, it’s a good job that this is The Summer Episode considering that I’m recording it during the one week of Summer that we seem to be oh-so-generously allocated here in Britain every year. 

I hope you’re all surviving the heat and haven’t undertaken some Kafka-esque transformation into a full-on puddle just yet. I think I’ve been about 60% puddle this week, and only 40% weirdo – which is a ratio I can live with.

So on today’s episode we’re just gonna be vibing with everything we love best about this season – that includes the jams which make us feel summery, and the things we do which instil us with that feeling of Ah yeah, Summer is here.

There’s a certain element of Summer which strikes the most potent nostalgia in people too, I think. Other seasons strike nostalgia for different reasons as well, of course – Autumn has that spooky, stomping on crispy leaves nostalgia, Winter can remind you of cosy get togethers, Spring might remind you of moments of restoration and hope.

But Summer brings nostalgia for huge events and big moments – our senses are so much heightened in the Summer too when flavours and smells and sights and sounds and touch are all so elevated. Everything is bigger, and louder, and brighter in the Summer – and because of that our nostalgia for the season strikes that hard as well.

Something that’s been making me a little sad about this Summer in lockdown which you might share with me is the inability to create good, happy memories with people I love for future nostalgia.

Some of the things that I love to do best in the Summer – simple things too like going to a gig and then staying up all night outside with a gang of pals just talking about music or those long rambling days with someone you’re madly in love with where you mooch around a busy city and various shops and cafes but still feel like you’re the only two people in the world – I’m missing that right now.

I know life is easing back into a certain sense of normality at the moment, and it’s been nice to ease into some of these familiar things again. But everything also feels a little like an imitation of a season right now – an imitation of a vibe, an imitation of life.
And it’s only temporary, I know that. And I’m very grateful as I’m sure we all are, for the things I do have at the moment. But damn, my heart pangs for Summer. And like many of you, I’m dipping into the nostalgia of Summers past to retain those OG vibes and maintain some joy.

However you’re spending your Summer this year, I hope it’s chill, I hope it’s vibrant, and I hope you’re continuing to create happy memories for yourself to look back on in years to come.

This next track is an icy cool pitcher of Summer served in a vast, buoyant musical beach of a song. This is “A-Punk” by Vampire Weekend.

TRACK TWO: “A-Punk” – Vampire Weekend
TRACK THREE: “Something to Believe In” – Young the Giant

That was “Something to Believe In” by Young Giant and it was requested by Rosa who says that she feels summery when she gets to go down to Plymouth with her family and girlfriend Tasha to visit her best pal, Luke.

And that for me is the epitome of Summer and perhaps why it’s such a bittersweet season this year. Summer is a season that connects us so freely with the people we love – it’s a season of journey and adventure and at the moment the majority of us have our wings a little clipped in that regard. Particularly when it comes to being able to see and to hug the people we care about the most in this world. 

Having said, the weather has been so lovely recently and I know a lot of you have been enjoying some fabulous distanced hang-outs outdoors thanks to this sunshine we’ve been having.

I’ve been enjoying a few BBQ’s in the park with my pals, too. Eating far too much food than what is necessary and blasting some tunes from a Bluetooth speaker. There’s something so lovely about doing that in a place where you feel at home. And it brings up some lovely random connections with people.

You know, maybe some lovely dogs come running over to you and you get to call them a good boy and chat to their owner for a bit – or someone walking past hears and appreciates the song you’re playing and you get that brief moment of shared connection with them which you don’t really get during any other season I don’t think.

it’s a little difficult to do during seasons where the weather makes you just want to turn inward and keep cosy or where you can’t really stay in public spaces for too long lest you get too chilly and uncomfortable.

But Summer gives you that permission to really out-stretch a moment and a feeling – to let it live and exist and expand and stretch out into an evening that’s still bright and warm and to be cherished.

Summer makes even the simplest and most everyday hangouts feel sacred and immortal, in that sense. Everything glimmers in Summer.

And this song definitely glimmers – this is another request from Rosa and it’s “You Change With the Seasons” by The Night Café.

TRACK FOUR: “You Change with the Seasons” – The Night Café
TRACK FIVE: “Hold On” – Twin Atlantic

That was Twin Atlantic with “Hold On” and it’s such a sweet scorcher of a song. That track was handpicked by Lucas who says that the things that make him feel Summery are simply the times when he gets to be outside with friends.

Whether that’s in the park, the woods, the beach, someone’s garden or wherever. Just being with his friends enjoying good weather (as and when and if it exists).

It’s the simplicity of the season that makes Summer so great, I think. You can be doing absolutely nothing and it’ll be the greatest day ever so long as you have that great weather, some boss company, and somewhere safe and beautiful to admire and relax in.

And there’s certainly something to how music sounds different in Summer too. You need a completely different musical palette depending on the time of day you find yourself kicking it to some tunes, and also what the weather’s like.

One of my best friends, for example, is a huge fan of listening to Tool’s Lateralus from start to finish whenever a Summer thunderstorm hits. And every time the sky gets dark and the air feels heavy it’s like, Oh boy, best get Lateralus on the go! 

For whatever reason, whenever Summer starts to really emerge for me, I always delve back into The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It’s a sublime and incredible album, and it must be something that I listened to as a kid during a potentially wonderful Summer because it takes me right back and it fills me with sun.

So with that in mind, this is “Doo Wop (That Thing)” by Ms. Lauryn Hill and I hope it fills you with sun.

TRACK SIX: “Doo Wop (That Thing)” – Ms. Lauryn Hill
TRACK SEVEN: “Peach Pit” – Peach Pit

 That was “Peach Pit” by Peach Pit – we love it when bands have eponymous titles for songs!  - and it was another request from Lucas M who says that it gives him just chilled Summer vibes.

And that’s the other side of Summer that I’m gonna crawl into right now. The chill side. Because as fun as it is to get out and to do things and to see people, Summer can also get a little overwhelming. There can be a lot of pressure – from other people and from ourselves – to take advantage of good weather while it exists and to do something.

But let me tell ya, some of the best Summer days can also be the ones where I don’t actually venture outside. And instead, I stay in, I draw the curtains, I sit in front of a fan, and I read comic books or play on my Switch.

Heat and sunshine can be great but they can also be draining and leave you exhausted. So don’t be feeling any guilt if you wake up and the sun’s cracking the flags and you’d still much rather just stay on the couch binge-watching She-Ra than accept an invitation to hang out with mates.

it’s all valid, baby!

The other great thing about staying home and keeping cool on some Summer days is that – so long as you have a freezer at home, which I currently don’t at the moment because what is this hellscape of a year doing to me? – home is where the ice cream and the lolly ices and the capri-suns live!

An endless supply! And my goodness, can we just take a moment to celebrate how good ice cold sweet treats are, please? They are LOVE. Pure love! 

And on that note, this is “Ice Cream” by New Young Pony Club.

TRACK EIGHT: “Ice Cream” – New Young Pony Club
TRACK NINE: “I Feel Love” – Donna Summer

That was “I Feel Love” and it goes out to my mum and dad. Specifically to my lovely mum who immediately asked for this track once she heard the theme – she couldn’t remember the name of it, like – as it reminds her of a Summer when her and my dad were still early days in the courtship. Long before me and my brother turned up to kill all the romance!

But it’s also a track that makes me feel Summery too – so, maybe I inherited some of those vibes from their love story too. 

Ooh, that choked me up a little bit there! Big love to my parents who I haven’t been able to see nearly enough in the past five months.

We’re gonna sink further into nostalgia now with two tracks that were purposefully written to evoke that restless feeling of youth in Summertime. I have such amazing memories of endless summers from when I was a teenager where me and my best friend Laura would just spend our days walking.

We’d walk absolutely everywhere together – sometimes from morning until night. We’d grab an ice cream and eat it on some steps, we’d check out the albums in Probe, we’d get a bag of chips and eat them while roaming a local park, or we’d ramble through new unexplored areas while sharing a set of headphones and listening to tunes that we both adored. 

And then at night, we might just drop by a random gig in town and hang out with some people and meet new people and the days and the Summer felt limitless and so full of potential while also a little lethargic and restless.

There can be so much you want to do in the Summer and sometimes you kind of just end up doing very little at all. But that doesn’t mean you won’t cherish the memories you make while doing nothing and just hanging out with your favourite people in the world.

These two tracks are very much about that feeling and expressing the hazy, syrupy nostalgia of it. This is “1979” by Smashing Pumpkins.

TRACK TEN: “1979” – Smashing Pumpkins
TRACK ELEVEN: “In The Street” – Big Star

That was “In the Street” by Big Star which you might recognise as being the theme tune to That 70’s Show – just without the added We’re all alright, we’re all alright! refrain.

They’re both major songs that make me feel lazy and hazy and sun soaked and full of love.

And that’s it from us for today, folks! Thanks so much for tuning in and for listening! Next week’s episode we’re going to be taking a fun – and sadly, only virtual – trip to Japan with The Weeb Episode. That’s right, gang! It’s finally happening.

I’m acknowledging the fact that before lockdown I had merely dipped my toe into manga and anime and now I am a fully fledged weeb. So every kid who called me a weeb during our Saturday junior sessions at Comics Youth, congratulations – you were correct. I am. And you know what, I’m proud.

So for The Weeb Episode, I wanna hear about your fave manga and anime that you’d like to recommend and why. And I’d also like to know what tracks from these shows you wanna hear – or songs made by Japanese musicians.

If you any ideas you wanna share to be read out on the show, then email me amy@comicsyouth.co.uk and we’ll see what we can do for you.

Until then, remember: Everything is not cool – but it can be. Stay safe, stay sassy, and my goodness try to stay cool in this heat. This is “Hot to Death” by Scout Niblett and this is Amy Roberts signing off. Byeeeeeee….! 

TRACK TWELVE: “Hot to Death” – Scout Niblett