sounds of summer: fifth installment

i have found that there isn't a single song in my music library that doesn't remind me of something or someone or some time.

for instance, whenever i hear tom petty's song "it'll all work out", i immediately think of winter semester of 2008 [or as i like to refer to it, the semester from hell]. sometimes listening to that song was the only thing that held me together.

but whenever i listen to this album from jens lekman, i think of last summer. it was the best summer of my life. memories of bike rides, snow cones, long car rides all over madison county, playing at the spray park, burritos at ramires play through my mind like a filmstrip and it makes me smile.

but enough about me.

this album is a story about first kisses, lost loves, heartbreak, and friendship.

that alone screams summer to me.

but it's the instrumentation and arrangement that really make it stand out to me as the perfect summer soundtrack. ukuleles, harps, pianos, guitars, and a wide variety of percussion along with a latin, caribbean, and 1960s influence make it an interesting and unique sound that is a joy to listen to.

listen to it during a picnic in the park with good friends.

i guarantee it'll make you want to dress like you're stuck in the 1960s and eat ice cream and go on a long bike ride.

isn't that what summer's all about?

favorite tracks:

"sipping on the sweet nectar"

"the opposite of hallelujah"

"a postcard to nina"

"i'm leaving you because i don't love you"

"your arms around me"

"shirin"

"kanske ar jag kar i dig"