Songs and summer go hand in hand: outdoor concerts, the iPod playing during a run through the park or a stereo jamming during a family cookout. To celebrate Independence Day, Noisecreep recognizes some of the best songs of summer. Maybe this list will help you discover a new favorite summer tune – or bring back fond memories of seasons past. Enjoy!

10. 'Summertime Girls,' Y&T

Sun-Soaked Lyric: "Just wanna watch the girls, goin' by/It's like poetry in motion/Against a hot summer sky"

'Summertime Girls' is the band's biggest-selling single, from the album 'Down for the Count.' The lyrics are pretty basic: hot girls, warm weather, falling in love. The video follows suit – with members of Y&T following bikini-clad beauties around the beach.


9. 'School's Out,' Alice Cooper

Sun-Soaked Lyrics: "Well, we got no class/And we got no principles/We ain't got no intelligence/We can't even think of a word that rhymes"

It isn't a stretch to say that 'School's Out' is one of the most famous rock tracks of all time. A longtime live staple, the lyrics are pure genius: Taken from monotone schoolyard rhymes and mixed with Alice's signature scratchy voice and an electric guitar, you end up with one of the first big teenage angst tunes.


8.'The Smell of Summer,' Evergreen Terrace

Sun-Soaked Lyrics: "Waking up to the smell of summer though it's late fall"

This song is a little (okay -- a lot) on the macabre side, but it evokes essential summer qualities. The most important line speaks to the "smell of summer," namely cut grass, cotton candy and smog. Loss is another popular theme – perhaps because the season is so short and carefree -- but there's no way it can last forever.


7. 'Autumn into Summer,' Pelican

Sun-Soaked Lyrics: None (instrumental)

Pelican are perhaps best known for what they leave out of their songs: the words. This song gives listeners a musical interpretation of the changing of the seasons – in backward motion. Pelican use their instruments to tell a true story: slow beginning for autumn and a faster tempo midway through to signify a march back in time. The musicians possess the rare ability to create the sensation of lyrics (and the season) without the spoken word.


6. 'Summer's Day,' Tesla

Sun-Soaked Lyrics: None (instrumental)

From the album 'Replugged Live,' this live cut was a shoo-in for this list because concerts and summer go hand in hand. There's special significance for Tesla because the set was recorded during a reunion tour at the beginning of the decade. Tesla stay true to their blues heritage on this instrumental, highlighting great guitar work and palpable crowd energy.


5. 'Surf Nicaragua,' Sacred Reich

Sun-Soaked Lyrics: "You're entering Managua/If you had brought your surfboard/You could surf Nicaragua"

Okay, so maybe Sacred Reich are a little heavy for summer fun, but metalheads need to party, too! From the 1988 album of the same name, the song tells the story of a youth shipped off to war -- clearly not the ideal way to spend summer vacation. Most important, the song contains a little bit of the 1960s surf instrumental smash 'Wipe Out.'


4. 'The Year Summer Ended in June,' Misery Signals

Sun-Soaked Lyrics: "As I lay awake/The light cuts the southern sky"

When you think summer fun, this might not be the first band that pops into your head. This song is a power ballad of sorts, retelling the history of love gained and eventually lost. Lyrics about the sky and air conjure images of idyllic love and friendship – truly the stuff of summer vacation.


3. 'Feel Good Hit of the Summer,' Queens of the Stone Age

Sun-Soaked Lyrics: "Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, marijuana, Ecstasy and alcohol"

It's pretty amazing that singing the names of a bunch of drugs over and over can constitute a song – and yet, somehow this works. Perhaps QOTSA were just openly mocking the term "stoner rock." At any rate, it's a cult classic for the band, conjuring images of wasted days (literally!), sleepless nights and lots of laughs.


Sun-Soaked Lyrics: "They say I spend my money on women and wine/
But I couldn't tell you where I spent last night"

Someone forgot to tell the glam rock kings that the '80s are over, because they are still partying hard! Poison's huge hit became a party anthem for rock fans worldwide. In today's economic climate, music lovers turn to gems like 'Nothin'' to forget their troubles for a few sunny hours.


1. 'Summer Breeze,' by Type O Negative

Sun-Soaked Lyrics: "And I come home from a hard day's work/
And you're waitin' there/Not a care in the world"

Originally recorded by Seals & Crofts in 1972, Type O Negative lent their unique styling to the famous tune. This take on 'Summer Breeze' is three minutes of bliss, recorded at a slow pace to match everyone's favorite time of the year. When you think summer, "doom metal" may not spring to mind, but Type O Negative prove they can stay true to their art, their fans -- and one amazing summer song.

Get more picks for the best pop, hip-hop, country and metal summertime songs on our sister sites!

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