Songs and the City

Songs of summer: Jesus kicks the Beach Boys' butt, Joni Mitchell cooks the lawn & Brigitte Bardot ... sizzles

Joni Mitchell's "The Hissing of Summer Lawns"

Summer is in full swing, at least according to the mercury if not the calendar. As the days continue to heat up, here are some tunes to keep you free and easy.

What are some your favorite summertime songs?

"Surfin' USA (Summer Mix)" by The Jesus and Mary Chain

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The mere thought of the Scottish distortion kings tackling the sunny California pop of the Beach Boys is enough to perk up your ears. But once you hear it blasting from your speakers it makes perfect sense. The Reid brothers always knew their way around a sugary melody and they give this surf classic a kick in the ass, infusing it with a Pentecostal fervor and ladling on layer after layer of guitar fuzz and feedback. It's a thrilling update to a timeless pop nugget.

"Camino del Sol" by Antena

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"The best French-Belgian electro-samba record you've never heard." And so reads the tag-line for Antena's "El Camino Del Sol," the trio's criminally overlooked record from 1982 that was heavy on charm and way ahead of its time. In case your french is rusty, the lyrics reel off a litany of words associated with a tropical summer vacation to Palm Beach: Seaside resort, tropical climate, jet lag, friendly atmosphere, sauna, steam bath, tennis, Air Florida, the way of the sun.

"Here Comes the Summer" by The Fiery Furnaces

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Brother and sister duo Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger turn in a winner with this bouncy pop song about the approaching summer season. "I’ve been waiting since I don’t know when and now it finally seems about to start," Eleanor sings, the excitement in her voice palpable. This song is for anyone's who's ever spent long, cold winters counting down the days to June.

"The Hissing of Summer Lawns" by Joni Mitchell

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A brilliant title, it not only rolls off the tongue, but it perfectly captures the sound of a scorching summer afternoon in Houston when you can literally hear the heat. Seriously, when July rolls around step outside and listen to the lawn. The hissing is even more pronounced after the grass is watered. But before you step out, revel in this jazzy track from one of Joni Mithcell's best mid-period albums.

"Cool Ice Cream" by Eddy Current Suppression Ring

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"Chocolate, vanilla, forever! I just wanna eat you for dinner. Cool ice cream. Cool ice cream." Need I say more?

"Sincerely Hot" by Domenico + 2

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This trio includes the offspring of some of Brazil's musical royalty, including Moreno Veloso (son of Caetano) and Domênico Lancellotti (son of Ivor). An infectious stew of samba, bossa nova, tropicalia, rock and electronica, "Sincerely Hot" is just that — a scorching groove that burns like the Houston summer sun. The song, and the album from which it comes, makes the perfect soundtrack for an afternoon by the pool.

"Swimming Pools" by Thao with the Get Down Stay Down

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Speaking of pools, this rollicking track by Thao Nguyen heralds the age-old activity of doing the cannonball into and splashing around in an aqua blue swimming pool. The lyrics reference chlorine-laden water and nothing screams summer more than the chemical's comforting odor and the burning eyes that comes with a day in the pool.

"It's Summer" by the Tempations

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Oooh yeah! The Temptations turn up the heat with this laid back celebration of summer. Taken from the vocal group's 1970 "Psychedelic Shack" LP, it features basso Melvin Franklin cooly reciting the song's lyrics in spoken verse.

Throw in some syrupy strings and the quartet's trademark harmonies in all their stereo-shifting glory and you've got the ideal accompaniment for some sweet summer romance.

"Le Soleil" by Brigitte Bardot

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There was once a claim that Bardot did more for the French international trade balance than the entire French car industry. Based on her sensual whispered coo on this ye-ye exultation of the sun, I'd have to agree. Besides, if in 1963 you offered me a choice between an afternoon with Bardot or a brand new Citroën DS, I'd unquestionably select the former.

"Jogging Gorgeous Summer" by Islands

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Steel drums and tin whistle fuel this indie rock rave-up by Canadian upstarts, Islands. It's a perfect summer love song with sweet lyrics and a calypso backbeat that's sure to get you spontaneously dancing along. "Millions of sunsets, but the one I remember is the one where you told me you'd love me forever."

"Funkier than a Mosquito's Tweeter" by Nina Simone

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One of the drawbacks to the summer season is the mosquito plague that comes with it, especially in the swamp we call home. No worries, Nina Simone will distract you from the itchy swollen red bumps with a thoroughly groovy tribal rendition of "Funkier than a Mosquito's Tweeter."

"The Beach Party" by Hot Chip

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One of electronic pop's most sophisticated practitioners, Hot Chip, don't mince words when it comes to getting down at the shore: "Don't want all this cold cold shit/Throw off your shirt and let's get
hot hot hot ... I've been to all the beaches on the strip and you better believe this shit/I like to dip, dip, dip."

"Summer Babe (Winter Version)" by Pavement

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An off-kilter ode to the summer romance served up in classic Gen-X deadpan. This song never gets old.

TDT (TOKEN DYLAN TRACK)

"In the Summertime" by Bob Dylan

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Dylan's last album from his evangelical Christian phase, 1981's much-maligned Shot of Love has matured remarkably well. Along with "Every Grain of Sand," "In the Summertime" is one of the record's strongest songs.

It features an introspective Dylan looking back on a particularly memorable romance, one that seems to reference both a woman and God. His vocal and harmonica performances are sublime and rank among his best of the decade. If you're a non-believer, give Dylan and his "Shot of Love" another shot.

Let Brigitte Bardot take you back to summer.

Movie Review

Cookie Queens goes behind the scenes of Girl Scout Cookie season

Cookie Queens

Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Girl Scouts in Cookie Queens.

Few people are strong enough to resist the lure of Girl Scout cookie season every year, with the cookies’ limited availability and unique flavors a strong incentive to indulge. But only the girls and their families who have sold the cookies know the joys and stresses of trying to get people to buy them, a process that is detailed in the new documentary, Cookie Queens.

The film by documentarian Alysa Nahmias uses the stories of four different girls to represent the nationwide ritual for the Girl Scouts. They include 12-year-old Olive in Charlotte, North Carolina, a longtime top seller; 8-year-old Shannon Elizabeth in El Paso, Texas, who wants to earn the reward of going to camp; 5-year-old Ara in San Diego, California, whose goal is modest compared to most other girls; and 9-year-old Nikki in Chino, California, who has to compete with her older sisters in the cookie-selling bonanza.

The girls represent a cross-section of both ages and backgrounds, with some girls coming from wealthy families and some girls dealing with more limited means. And how much money your family has makes a big difference, as not only does someone richer have more freedom with their time and supplies, but all scouts are required to reimburse the organization for every box they take in, regardless of whether they’re able to sell it or not.

That caveat makes the journeys of the four featured girls feel wildly different. It’s clear from the start that Olive and Nikki’s families don’t give a second thought to the personal economics of selling cookies, with each girl taking in thousands of boxes at the beginning of the six-week selling season. With both Olive and Nikki rightfully confident that they’ll have no problem offloading their supply, their stories turn to how selling is personally affecting them, with each trying to reconcile the fun of doing it with the pressure they feel from their family members.

Shannon Elizabeth’s story is more harrowing, as her parents feel a strong desire to help her accomplish her lofty goal, but worry that the cost might literally be too high for the family as a whole. More than once, the parents are shown fretting that they won’t have the money to pay back what they owe should they fall significantly short in their sales. Their selling approach, which includes walking through an empty swap meet and standing outside a chain restaurant at night, only adds to their stress.

The most fun story to watch is that of Ara, whose innocence is matched by her confidence. Her parents teach her how much money they’ll owe with her small goal of 55 boxes, but right away she takes on more responsibility than expected. She’s shown making sales pitches and tallying the total number of boxes she’s sold with little-to-no help from either her mom or dad. With her high voice, glasses, and a monitor on her arm to manage her diabetes, she becomes the cute and sympathetic part of the film.

There are times that the film starts to feel more than a little manipulative, however. While many of the moments documented come off as organic, some of them seem like Nahmias is actively guiding the participants in order to get a better story. This is especially evident with Shannon Elizabeth and her family, whose early struggles turn into a miraculous feel-good story by the end, a turnaround that seems implausible at best. Everything with them might have been aboveboard, but Nahmias and her team edit the family’s journey in a way that pushes a bit too hard for emotion.

Cookie Queens, which was produced by a company owned by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, helps to give insight into the business of selling Girl Scout cookies for those who’ve only been on the purchasing end of the transaction. The dedication of each girl toward selling their allotted supply proves fun and interesting, even if the filmmaker tries to gild the lily on occasion.

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Cookie Queens is now playing in theaters,

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