By Mike Nelson

What’s your song of the summer? It’s a question everyone always wants to know right before Bieber drops new tracks that give us a direct answer.

I consider myself “very qualified” to recommend good music. I consider myself “barely qualified” to predict what will be a hit song, as my music judgment typically ignores commercial success and radio airtime.

So instead of giving you a list of contenders for “Song of the Summer” and just re-hashing the work Rob did (okay, we do overlap on one song...come at me, Rob), I’m giving you something a little different.

Summer presents many different situations and emotions. Being outdoors more and interacting with humans will do that. So to prepare you for those interactions—with me, for yourself, for you to encounter, whatever they may be—I give you my Situational Songs of Summer 2017.

If this comes on at a wedding, I’m going absolutely bananas, and my gin and tonic is inadvertently spilling all over your nephew please get him off the dance floor right now I promise this will be quick.

I'm throwing a hipster dance party, which is really just an '80s dance party with stupider hair and less attention to hygiene for whatever reason.

I don’t care if it came out last year, this is the first summer this song has been around, and I’m going to embrace it because it is universally enjoyable and fits summer perfectly.

I’m an aged hipster and I want in on this '80s-style dance party, but I kinda fell out of touch and shower every day. These guys are still cool, right?

I can’t stand “stadium country,” but I like a little twang, and this is a good compromise for me and my country-loving friends while we take a long drive.

My friends visited from overseas two weeks ago, and they introduced me to this song...soooooo good!

Sitting on a porch, staring out at a lake with a bottle of moonshine, and I have no idea how I got here.

I need something on my summer playlist that says I’m cooler and more culturally aware than I actually am.

My son and his friends want to drive around and play “mailbox baseball,” but they only have their learner’s permits, so guess who gets to drive and has no say in what we listen to.

The Writer’s Guide to Music Archives

By Robert Masiello

There’s a lot to worry about these days. This summer hardly seems to be rolling in with the joyous optimism we’d typically associate with the season. There’s much to be said about our country’s political and social climate, but it’s all been said elsewhere and better. At the risk of triteness, we ask our readers and friends to please remember to please take care of yourselves in these times. You can worry, you can be angry, but dance when you want to dance. On that note, Writer’s Bone presents to you the definitive Summer 2017 Playlist.

Carly Rae Jepsen: “Cut to the Feeling”

If you haven’t given Carly Rae Jepsen much thought since her ubiquitous single “Call Me Maybe,” now is your chance to fix that. This recently-released track is essentially an outtake from her impeccable sophomore album “Emotion,” and it’s euphoric in a way that that much modern pop music has abandoned. In contrast to the cool indifference that has yet to unleash it’s grip on pop stars, Jepsen’s unabashed excitement is infectious. “I wanna play where you play with the angels,” she begs in the chorus, but she’s already there.

Drake: “Passionfruit”

Drake’s “Passionfruit” is the musical equivalent of Valium. It’s so smooth, so hypnotic, that’s it’s barely there. And yet, miraculously, it somehow dodges slightness and becomes almost transcendent. It would sound equally appropriate in the club, on the beach, or in the bedroom. That seductive beat seems inspired by dancehall as much as Chicago house, and it’s a testament to Drake’s skill that he turned these influences into a track that feels so effortless.

Lorde: “Green Light”

Did “Green Light” flop? The first taste of Lorde’s upcoming album lit up the Internet blogosphere upon release back in March, but never really made an impact on the radio charts. Even though “Green Light” lacks the dub-influenced production qualities, which made her debut album so compelling, it's an intoxicating banger that captures a night out in all its messy glory. Despite teetering close to cliché with lines like “I hear sounds in my mind” mumbled over a jangly piano, Lorde’s grasp on the arrangement keeps this song dazzling until the last note.

Mary J. Blige: “Find the Love”

If anyone can pull a song like this off, it’s the queen herself, Mary J Blige. Nothing groundbreaking here, just MJ doing her best to keep hateration and holleration out of the dancery. This cut off her latest release is rhythmic, groovy, and unerringly optimistic. The words might be a little on-the-nose, but her relentless pursuit of unity is perhaps just what the world needs most.

Francis and the Lights: “May I Have This Dance (Remix) [feat. Chance the Rapper]”

Francis and the Lights’ neon-bright production has attracted the attention of big-name stars like Kanye and Bon Iver. Here, he teams up with Chance for a remix of album highlight “May I Have This Dance.” It’s almost shamelessly un-hip, proudly recalling Phil Collins or Peter Gabriel. But the booming chorus, tropical beats, and subtly apocalyptic undertones (“we are bound to inherit the sins of our parents”) keep it grounded firmly in the present.

Danny L. Harle: “1UL”

The PC Music label has been nothing if not divisive since it’s inception in 2013. But it would be unfair for even the label’s most devout naysayers to argue with Danny L. Harle’s infectious club anthems. “1UL” might be his best song yet, with a drop so monstrous that you just may miss the achingly lovesick lyrics. No one said you can’t cry at the club.

Ian William Craig: “Contain (Cedar Version)”

Here’s one for after the guests have left. Ian William Craig typically drapes his classically-trained tenor over atmospheric drone and tape-hiss. On this version of “Contain,” however, a gentle guitar strum is the only thing accompanying him. Existing somewhere in the overlap of love song, lullaby, and lament, “Contain (Cedar Version)” sounds best when paired with the glowing embers of a fading bonfire.

9 Situational Songs for Summer 2017