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It’s been a summer like no other.

And now that it’s ending, I wonder what we will hear in our minds when we think back on it – specifically the music we heard. Major moments are etched with sensory memory, and surely there are anthems of this era, just like with previous generations.

Everyone has different tastes, and not all songs we’ve been listening to are modern. (For me, this spring and summer will always conjure music decades old: “All Things Must Pass” by George Harrison and several Sonny Rollins albums).

Given my limited knowledge of popular music, I turned for suggestions to Tia Hill, executive producer at Genius News – she recommended some, but not all of the songs below. (Lyrics are via Genius.com).

A warning, if you search for them, you may find some of the lyrics objectionable – and considering this is about music and current events, this list may provoke strong opinions.

Thoughts welcome.

Following are her answers, and Hill’s (edited) comments, via phone, text and email:

 

 

The Weeknd, “Blinding Lights”

This is the song for wallowing – and as of this writing more than 280 million people have already had the opportunity, just by clicking on the song’s YouTube. The Canadian star sings about longing, withdrawal, driving at night. It’s all-around tense and sad, which may seem odd, considering its set to 1980’s infused electro-dance music. 

The city’s cold and empty

No one’s around to judge me.

”People can relate to these kinds of bleak alone-type of lyrics, considering everything that is going on,” Hill says.

 

Dua Lipa, “Don’t Start Now”

Now, let’s do a full 180 from The Weeknd.

Though it was last year when the English singer/songwriter dropped this 1980’s-infused song about moving on from a breakup, it’s what people are still listening to – and incorporating into their own lives. Particularly the line “did a full 180,” which has sparked countless memes, some sillier than others.

“Her Instagram presence is very upbeat and happy and positive. So I think it’s more escapism than it is wallowing in what’s going on,” Hill says.

 

 

DaBaby, “Rockstar” (featuring Roddy Ricch)

If you needed a sign this song is relevant to at least one iconic image of our moment, look no further than the facemask the North Carolina rapper DaBaby is wearing in his artist  picture.

“There are a lot of people dropping coronavirus in their raps,” Hill says.

Still, this song isn’t about Covid-19, but about lifestyle, comparing the rapper to a rockstar, although perhaps in a pre-pandemic era. Hill says its wide appeal is less about lyrics and more about “Rockstar”’s blending musical genres that are prompting people of different backgrounds to form their own dance moves, and share them on TikTok and elsewhere. It’s exhibitionism for a time when we can’t leave the house.

 

 

 

Lil Baby, “The Bigger Picture”

One surprising feature of the moment is that few mainstream popular songs explicitly touch on the most sensitive issues of the era. This, from the Atlanta artist Lil Baby, is one – and it’s inspired by the death of George Floyd, and subsequent marches for racial justice, which Lil Baby famously joined from his bicycle in early June, leading to this song. 

“I see blue lights, I get scared and start runnin’,” he writes about the police. 

Still, Hill flags a hopeful tone in that the rap acknowledges the multiracial composition of many of the marches in its video, and contains these lyrics:

It’s bigger than black and white

It’s a problem with the whole way of life

It can’t change overnight

But we gotta start somewhere

Might as well gon’ ‘head start here

We done had a hell of a year

 

 

 

Lee Greenwood, “God Bless the U.S.A.”

This one I had to include.

It’s taken 36 years, but Lee Greenwood’s tribute to the nation finally hit number one on Billboard’s digital song sales chart right around July 4, no doubt boosted by its close association with President Trump and his re-election campaign. (Greenwood has said he’s a supporter).

The song played at the Republican National Convention in 1984 – and again this summer at the White House RNC.

A fixture at Trump’s rallies, the song has lyrics that seem primed for combustible interpretations this year:

Cause the flag still stands for freedom

And they can’t take that away

And I’m proud to be an American

Where at least I know I’m free

 

 

 

Lizzo, “Truth Hurts”

“Why are men great until they gotta be great?”

In case you want to know what Lizzo means in the chorus, she helpfully explained on Twitter: “Meaning: men hold the highest seats of power on the planet. They’re constantly appointed greatness and yet cannot seem to do any good with it.”

 

Hill also emphasizes the first line of the song (it’s a bit salty for quoting here), “became the motto for so many people and was seen as a message of empowerment and confidence.”

The song was released in 2017; still, it remains highly popular – and its appeal to body positivity and social inclusivity make it ripe for a list of songs that speak to this moment.

 

 

Lana del Rey, “Happiness is a Butterfly”

A song with “Happiness” in its title may not be the most obvious for inclusion in a list about music people are listening this year.

But citing the words of Nathaniel Hawthorne in a brooding, haunting tone Lana del Rey here sings of its ephemeral nature.  “All of her music is very wistful and – a wishful thinking kind of vibe,” Hill says.

Happiness is a butterfly

We should catch it while dancing

I lose myself in the music, baby

Every day is a lullaby

Try to catch it like lightning