There's no more assured way to make yourself miserable than by playing The Beach Boys in the wintertime. There are certain songs, movies and even books that should be banished from your shelves or iPods during the snowy months of the year. Playing the classic strums and "oo-ee-oos" of "Good Vibrations" with anything more than shorts and a T-shirt on is the musical equivalent to the electric chair. But now that the mercury is beginning to hit the upper '60s and '70s and tank tops are replacing sweaters and scarves, it's an appropriate time to pull some trademark warm weather indulgences from the attic and remember why you fell in love with those summer nights all over again.
Some of the biggest box office explosions of the entire year are made from May to August, but it almost feels like slapping nature in the face to head into a windowless and cold room while Mother Earth is shining so brightly outside. If you have access to the equipment, there is really nothing that can beat setting up a projector and white sheet to enjoy a film in the night air. If you live anywhere near a body of water, the first film to bust out before diving in is the original Hollywood blockbuster, "Jaws." A decade later, seeing that hippie girl get eaten by a great white monster still hasn't lost a bit of its appeal. The shark has always looked fake, so there's really nothing to fear from the movie's content, unless you plan on getting in the water anytime soon. If you or a friend don't quite have the stomach for a little blood along with your piña coladas, the best alternative is to hit up one of a multitude of films that celebrate the ending of school blues and the start of summer celebration. For graduating college students, "The Graduate" still perfectly echoes the emptiness and utter ambivalence with which 20-somethings must attempt to enter society.
It's difficult for me to remember a summer where I didn't run out of my final test of the year in search of the nearest stereo to crank up The B-52s' "Love Shack" on. There is so much joy and celebration in the song; it's impossible to not jump up and down yelling, "Bang, bang, bang" until you forget what the word "foolish" means. My favorite personal experience with the tune was seeing it performed live last summer on the True Colors tour, where I vaguely remember doing the monkey with a drag queen and someone dressed as a giant pink gorilla.
Anything by The Beach Boys can produce a nearly equal sense of elation, but there is one song, "Feel Flows," by the California band that seems to capture the wind of a summer evening and the unending love that it cultivates.
However, the most enduring summer tune of all is the unequalled "Brandi (You're A Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass. It's reassuring that, even when the hammocks are eventually taken down in preparation for fall and the tank tops turn into fleece jackets, Brandi will forever be at that port on the Western Bay waiting for her wandering love - a symbol of eternal passion and the endless summer.
You can reach this columnist at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
