June Mix - 6. The Decemberists - July, July

When selecting this theme for the month of June, there were two ways of going about song selection. Either pick songs that came out and were popular in the summer, or pick songs that lyrically dealt with summer or the themes therein. Although mixing criteria may make for a sloppier themed mix, this song comes from the latter thought process (and so did the last song, I guess.) I could go for the obvious and joke about how ironic it is that a band called The Decemberists made the summer mix, but I'll spare all three of you. I had totally forgot about this song, (and almost totally forgot about this band) until Zach reminded me of how great it is. I saw these guys live last fall right after the release of The Crane Wife and wasn't really impressed (and subconsciously filed them away with the likes of Death Cab.) But "July, July" is a song that reminds me of why I liked this band in the first place. The song is upbeat, with their patented quirky lyrics and anthemic chorus as well as the obvious nod to the best of the summer months. This song is a great addition to this part of the mix because it's a modern song with a retro throwback, whereas the last song was a retro song that was ahead of its time. Here's a short, kind of crappy clip (but the sound is good) of them performing "July, July" on their previous tour. I love those China Balls.