Songs for Summer

(Summer’s House of Cookies)
by Tim Den

The theme of this comp makes all the difference. Songs for Summer was put together by Adam Gimbel, a boyfriend whose love for his girlfriend, Summer Brannin, didn’t give in to sadness when kidney cancer claimed her life. Instead, he contacted the bands and artists whose music wrote the soundtrack of their time together, getting them to contribute to a tribute charity album that will not only remember Summer, but help a good cause with its royalties. The intimate liner notes about each track, how and when it played a role in Adam and Summer’s life, paints a beautiful picture of two people whose love for music and each other overcame everything. Even death. Songs for Summer reminds us that it’s the little things that count in the end (which the liner notes recognizes): funny drawings on mixed tapes (like the cover art), inside stories about hanging out with Pansy Division and Rob Halford, and how a song can bring back a memory faster than a visual cue. I’m sure these songs mean a lot more to Adam, but they now mean more to me as well. I think he said it best on the inside cover: “These songs are fun and beautiful. Just like her.” Artists: Ben Folds Five, Jason Falkner (with an outtake from his library of Can You Still Feel? b-sides), Soul Coughing, The Jazz Butcher, The Posies, Babacar, Neutral Milk Hotel, Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Frank & Walters, Beasley, The B-52s, Sandycoates, G. Love (doing a solo acoustic thang), and Jonathan Richman.
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