The songs Bee and Sun-Star reporters have on repeat this summer
Modesto’s spring ended with several days topping 100 degrees, though summer is being ushered in with a slight reprieve. As sunny skies and the occasional heat wave take us back to water parks and picnics by the river, here are the songs that The Modesto Bee and Merced Sun-Star reporters are listening to this summer.
In college, when my friend Holly and I ran our campus news desk together, the occasional crash out over deadlines or tense stories meant only one thing: a drive around Santa Barbara with the music blasting. And the days when I judged myself too harshly for not meeting my own expectations of success, she would play “Vienna.” Sometimes she would let it play on repeat, and offer me a pointed look as Billy Joel asks, “But then if you’re so smart, tell me why are you still so afraid?” By the time the chorus rolled around, I’d be singing with her.
And even now, when I’m frustrated by the fact that I failed to meet my own expectations, I play “Vienna” and remember to be more patient with myself.
You’ve got your passion, you’ve got your pride
But don’t you know that only fools are satisfied?
Dream on, but don’t imagine they’ll all come true
When will you realize Vienna waits for you?
- Atmika Iyer, education reporter
Something about post-grad life and the expectations of adulthood never fails to make me feel like there is a giant “L” stamped on my forehead, and a fear settles in that somehow the ink is permanent. As my ongoing quarter-life crisis likes to remind me, I fall under the category of not having my s— together, definitely financially, sometimes professionally, and occasionally emotionally.
And to some degree, I’m OK with it. In fact, maybe even a little obnoxiously proud of the fact that even if I’m on unstable ground, I’m still standing. As Beck likes to sing, with tongue in cheek, “I’m a loser baby, so why don’t you kill me?”
The stream-of-consciousness rap debuted 1993 and was considered slacker rock, stoner rap, and dripping with irony. His song was a love letter to self-deprecation, poking fun at his own inability to rap with nonsensical lyrics and a certain attitude that screams, “I just don’t care.” So now, when I start endlessly questioning what the hell it is I’m doing in life, I turn on this song and let the lyrics remind me that it’s really not the worst thing in the world to be a “loser” for a little while, especially as you’re figuring things out in your 20s.
Kill the headlights and put it in neutral
Stock car flaming with the loser in the cruise control
Baby’s in Reno with the vitamin-D
Got a couple of couches, sleep on the loveseat
Someone came, sayin’ I’m insane to complain
About a shotgun wedding and a stain on my shirt
Don’t believe everything that you breathe
You get a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve
- Atmika Iyer, education reporter
When I listen to this song, I imagine I’m out on the patio with my two dogs on a warm day while they doze in the grass. No clouds. Slight breeze. Lemonade. Classic summer.
The song is from the ’60s, but the mood is timeless. Someone can reach across six decades and speak to me here now in 2026. It just goes to show that there may be some universal truths after all. It’s something we all have in common, the delight in a beautiful day, the personification of joy.
Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rain
Sunny, you smiled at me and really eased the pain
Now the dark days are done and the bright days are here
My Sunny one shines so sincere
Sunny one so true, I love you
Sunny, thank you for the sunshine bouquet
Sunny, thank you for the love you’ve brought my way
You gave to me your all and all
And now I feel ten feet tall
Sunny one so true, I love you
- Kathleen Quinn, civics and democracy reporter
My favorite summer song is actually called “Summer,” on a 1976 album by the band War. My older sisters wore it out on our stereo, and it survives on oldies radio in Modesto. A sampling of the lyrics:
Rappin’ on the CB radio in your van
We’ll give a big 10-4 to the truckin’ man
‘Cause it’s summer
Summer time is here
Yes it’s summer
My time of year
Yes it’s summer
My time of year
Technology has certainly changed from my childhood, but I still dream of being a CB radio influencer.
- John Holland, economic mobility reporter
“La La La” - Naughty Boy ft. Sam Smith
This song gets me in a “get up and go” mood, and in the summer, I tend to be more active. I put this on my roadtrip playlist for the beach and also play it while I’m getting ready for, well, anything.
I’m covering my ears like a kid
When your words mean nothing, I go, “La, la, la”
I’m turning up the volume when you speak
‘Cause if my heart can’t stop it, I’ll find a way to block it, I go
Na-na, la-la-la-la-la, na-na-na-na-na, la-la
- Dominique Williams, business reporter
“Tom’s Diner - AnnenMayKantereit & Giant Rooks
This is just a feel-good song. No notes. And yes, this cover is better than the original. Don’t come for me, just listen.
I open up the paper
There’s a story of an actor
Who had died while he was drinking
It was no one I had heard of
And I’m turning to the horoscope
And looking for the funnies
- Dominique Williams, business reporter
“Stop Dragging My Heart Around” - Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Can’t make a case for this being a summer-specific song, but it’s what I’ve been listening to lately. It’s just a great sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs while driving around town (windows rolled up tight, of course!) song. It lets you spew out any kind of emotion you might have at any given time. Best lines:
There’s people running ‘round loose in the world
Ain’t got nothing better to do
They make a meal of some bright-eyed kid
You need someone to look after you
- Pat Clark, entertainment editor
“Summer Breeze” - Seals and Crofts
It’s soft rock at its best. This song landed in 1972, when I was a boy of 10 and my primary musical influences were AM radio and my 25-year-old big sis, who I thought had the coolest musical taste: America, Harry Nilsson, Neil Diamond — all acts I love to this day. She gave me a couple of America albums, and “Nilsson Schmilsson” and “Hot August Night,” but I didn’t score “Summer Breeze.” Still, I committed the melody and lyrics to memory, and the song is still “blowin’ through the jasmine in my mind.” Bonus: it takes me back to when newspapers were on nearly every home’s walkway.
See the paper layin’ on the sidewalk
A little music from the house next door
So I walk on up to the doorstep
Through the screen and across the floor.
Summer breeze makes me feel fine
Blowin’ through the jasmine in my mind
- Deke Farrow, local news editor
“National Anthem” - Lana Del Rey
This is my perfect summer song, because it captures the essence of a very cinematic summer. It’s dramatic in the way summer should be, from nostalgia to glamor.
It’s a love story for the new age, for the sixth page
We’re on a quick, sick rampage
Winin’ and dinin’, drinkin’ and drivin’
Excessive buyin’, overdose and dyin’
On our drugs, and our love, and our dreams, and our rage
Blurrin’ the lines between real and the fake
- Angela Rodriguez, service journalism reporter
“Otro Atardecer” - Bad Bunny & The Marias
Several songs from this album by Bad Bunny are always in my summer mix. However, this song is a must for beach, lake and road trips. The song is dreamy and bittersweet, capturing the exact feeling of enjoying every second of summer before it ends.
Y no hay que encontrar el atardecer
Hay mucho de mí que te faltó conocer
Si la vida me da de nuevo el placer
Voy a volverte a besar como aquella vez que el sol se escondió
Mientras la noche llegaba
No sé qué sucedió
Pero me perdí en tu mirada
And there is no need to go looking for the sunset
There is so much of me you didn’t get to know
If life grants me the pleasure again
I will kiss you again, just like that time the sun slipped away
As the night was falling
I don’t know what happened
But I lost myself in your gaze
- Angela Rodriguez, service journalism reporter
“Sunshine On My Shoulders” - John Denver
This is perhaps an obvious summer song, but also a classic.
The lyrics are a reminder that we’re human animals with a biological need to spend time in the sunshine and that doing so will always lift my mood. The song also captures the nostalgia you can feel during a good summer day, of wishing the moment could last forever before it has even ended.
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy, sunshine in my eyes can make me cry.
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely, sunshine almost always makes me high.
If I had a day that I could give you, I’d give to you a day just like today.
- Aysha Pettigrew, Merced Sun-Star reporter
“Dancing with Myself” - Billy Idol
Few songs get me on my feet with just a few beats, and this is one of them. From the moment the drums start and the first few notes hit, I shuffle to a more spacious area to fully let it all out. Whether I am feeling particularly emo, or want to exude some joy, or need to work out a little aggression, the song always hits the mark and changes my mood. A reminder that we are all we have, just us alone, and sometimes you just need a little dance with yourself.
- Maria Figueroa, workforce and consumer trends reporter
This could legitimately be the song of the summer. With an incredibly catchy rhythm and high pop club energy, you can’t help but feel the rays of summer as she sings, “Hold me like the pebbles in your hand, initials in the sand, yeah, summer isn’t over yet. Skinny-dipping with your heart out, it’s my favorite part now. We ain’t gotta tell no one, A never-ending midnight sun.” Larsson’s incredible vocals soar out of the speakers, and I feel a little more tan and smell the faint aroma of coconut sunscreen every time it comes on.
- Maria Figueroa, workforce and consumer trends reporter
“Master Blaster (Jammin’) - Stevie Wonder
I think a lot of Stevie Wonder’s songs have been on repeat this summer, but this one has been on my mind a lot lately. This baseline throughout the song is one of my favorites! Just so timeless and recognizable!
(Plus, Beyoncé’s cover in tribute to Wonder is one of my favorite performances ever)
Everyone’s feelin’ pretty
It’s hotter than July
Though the world’s full of problems
They couldn’t touch us even if they tried
From the park I hear rhythms
Marley’s hot on the box
Tonight there will be a party
On the corner at the end of the block
Didn’t know you would be jammin’ until the break of dawn
See, nobody ever told you
That you would be jammin’ until the break of dawn
You would be jammin’ and jammin’ and jammin’ jam oh
- Raina Dent, summer reporting intern
I’ve had all three of Drake’s new albums on repeat so far this summer. But “Road Trips” from Drake’s new album, “Maid of Honour,” might have the most plays so far. The song has an energy that makes you want to get behind the wheel with no real destination in mind — just good weather, the windows down and enough time to think.
Summer has always been synonymous with movement to me. It’s weddings, family parties, weekend trips and the occasional flight back home to New York. This song fits all of it. It’s the kind of track I throw on while driving through the Valley after a long day of reporting or heading somewhere with friends.
I didn’t say that you’re the most selfish girl alive
I just said that you better hope that she doesn’t die
All those nights in my kitchen giving you my advice
I’m supposed to be the one whose heart is made of ice
Too much free time on your hands these days
Why is the solution always running away?
Why do I say sorry with my thumb on the safe?
- Dean J. Condoleo, breaking news, crime and courts reporter
“Friend of the Devil” — Grateful Dead
Some songs never really leave your rotation, and for me, “Friend of the Devil” is one of them.
This is the song I keep coming back to when the weather gets warm and the days get longer. It sounds like open roads and adventures that don’t quite go according to plan.
The song’s narrator is running from trouble, but the track itself somehow feels carefree. It’s a reminder that life doesn’t always have to be taken so seriously.
I lit up from Reno
I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn’t get to sleep that night
Till the morning came around
Set out running but I’ll take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
Just might get some sleep tonight
- Dean J. Condoleo, breaking news, crime and courts reporter
This story was originally published June 24, 2026 at 5:00 PM with the headline "The songs Bee and Sun-Star reporters have on repeat this summer."
