Premiere: Soaking Up the Sun with Mark Fredson's Solo Debut "Bitchin Summer"

Mark Fredson takes the words right out of our mouths with his solo debut “Bitchin Summer,” a heartfelt and jangling ode to the hottest season of the year.

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The solstice may be a few weeks away, but warm tidings have finally hit the East Coast, and that’s all anyone needs to welcome summer with open arms. Once upon a time the herald of a school year’s end, summer has multiple meanings and connotations for adults. No matter what the hot season means for you, one thing stays the same across the board: We all want to have a “Bitchin Summer.”

I’ve been working at a dead end job
Five days a week
But I’m gonna put my two weeks in
That’s it for me
Tell my boss to find another kid
Who can wash all of the dishes I did
Finally get out of my mother’s house
Before she finds the will to kick me out and
Take the money that I put aside
And buy myself the perfect ride

Listen: “Bitchin Summer” – Mark Fredson

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Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering Mark Fredson’s solo debut “Bitchin Summer,” a heartfelt and jangling ode to the hottest season. “No matter what walk of life you come from, there’s one thing we can basically all agree on,” Fredson explains. “Everybody just wants to have a bitchin’ summer, right?”

Bitchin Summer - Mark Fredson — Bitchin Summer – Mark Fredson

You can say that again. A throwback to the pop/rock stylings of The Beach Boys and their 1960s contemporaries, “Bitchin Summer” combines Fredson’s soulful vocal strength with bustling keyboards and bubbling guitars. It’s a song meant to glow with sunshine – radiating hope for a positive, memorable few months ahead. As we hear in Fredson’s infectiously catchy chorus:

‘Cause I
Just wanna have a bitchin’ summer
And I
I’m through with all these winter bummers
Yeah the days are getting longer
I can’t wait
To quit this job and stay out late
The girls are wearing short shorts
look so fine
Maybe pretty soon I’ll make one mine
‘Cause all I wanna do until September comes
Is sleep out of my van like an old beach bum and
All I wanna do is have a bitchin’ summer

A founding member of Nashville by-way-of Washington rock band The Lonely H, who called it quits after ten years and four studio albums, Mark Fredson is by no means “new” to any music scene. His music has been featured on SNL, Stephen Colbert, ABC’s Nashville, and more, and he’s collaborated with the likes of Erin Rae and Joshua Hedley as an accompaniest. His solo debut is certainly a long time coming, and now that it’s here, you won’t be able to get it out of your head: “Bitchin Summer” is the sort of song that quickly gets stuck on repeat, its whirly melody and earnest message speaking certain truths that few, if any of us, can deny.

‘Cause all anyone wants to do – ooh, ooh – is have a bitchin summer. Life can’t really get much better than that.

Stream Mark Fredson’s “Bitchin Summer” exclusively on Atwood Magazine! The song is out everywhere this Friday, June 1, 2018.

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