We at the Clog asked Berkeley Summer Sessions professors to tell us their favorite summer songs, and here’s what they got back to us with.

Jim Pettigrew, earth and planetary sciences

Pettigrew usually studies currents in Western Australia, but this summer, he’s in the Bay teaching Introduction to Oceans. His favorite summer song is “Ocean” by the John Butler Trio, an Australian jam band. Of course.

Alan Tansman, East Asian languages and culture

Tansman’s favorite summer song is Marvin Gaye’s iconic and groovy “Got to Give It Up.”

Kenneth Worthy, environmental studies

R.E.M.’s “Half a World Away” reminds Worthy of a wonderful, romantic summer spent in Portugal in 1991 and his subsequent move to Bali, Indonesia, which separated him and his beloved. They’ve just recently reconnected through the magic of the Internet.

Hank Ibser, statistics

Ibser couldn’t quite decide between Sublime’s “Doin’ Time” and Joe Satriani’s “Summer Song.”

Josh Jackson, media studies

Jackson’s song of the summer is Dan Deacon’s electronic and electric “Feel the Lightning.”

Debjani Roy, chemistry

Roy’s favorite summer song is Rabindranath Tagore’s “Chhaya Ghanaichhe Bone Bone,” which, according to Roy, talks about watching the welcome clouds cover the sky on a hot Indian summer’s afternoon and the wonder of that moment just before it rains.

Brendon Levitt, environmental design

Levitt’s favorite summer song is Israel Kamakawiwo’ole strum-y, lovely, quintessentially Hawaiian “White Sandy Beach.”

Ryan Trainor, astronomy

For Trainor, summer is a time to relax and reflect on life, taking a moment to think about what’s going well and what can be improved. For him, this is captured in “The Dreamer” by the Tallest Man on Earth.

Matthias Reinsch, physics

Reinsch is a big fan of summertime and loves the song “These Are Days” by 10,000 Maniacs.

Image source: Doug via Creative Commons