Summer playlist

Summer Mix 2022, Parts 1 & 2

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Our annual Summer Mix is back, and as has been the case the last couple of years, we have two parts — one mix for the hot days; one for the evenings and nights. Check out the tracklists, followed by the YouTube and Spotify versions of each playlist.

Note: Each part of the mix is meant to be played top to bottom — not on shuffle!

Part 1: Day

Tracklist:

1. Spoon: “Wild”
2. Beyoncé: “Break My Soul”
3. Sigrid: “Mirror”
4. Remi Wolf: “Disco Man”
5. Young Guv: “It’s Only Dancin'”
6. Dehd: “Bad Love”
7. MJ Nebreda: “Quédate”
8. Carly Rae Jepsen: “Western Wind”
9. Silverbacks: “A Job Worth Something”
10. Florence + the Machine: “Search and Destroy”
11. Red Hot Chili Peppers: “Black Summer”
12. Spoon: “The Hardest Cut”
13. Fontaines D.C.: “Jackie Down the Line”
14. Bonny Light Horseman: “Summer Dream”
15. Danger Mouse & Black Thought: “No Gold Teeth”
16. Junk Drawer: “Railroad King”
17. Joan Shelley: “Home”
18. Vince Staples ft. Mustard: “Magic”
19. DJ Premier ft. Remy Ma & Rapsody: “Remy Rap”
20. Ela Minus & DJ Python: “Pájaros en Verano”
21. Good Looks: “Almost Automatic”
22. Wilco: “Hints”
23. Alex G: “Runner”
24. Rostam: “From the Back of a Cab”

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Part 2: Night

Tracklist:

1. The Weeknd: “Sacrifice”
2. Harry Styles: “As It Was”
3. Kali Uchis: “Telepatía”
4. Charli XCX ft. Rina Sawayama: “Beg for You”
5. Band of Horses: “Warning Signs”
6. Kendrick Lamar ft. Blxst & Amanda Reifer: “Die Hard”
7. Bad Bunny ft. Bomba Estéreo: “Ojitos Lindos”
8. 박혜진 Park Hye Jin: “I Need You”
9. Beyoncé: “Virgo’s Groove”
10. Tems: “Replay”
11. The War on Drugs ft. Lucius: “I Don’t Live Here Anymore”
12. Cleo Sol: “Promises”
13. Spoon: “My Babe”
14. Dehd: “Stars”
15. Angel Olsen: “All the Good Times”
16. Kate Bush: “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”
17. Jessie Ware: “Free Yourself”
18. Marci: “Immaterial Girl”
19. The Soft Pink Truth: “Wanna Know”
20. The Range: “Ricercar”
21. Hazel English: “Summer Nights”
22. Braxe + Falcon ft. Panda Bear: “Step By Step”

Summer Mix 2021, Part 2: Night

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Here’s Part 2 of my annual summer mix, for your evening/nighttime enjoyment.

The tracklist, along with YouTube and Spotify versions of the playlist, are at the bottom. But first, some notes:

  • The best song of 2021 so far is the opener to this mix: “Be Sweet” by Japanese Breakfast.
  • “Impact” needs to be played on a sweaty, covid-free dance floor as soon as possible. (Also, that song made my top 10 of 2020 last year.)
  • As I’ve said many times, Amber Mark is the most underrated R&B artist we have. By the same token, Caroline Polachek (formerly of Chairlift) is currently our most underrated pop artist. “Bunny is a Rider” is a bop.
  • If you try not to dance during “Watch Your Step” by Disclosure and Kelis, you will fail miserably.

Tracklist (meant to be played top to bottom, no shuffle):

1. Japanese Breakfast: “Be Sweet”
2. SG Lewis ft. Robyn & Channel Tres: “Impact”
3. Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson Paak): “Skate”
4. Laura Mvula: “Church Girl”
5. Natalie Bergman: “Shine Your Light on Me”
6. The Avalanches ft. Leon Bridges: “Interstellar Love”
7. Disclosure ft. Kelis: “Watch Your Step”
8. Tuxedo: “Doin’ My Best”
9. Madlib: “Road of the Lonely Ones”
10. Majid Jordan: “Waves of Blue”
11. Kid Cudi: “Tequila Shots”
12. SZA: “Good Days”
13. The Black Keys: “Stay All Night”
14. Kevin Morby: “Campfire”
15. Caroline Polachek: “Bunny is a Rider”
16. Amber Mark: “Worth It”
17. Bedouine, Waxahatchee & Hurray for the Riff Raff: “Thirteen”

Summer Mix 2021, Part 1: Day

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Summer is back! Kind of. Let’s do what we can to eliminate the delta variant so we can enjoy the summer alongside these tunes.

The tracklist, along with YouTube and Spotify versions of the playlist, are at the bottom. But first, some notes:

  • I’m declaring “good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo as 2021’s official “Song of the Summer.” If you think I should be making other considerations, let me know. Other “songs of the summer” for the last few years, according to yours truly: “Savage (Remix)” by Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé in 2020, “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus in 2019, “Nice for What” by Drake in 2018, and “Slide” by Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean, and Migos in 2017.
  • I never thought I would like a Modest Mouse song in 2021 as much as I love “We Are Between,” but “here we are.”
  • It wouldn’t really be a summer mix without the most underrated artist of the last 5 years, Amber Mark. People need to stop sleeping on her.
  • Check out the fizzy, bubbly cover of that one Third Eye Blind song (you’ll recognize it). Hilary Duff, rising from the ashes!
  • Is “The Way I Made You Cry” from 2021 or 1967?
  • “Summer Mix 2021, Part 2: Night” coming soon!

Tracklist (meant to be played top to bottom, no shuffle):

1. Modest Mouse: “We Are Between”
2. Wavves: “Sinking Feeling”
3. Dirty Projectors: “Lose Your Love”
4. RAC, Matthew Koma & Hilary Duff: “Never Let You Go” (Third Eye Blind Cover)
5. Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson Paak): “Leave the Door Open”
6. Amber Mark: “Competition”
7. Mourn: “This Feeling is Disgusting”
8. Cool Ghouls: “The Way I Made You Cry”
9. CZARFACE & MF DOOM: “Mando Calrissian”
10. Olivia Rodrigo: “good 4 u”
11. Kiwi jr.: “Cooler Returns”
12. Anna Fox Rochinski: “Party Lines”
13. Fleet Foxes: “Can I Believe You”
14. Flock of Dimes: “Walking”
15. Taylor Swift: “Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor’s Version)”
16. Hiss Golden Messenger: “Sanctuary”
17. Bleachers: “How Dare You Want More”

Summer Mix 2020, Part 2: Night

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Here’s Part 2 of my Summer Mix 2020 — this time, tracks to play as the sun is setting and a hot summer night settles in.

The tracklist, along with YouTube and Spotify versions of the playlist are at the bottom. But first, some notes:

  • In my post for Part 1 of this mix, I declared Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé’s “Savage (Remix)” to be the official SOTS (song of the summer). If we’re allowed to have an official SOTSN (song of the summer nights), it’s The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.”
  • I pay close attention to the placement of each song in a mix like this (whether a song is at the beginning, middle, or end; which track comes immediately before and after it; etc.). For this mix, I think the first three songs are a perfect 1-2-3 punch for opening it up, and the last two tracks (“People, I’ve been sad” into “Summer Girl”) are classic examples of what a penultimate and closing track should be. I can’t really explain why, but hopefully you agree.

Tracklist (meant to be played top to bottom, no shuffle):

1. The Weeknd: “Blinding Lights”
2. The New Pornographers: “Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile”
3. Washed Out: “Too Late”
4. KAYTRANADA ft. Kali Uchis: “10%”
5. Tame Impala: “Lost in Yesterday”
6. Yves Tumor: “Gospel for a New Century”
7. Disclosure: “ENERGY”
8. Caroline Polachek: “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings”
9. Lady Gaga ft. Ariana Grande: “Rain On Me”
10. Free Nationals ft. Mac Miller & Kali Uchis: “Time”
11. Car Seat Headrest: “Can’t Cool Me Down”
12. Khruangbin: “Time (You and I)”
13. Empress Of: “Give Me Another Chance”
14. 박혜진 Park Hye Jin: “Like this”
15. The Avalanches ft. Rivers Cuomo & Pink Siifu: “Running Red Lights”
16. Jessy Lanza: “Lick in Heaven”
17. Christine and the Queens: “People, I’ve been sad”
18. HAIM: “Summer Girl”

Summer Mix 2020, Part 1: Day

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Summer is a little weird this year. You can’t turn on a sweet new summer playlist during a party or barbecue when those parties and barbecues don’t exist. But hopefully there’s still plenty of time to bump some summery bops at home, in the car, or during your socially distant hangouts. Here’s a collection of songs that should do the trick.

The tracklist, along with YouTube and Spotify versions of the playlist are at the bottom. But first, some notes:

  • Every year, there’s a semi-official (to me, anyway) “song of the summer.” Last year, it was “Old Town Road.” In 2018, it was “Nice for What” by Drake. In 2017, it was “Slide” by Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean, and Migos. This year, it’s “Savage (Remix)” by Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé, which opens up this mix.
  • I usually don’t include two songs by the same artist on the same mix/mixtape, but the new HAIM album was too good, and too “built for summer,” to only include one of their tracks. And there’s yet another HAIM song coming on Part 2 of this mix, as well.
  • “Dragonball Durag” is the funniest song of 2020.
  • It was a game time decision between “Overlord” and “Lose Your Love” by Dirty Projectors. I went with “Overlord,” but you should check out “Lose Your Love” too.
  • Yes, that’s Amber Mark covering Nirvana. And it rules.
  • I just want to shout out Waxahatchee, Tame Impala, and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, who (along with HAIM) all made killer albums this year. Check out the whole albums when you get a chance.
  • “Summer Mix 2020, Part 2: Night” coming soon!

Tracklist (meant to be played top to bottom, no shuffle):

1. Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé: “Savage (Remix)”
2. HAIM: “The Steps”
3. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: “Cars in Space”
4. Waxahatchee: “Can’t Do Much”
5. Childish Gambino: “Feels Like Summer”
6. Thundercat: “Dragonball Durag”
7. Dirty Projectors: “Overlord”
8. Tennis: “Need Your Love”
9. Whitney: “Valleys (My Love)”
10. Tame Impala: “Breathe Deeper”
11. Kamaiyah: “Go Crazy”
12. Amber Mark: “Heart-Shaped Box”
13. Hazel English: “Wake UP!”
14. Alex G: “Southern Sky”
15. Rosalía & Ozuna: “Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi”
16. Caribou: “Home”
17. HAIM: “Gasoline”
18. Pure X: “Stayed Too Long”

Summer Mix 2019

A new year means a new summer mix. Eighteen songs, clocking in at just a hair over an hour, made for any sun-dappled gatherings or drives during the next few balmy months. Enjoy the journey through triumphant R&B (Beyoncé, Amber Mark, Lizzo), driving rock (The Black Keys, Charly Bliss), catchy indie (Vampire Weekend, Generationals, Sufjan Stevens), soul (Anderson Paak & Smokey Robinson, Durand Jones, Marvin Gaye), chill palette cleansers (Jessica Pratt, Aldous Harding, Andrew Bird) and of course, the gigantic, unstoppable force of “Old Town Road.”

1. Beyoncé: “Before I Let Go”
2. Amber Mark: “Mixer”
3. Stella Donnelly: “Tricks”
4. Vampire Weekend: “This Life”
5. Jessica Pratt: “Poly Blue”
6. Generationals ft. Sarah Quintana: “In Green”
7. Lizzo: “Juice”
8. The Black Keys: “Go”
9. Aldous Harding: “Fixture Picture” *
10. Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus: “Old Town Road”
11. Tuxedo: “The Tuxedo Way”
12. Charly Bliss: “Hard to Believe”
13. Rosalía: “Malamente”
14. Anderson Paak ft. Smokey Robinson: “Make it Better”
15. Durand Jones & the Indications: “Listen to Your Heart”
16. Andrew Bird: “Manifest”
17. Marvin Gaye: “Try It, You’ll Like It”
18. Sufjan Stevens: “Love Yourself”

* Aldous Harding’s “Fixture Picture” is a current obsession of mine. I can’t stop listening.

Summer Mix 2018, Part 2: Night

Here’s Part 2 of this year’s summer mix (here’s Part 1, in case you missed it). This time, songs to play as twilight is dissipating and the heat from the day seeps into the night. Listen now on YouTube or Spotify.

1. Neon Indian: “Polish Girl”
2. Miguel feat. Travis Scott: “Sky Walker”
3. Blue Hawaii: “Versus Game”
4. Michael Jackson: “Rock With You”
5. Kali Uchis feat. Reykon: “Nuestro Planeta”
6. Dream Wife: “Hey Heartbreaker”
7. The Carters (Jay-Z and Beyoncé): “SUMMER”
8. Kendrick Lamar feat. SZA: “All the Stars”
9. Amber Mark: “Love Me Right”
10. Tennis: “No Exit”
11. Leon Bridges: “Beyond”
12. The War on Drugs: “Holding On”
13. Maggie Rogers: “Fallingwater”
14. Nico Yaryan: “Just Tell Me”
15. LCD Soundsystem: “Home”

(Note: “SUMMER” by the Carters is not on YouTube.)