Mixtape: A homemade music compilation that contains all of your favourite tracks. Often you give such a compilation to the guy or gal of your fancy in hopes that it will help you win their heart. (Urban Dictionary).
Or it could simply be the generic name given to any compilation of songs recorded onto any audio format. (Wikipedia)
I have a love/hate relationship with summer (though I mentioned my love for a good summer romance here). On one hand, it doesn’t snow, for which I am eternally grateful. On the other, Colorado summers are incredibly long, hot, and dry. However, there is perhaps nothing more magical than a July Saturday night – hot night, cold drink, starry sky, sandy beach. Thinking about summer always makes me wistful. And wish I wasn’t landlocked.
So with that in mind, here is my summer mixtape. Did you know that the mixtape has been called the most widely practiced American art form? Like spring, I am posting summer’s early because (in the US) Memorial Day is the unofficial start to the season – weather is hot, school is out, and BBQ season is well under way.
Happy listening. Happy summer.
1. The Mynabirds – We Made a Mountain
2. Peter Sarstedt – Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)
3. Calexico – Cruel
4. Lincoln Durham – Clementine
5. Emiliana Torrini – Unemployed in Summertime
6. Laura Marling – Ghosts
7. Wild Belle – It’s Too Late
8. Treat Her Right – Everglades
9. Slim Harpo – Strange Love
10. Calexico – Dead Moon
11. Morphine – I Had My Chance (admittedly stolen straight from the Wild Things soundtrack, a summer movie if there ever was one)
12. alt-J – Fitzpleasure (my sole attempt to make this literary, the song was inspired by Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr.)
13. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes – Home (has the best line about summer*)
14. Rusty Truck – Cold Ground
15. Muddy Waters – Sittin’ Here Drinkin’
Quite a few of these songs have lovely lyrics. Obviously I’m not referring to #16, that one’s practical, not pretty. As always, I want to know which songs you listen to in the summer. Someone will share, right?
* Laugh until we think we’ll die / Barefoot on a summer night / Never could be sweeter than with you
flannel and folklore 
Laura Marling! ❤ Do you know she has a new album out? Which is, admittedly, a bit too long to my taste, but nevertheless very good.
I tend not to let seasons dictate too much what I listen to. (case in point, I have had the new The National on repeat this week, even though I think The National is much more an autumn/winter band than a summer one – um, that seems to say I do think of seasons and music??)
Anyway, there is one band that comes to mind for summer that I think you might like: Cloud Control.
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I knew she did, but I haven’t listened to it yet.
I am not familiar with Cloud Control, but I am now looking forward to checking them (band, I assume?) out.
I don’t listen to music particularly seasonally, but I do associate certain bands and genres with certain seasons (i.e. The Smiths and The Decemberists with winter). Genre wise, I associate the summer with blues music – though that certainly isn’t really reflected in this playlist.
My brother suggested Passenger, which I didn’t hate (progress in our musical relationship, we used to have very, very different tastes). Now we have a tiny sliver of common ground.
Really, good music is good at any time.
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Very cool! I enjoyed Emiliana Torrini..love the lyrics!
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The idea of being pseudo-unemployed in summertime is one of the reasons I considered becoming a teacher-librarian. I thought the idea of having summers off sounded grand (I’m vaguely remembering you’re a teacher…?). Ultimately I became a research/digital librarian and it’s insane trying to get time off during the summer in my particular field. Not quite what I intended…
I’m glad you liked the song. She has songs to fit any season.
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My Memorial Day was definitely not the start to summer I’m used to… it was in the 50’s/60’s and rainy most of the weekend. I’m honestly not a huge fan of summer anyway, and 50s/60s is much closer to my comfort zone (though I could have done without the rain).
And yes, good music is good at any time.
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It was hot and dry on Monday (as is typical), but it rained all day yesterday (which fulfills 1/3 of our yearly quota for rain). So summer came and quickly disappeared. I happen to agree with your temperature preferences, but I do enjoy a moderate amount of hot weather. Basically I want four seasons and I only get two (unless you want to call them ‘almost winter’, ‘winter’, ‘still winter’ and ‘summer’. Either was I’m looking forward to the drinks and the food which, if I’m being honest, is true at any time of the year.
I’m always open to music suggestions, though I’d be concerned if you recommended Hanson (I’m absolutely not admitting to having a crush on Taylor when I was a wee teen). However, I am curious to try the new beer brand Hanson just started selling (mmmhops – seriously).
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Retro pick: Blister in the Sun by Violent Femmes. New(ish) pick: We Are Young by Fun.
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Violent Femmes. Yes! Have you ever seen Grosse Pointe Blank?
Fun. I swear on whatever’s holy if I hear that song one more time I will bury my head in the sand. Which, incidentally, sounds significantly more fun than listening to it again. I don’t know when it was released in AUS but it was THE most overplayed song of 2012 (and into 2013).
However I thank you kindly for your suggestion (really, truly). I must admit I was expecting The Beach Boys from you. 🙂
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Well Beach Boys is a given 😉
The Fun album was released here last year but didn’t get heaps of airplay… Isn’t that weird? We heard the song a couple of times on the radio and actually had to Shazam it to track it down. Funny how some bands are bigger in some places but not others… ABBA is a prime example 😉
And no, haven’t seen Grosse Pointe Blank. Assuming there’s Femmes in the soundtrack?? Most recently enjoyed a spot of disco-fied Femmes on Gossip Girl soundtrack.
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I just heard Passenger ‘Let Her Go’, which I read was a big hit there and I thought the song was sweet (like sentimentally sweet, not sweet in the vernacular sense). Never heard it here.
Yes they are on the soundtrack. And you must watch the movie. That’s all I have to say on that. It won’t change your world, but watch it.
And you might appreciate this – you know what’s next in my DVD queue? Muriel’s Wedding. I’ve never seen it.
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Muriel’s Wedding is just BRILLIANT – I won’t say any more than that.
And yes, I do like that song by Passenger…
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Wild Things! Pure filth, starring Kevin Bacon. Love it.
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Kevin Bacon. And Denise Richards plays a role in which she is believable.
Everyone wins.
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Especially 13 year old boys.
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Which is probably the level my mind’s at half the time, must be why I liked it (that and I found it very Hitchcockian).
Somehow I haven’t managed to see the sequel.
(And your comment was originally sent to my spam folder, which must mean it was good as all the comments telling me how brilliant I am get spammed too.)
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Sequel’s ace – makes even less sense.
I seem to be having problems with comments, might have to talk to the entity known as WordPress to ensure that this isn’t stage 1 in a tactic to remove me from history in case I’m destined to lead humanity, or at least father humanity’s saviour after the WordPress uprising to be remembered by history as Judgment Day.
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Well it’s good to be preemptive about such things – just in case.
Lead humanity (if given the option). You wouldn’t have to die young – either way you’d be responsible for the savior of humanity (you’d either be him or be the person who enabled his conception with your foreknowledge).
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That’s my thinking too…
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