Over the last two summers I've been working to put together the ultimate summer playlists. For many people summer means parties and beaches but for me it means 24 hours of warm weather, which leads to lots of walking and lots of quality time in the deep night. A lot of great reminiscence and only the occasional party. Here are the best of my summer albums.
"Summer Evening"
This is a playlist for those 9, 10, 11pm nights on that long asphalt road going to a movie or a get-together or whatever. It brings back all those memories of coming home from concerts, going out to a houseparty at Leah's, going to the bar to meet my friends from work, even The Coffee Den's live shows and my long rides to Cleveland to see a band. It's full of a bittersweet longing, a lingering memory of pasts that were beautiful and chaotic but which are gone. The songs are of a much more humid, summer atmosphere than the other playlists and they dwell on lost loves, missed opportunities, and some mischevieous opportunities we *miss* indulging in.
1. Highway Don't Care (feat. Taylor Swift) -- Tim McGraw
2. Run Fast -- The Julie Ruin
3. Fate to Fatal -- The Breeders
4. All Too Well -- Taylor Swift
5. Long Hot Summer Night -- Jimi Hendrix Experience
6. The Whole Night -- Ani Difranco
7. Where Is The Highway Tonight? -- Neil Young
8. Night Moves -- Bob Seger
9. The River -- Bruce Springsteen
10. Lover of the Bayou -- Mudcrutch
11. Because the Night -- Patti Smith
12. Put Your Lights On -- Santana feat. Everlast
13. Good Enough -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
14. Don't Let Me Be Lonely -- The Band Perry
"Piano Melancholy"
Here was have a collection solely of sparce, tortured, maudlin piano ballads. This material haunts me with two unrelated caches of disparate emotions. One would be my history as a shy 13, 14, 15 year old; lost, errant summers spent wandering the streets, staring into space, and dozing off to Adult Swim. The other cache would be who I am today, self-assured and in control of my own little world, although it's a world with its own shadows of doubt. The music is very sad, but this playlist is mostly fun; more projection than introspection. It's like a vacation into another world, back into the sultry summers of two different youths (my actual physical youth, and my spiritual youth as I discovered the brave new world of adulthood).
1. Summer in the City -- Regina Spektor
2. City -- Sara Bareilles
3. Parting Gift -- Fiona Apple
4. Somedays -- Regina Spektor
5. Summer's Almost Gone [Demo] -- The Doors
6. Cathedrals -- Joan Osborne
7. For the Love of a Daughter -- Demi Lovato
8. Chemo Limo -- Regina Spektor
9. Gravity -- Sara Bareilles
10. Forever & Always [Piano Version] -- Taylor Swift
11. The Last Time (feat. Gary Lightfoot) -- Taylor Swift
12. Wake Up Time -- Tom Petty
"Darkkpop"
With the undulating strains of EDM (electronic dance music) becoming more and more prevelant within pop songwriting over each passing year, it's only natural that we've been getting more of these dark little gems: slick, hypnotic slowjams that ooze with the living, breathing energy of club life at its most enigmatic. Full of subtle shade and hedonistic excess, these midnight melodies epitomize the cool delerium of a 3am rave. This disc vividly reminds me of my past forays into drunken party culture as a teen, including my wild, aching memories of Penn State nightlife. It also reminds me of a lot of sweet, moonlit late night drives to Wal-Mart for lunchables.
I added two moodpieces per disc: one by Burial, renowned as the premiere architecht of atmospheric EDM today, and one by NON, charmingly haunting tunes from innovative 1970s noise music pioneer Boyd Rice.
Volume One
1. Dark Paradise -- Lana Del Rey
2. Young Blood -- Bea Miller
3. Leave Me Alone -- Natalie Imbruglia
4. Here's 2 Us -- Victoria Justice
5. Dark Horse -- Katy Perry
6. Near Dark -- Burial
7. Drive -- Miley Cyrus
8. This Is How We Do -- Katy Perry
9. All That Matters -- Kesha
10. There Was Never a Moment When Evil Was Real -- NON
11. Hands in the Air -- Miley Cyrus
12. Lightspeed -- Dev
13. Neon Lights -- Demi Lovato
14. Summertime Sadness -- Lana Del Rey
Volume Two
1. We Can't Stop -- Miley Cyrus
2. Video Games -- Lana Del Rey
3. Ghost -- Katy Perry
4. Ghost -- Little Boots
5. Untitled -- Burial
6. Oh Me, Oh My -- Imogen Heap & Frou Frou
7. Face of Love -- Miranda Cosgrove
8. sticks + stones -- Nicola Roberts
9. Smoke -- Natalie Imbruglia
10. On My Own -- Miley Cyrus
11. Rise -- Non
12. Mathematics -- Little Boots
13. Breathe -- Dev
14. Do My Thang -- Miley Cyrus
15. This Is What Makes Us Girls -- Lana Del Rey
"Distilled Essence; Supreme Midnight"
Alright, here's the true beauty. The creme de la creme of darkness incarnate. The night has a very special power, an immutable emotion to it. Just stepping out into the darkness fills me with awe, instills me with a thousand hopes and dreams, memories of glory and adventure. These are the songs that invoke those memories best. All the gloomy, ethereal, transcendental odes to shade that exemplify the grandeur of night at its best.
1. Pulse -- Ani DiFranco
2. Supernatural Radio -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
3. Full Grown Boy -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
4. No Title -- Ten Years After
5. Wake Up -- Mad Season
6. Benighted -- Opeth
7. Electric Feel -- Katy Perry
8. Untouchable -- Taylor Swift
9. Long Gone Day -- Mad Season
10. Naked Glass -- Hotchacha
11. The She -- The Breeders
12. Darkness Darkness -- Robert Plant
13. Sins of My Youth -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
14. The Trip to Pirate's Cover -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
And here's a final collection of great summer tunes, kind of a hodgepodge of material that didn't find a home elsewhere.
"Summer Nights"
1. Mary Jane's Last Dance -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
2. Long Nights -- Eddie Vedder
3. Marry the Night -- Adam Lambert
4. Jesus' Death -- Burzum
5. Shadow People -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
6. All Night Long -- Demi Lovato
7. White Nights -- Oh Land
8. Sort of Delilah -- Anna Nalick
9. On A Night Like This -- Bob Dylan & The Band
10. No Ceiling -- Eddie Vedder
11. End of the Night [demo] -- The Doors
12. Bitchin' Summer -- Avril Lavigne
13. Waitin' For The Night -- The Runaways
14. Open All Night -- Bruce Springsteen
As a final aside, songs from Neil Young's album Sleeps With Angels, the ultimate midnight jam in itself, are excluded from these playlists since that whole album is counted among my summer set alongside these collections, as are other Neil-centric collections.
