Indie Summer Playlist – INDIE ROCK CAFE

Summer Indie Songs Playlist – BrotherTiger, Holiday Shores, GROUPLOVE, Here We Go Magic, Weezer, Low, Pavement,

Posted on 09/05/201001/25/2020 by Max Hammer

A new summer indie songs playlist.

We’ve put together this fifth or sixth summer indie songs playlist featuring a diversity of great indie talent and some alt. rock heroes. There are so many summertime and summer-like indie songs, which is why we’ve been able to create a whole section of summer indie playlists.

This little Flash player will stream all songs uninterrupted. No commercials!

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“Vacation” – Girls In The Eighties

“Summer House” – Brothertiger

“Phones Don’t Feud” – Holiday Shores

“Hello Sunshine” – Super Furry Animals

“Shady Lane” – Pavement

“Girls FM” – Happy Birthday

“Be Your Baby” – Harlem

“Fuzzy Sun” – Jim O’Rourke

“Ocean of Wine” – Helium

“Old World United” – Here We Go Magic

“Float On” (Modest Mouse) – BlackbirdBlackbird

“Gold Coast” – GROUPLOVE

“Queen Bee” – Taj Mahal

“Summer” – Mogwai

“Sunflower” – Low

“The Sun Always Shines On TV” – Tribeca

“Glowing Wires” – Dada Trash Collage

“Hippy Hippy Shake” – The Liquor Giants

“Into The Sun” – Sean Lennon

“Don’t Steal Our Sun” – The Thrills

“Holidays In The Sun” – Sex Pistols

“Ice Water” – Shark?

“Plastic Sun” – Sonic Youth

“Island In The Sun” – Weezer

“Sunspots In The House Of The Late” – Modest Mouse

“Who Loves The Sun” – Teenage Fanclub

“When Sun Falls On My Feet” – Starlet

“Desert Stretched Before The Sun” – Seafood

“Sunbeam Show” – Candy Claws

“Sun Beats Down” – High Llamas

“Sunshine” – Keane

“Sunset Soon Forgotten” – Iron & Wine

“Trade Winds, White Heat” – Tim Hecker

“An Olive Grove Facing The Sea” – Snow Patrol

“Change” – Young Veins

“Cala Cola” – The Smiles

Summer Indie Songs Playlist, Vol. VI: Jane’s Addiction, Modest Mouse, Beck, M83, SFAs

Posted on 08/21/201012/18/2019 by Kate Stevens

We have more summer indie songs in a playlist to share.

[Originally published in 2010] The long days of what has been a brutally hot and humid summer for many areas of the United States, Europe and Russia are beginning to wane as August tips towards September.

Millions of kids are getting ready to go back to school; people are returning from vacations, and millions more are hoping that the autumn brings more than just cooler temperatures.

For much of the west coast, especially here in northern California, it has been an unusually cool summer compared to past years – and we’re not complaining.

The only exception, of course, is the typically foggy areas like San Francisco, and other points along the northern coast, where summer is commonly foggy, chilly and windy, and yet, less than 20 miles in any easterly direction, it’s blazing hot and tinderbox dry. It does not rain in most of California from May through November.

Because the indie summer songs this year is such a huge hit, with more than 140,000 visitors from around the world since early June, we’ve put together another few mixes – including today’s – featuring approximately 130 more summer-themed songs.

NOTE: Click this tiny flash player and it will stream all of the songs on this page uninterrupted. No fking commercials! Updated June 2019

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“Ocean Size” – Janes Addiction (1997)

“Buggin” – The Flaming Lips (1999)

“Hotwax” – Beck (1997)

“Hot Love”(T. Rex) – Elf Power (1999)

“The Ocean Breaths Salty” – Modest Mouse (2003)

“In The Flowers” (Animal Collective) – Blind Man’s Colour (2008)

“Down By The Water” – The Drums (2010)

“Gold In The Air of Summer” – Kings of Convenience (2004)

“You’re So Damn Hot” – OK Go (2002)

“The Sun On His Back” – Camera Obscura (2004)

“Gossamer Hair” – Pearly Gates Music (2010)

“Star and Sun” – Bells Of (1995)

“Waves” – The Elected (2004)

“Amber, Ember, Glow” – Saxon Shore (2003)

“The Secret Ocean” – Of Montreal (2005)

“The Sun Shines Down on Me” – Guster (2004)

“Hello Sunshine” – Super Fury Animals (2003)

“Summertime” – Great Northern (2008)

“Oceanside” – The Decemberists (2003)

“Pickerel Lake” (Outtake) – Sufjan Stevens (2003)

“Falling From The Sun” – The Album Leaf (2006)

“At The Beach” – The Avett Brothers (2004)

“Keep On Burning” – Edwyn Collins (1997)

“Seasick on Land” – Rogue Wave (2004)

“On Vacations” – Rival Oceans (2001)

“River, Sea, Ocean” – Badly Drawn Boy (2002)

“Definitely Beachy/Reprise” – Air Miami (1995)

“Ocean of Wine” – Helium (1997)

“Stay in the Shade” – Jose Gonzalez (2003)

“Shadow in the Light” – Opus Orange (2009)

“Wasted Days” – The Slackers (2001)

“Oceans of Despair” – Retreat From The Sun (1999)

“Ocean” – Sebadoh (1999)

“Shade And The Black Hat”– Jeremy Enigk (1996)

“On A White Lake Near A Green Mountain” – M83 (2003)

“A Walk On The Beach” – The Strange Boys (2010)

“Sunshower” – Chris Cornell (1998)

“Burn One Down” – Ben Harper (1995)

“Hott in Here” (Nelly) – Beck (2003)

“Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans” – The Smashing Pumpkins (1995)

“Summer Breeze” (Seals & Croft) – Jason Mraz (2004)

“In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” – Neutral Milk Hotel (1998)

“Baseball Jam” (Live) – Tea Leaf Green (2002)

“While Oceana Sleeps” – Sparta (2004)

“Ten Thousand Lakes” – Kid Dakota (2004)

“Holly’s Dream Vacation” – Super Deluxe (1995)

“Wires and Waves” – Rilo Kiley (2001)

“Too Many Sandwhiches” – Stereophonics (1997)

“The Sad Sun” – Deer Tick (2010)

“There Was Sun” – Devendar Banhart (2004)

“Permanent Waves” – The Kinks (1978)

“Here Comes The Night” – Them (1965)

“Flamenco Sketches” – Miles Davis (1959)

“They’re Red Hot” (Robert Johnson) – Eric Clapton (2003)

“Somewhere Over The Rainbow” – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (RIP)

PHEW!

Summer Indie Playlist, IV: Holiday Shores, Wild Nothing, Fanfarlo, Surfer Blood, Local Natives

Posted on 07/17/201012/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Because you asked; here’s another summer megamix to keep you entertained during the long, hot days, and warm, balmy nights of mid-July. Not much else to say; we’ll let the music speak for itself. Let’s go skinny dipping.

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“Days Drag” – Holiday Shores

“Cloudbusting” – Wild Nothing

“Sunshine/Pretty Girls”– Unnatural Helpers

“Sunburn Kids” – Admiral Radley

“Comets” – Fanfarlo

“Chemicals” – Fez

“Stripper Sunset” – Harlem

“Sunspray” – BlackbirdBlackBird

“Sun Hands” – Local Natives

“I Should Go” – Good Old War

“Cups” – The Happy Family

“When They Fight They Fight” – The Generationals

“Riot on the Sunset Strip” – The Standells

“Blue Sunshine” – Blue Giant

“Heavy Cloud Hustle” – Blind Man’s Colour

“Pastora Divine” – White Flight

“The Waves” – Princeton

“Sink/Let it Sway” – Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

“Here Comes The Summer” – Corduroy Utd.

“Ice Water” – Shark

“1000 Julys” – Third Eye Blind

“Gone” – Tokyo Police Club

“Blood The Sun And Water” – Born Ruffians

“Sunny Day” – Film School

“Push Our Way To The Front” – The Zebras

“Up and Down The River” – All My Friends

“Summer Sun” – Batte

“Steps 2 Step” – Everyday Sensations

“What Difference Does it Make” – The Smiths

“Pictures Of You” – The Cure

“Ghost Train” – Summer Camp

“Swimming” –The Smiles

“Middle Of July” – Hayden

Summer Indie Playlist, Vol. III: CEO, The Drums, Teen Daze, Beach House, Mew, Ariel Pink

Posted on 07/10/201001/11/2022 by Max Hammer

It’s almost mid-summer. People everywhere are enjoying the sun and staying cool from the heat, taking part in summertime activities like going to the beach, having BBQs, playing baseball, surfing at the ocean, swimming in pools, riding bikes, watching movies, and in general, making the best of the long, hot days.

Summer is a season of celebration, recreation, relaxation, family and friends, and of course, listening to music, whether you’re just hanging around the house, driving about town, jogging or bike riding with headphones on, or at a party with friends.

So far, we’ve put together and posted two massive summer playlists this year. The huge response to the first two mixes was a clear message for more summer mixes. Therefore, we gotta give the people what they want, man.

The first two mixtapes included songs from all eras and genres of music, but for today’s summer mix, we’re sticking with just alternative and indie rock bands. This mix is also more pop-oriented than other tapes, and it’s likely that even the biggest indie music nerds will hear artists in this mix they never knew of before.

In the coming weeks, we’re going to let loose more summer mixes that are already well along – there are so many hot songs that we’re going to get to you. In the meantime, this mix and the first and second mixes, should keep y’all busy for a while – nearly 150 songs between the three of them, not counting last year’s summertime playlists you might also want to checkout.

If you like these mixtapes, let us know by reTweeting, Facebooking, Digg’ing, Stumbling, and however else you can think to make us feel good and share these mixes with more people that you think will enjoy them – that’s why we do this; we love sharing great music with others.

As with all the playlists on IRC, just click the first song and the entire playlist will stream non-stop until the end. You can also do Save As to download MP3s you like most. We hope you enjoy this mix, from start to finish, as much as we do. Fire it up!

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“Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” – Ceo

“Make You Mine” – The Drums

“Shine On You Crazy White Cap” –Teen Daze

“Beach” – Mew

“Walk In The Park” – Beach House

“Summer Dust” – The Love Language

“Roman History”– Pet Lions

“Walkabout” – Altas Sound & Panda Bear

“Wait, Wait, Wait” – Opus Orange

“Summer Holiday” – Wild Nothing

“Vacationing People” – Foreign Born

“Hot Body Rub” – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

“Misread” – Kings of Convenience

“Ginger” – Lilys

“Not By Another” – The Electric Pop Group

“So Much Fun” – Sunny Summer Day

“Northern Seaside” – Motorama

“Summer Sun” – Batte

“Laundry” – The Voluntary Butler Scheme

“Dream Talkin” – Family Trees

“Real Stone” – The High Strung

“Blue & Green” – The Little Hands of Asphalt

“Summer Cum” – Avi Buffalo

“Kalypsos Garden” – Magnus Sinnes

“I Could Go” – Oberhofer

“On The Beach” (Neil Young) Radiohead

Get more summer mixes to stream.

Summer Indie Playlist, Vol. II: Spoon, LCD Soundsystem, Oberhofer, Damien Jurado

Posted on 06/26/201007/22/2021 by Max Hammer

A few weeks ago, to kick-off the Memorial Day holiday, we launched our first summer mixtape of 2010. Due to the huge success of that mix, we started work on putting together Mix No. 2 shortly thereafter – and here are the results (work on Mix No. 3 is already in progress). Obviously, these summer mixtapes are not restricted to indie rock (whatever that is to you).

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“Written in Reverse” – Spoon

“Saddest Summer” – The Drums

“Away Frm U” – Oberhofer

“Gold Skull” (produced by Neon Indian) – Miniature Tigers

“Intergalactic Spell” – Beastie Boys vs. Alphabeat

“Ribbons of Light” – Kids of 88

“Fireworks” – Polock

“Another Day” – The Marching Band

“Chorus of Fools” – The Crookes

“Louie Louie” – Black Flag

Sundres – Ben Kweller

“Arkansas” – Damien Jurado

“Drunk Girls” – LCD Soundsystem

“Hold On” – Former Ghosts

“What’s It In For?” – Avi Buffalo

“Dirty Water” -The Standells

“Is This Love” – Bob Marley

“The Ocean” – Led Zeppelin

“Born to Run”– Bruce Springsteen and E St. Band

Summer Indie Playlist, Vol. I – Local Natives, Arcade Fire, Free Energy, Opus Orange

Posted on 05/29/201001/25/2020 by Max Hammer

While summer does not technically begin until mid-June, it has become something of an American tradition that Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summertime. And it’s perfect timing for folks on the west coast, where it has been an unusually cool, cloudy and rainy spring.

Now that Memorial Day weekend has arrived, it’s time to begin rolling out the summer mixtapes, and the good thing is, there’s a lot of terrific new music that has come out so far in 2010. And these mixtapes also give us an opportunity to share other great ‘summer’ style music with you not restricted to just ‘indie rock’.

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“Sun Hands” – Local Natives

“Let’s Go Surfing” – The Drums

“Dynomania”– The Vermicious K’nids

“Month of May” – Arcade Fire

“Nothing But Time” – Opus Orange

“Six Royal Vipers” – Tobacco

“Celebrate The Days” – The Rassle

“Razor Blade” – The Strokes

“Dream City” – Free Energy

“Walk In The Park” – Beach House

“Swim Until You Can’t See Land” – Frightened Rabbit

“Spirit in the Sky” – Norman Greenbaum

“Ambling Alp” – Yeasayer

“You Were Young” – Yes Giantess

“Eyes of Light” – Awesome Color

Indie Rock Summer Mix VI: Pains of Being Pure at Heart, South Ambulance, Dr. Dog, Electric Tickle Machine & More

Posted on 09/08/200901/09/2020 by Max Hammer

The response to the summer playlist series on IRC over the past three months has been so remarkable, that we figured to add one more as the last blast for the summer of 2009. Don’t give up on summer just yet.

Kicking off this final summer mix is a wonderful noise pop song from The Pains of Being Pure At Heart from their critically acclaimed debut, self-titled album. One of the reasons for highlighting this song is not only because it’s a great summer song, but also because there is news to go along with it. The band’s label, Slumberland Records, is set to release the new EP on September 22. Stream “Higher Than The Stars” via Pitchfork. In the meantime, check out the third single from their new album, “Come Saturday.”

Next up is a fantastic new song from Swedish band South Ambulance. With a catchy title like “Davy Crockett,” it might not sound like one of the best new indie tracks making the rounds, but once most people hear it, that all changes.

Following South Ambulance is the irresistible, summer-feeling Dr. Dog song, “The Old Days.” The song’s melodic, mandolin plucking and hi-fi vocals build up into a crescendo of synths, choruses and guitar licks. Although it was originally released on Dr. Dog’s 2008 album Fate, it seems to have become one of the underground summer anthems of 2009.

Other songs in this mix feature a suave, Talking Heads-sounding tune from Fanfarlo‘s newest album, a jangly pop track from Electric Tickle Machine, a catchy, melodic track from the band Little Tybee, and the infectious summertime indie classic, “Nothing But Time,” from OpusOrange (featured in July on IRC to a huge response from readers).

OpusOrange is also credited with the fun, somewhat defiant pop song, “Roll On By,” heard by many people this summer on a popular TV commercial. Vampire Weekend: Eat your heart out.

Also, check out new songs from Podington Bear, Kevin Hearn & Thin Buckle, Camera Obscura, Cool Devices, Wheels On Fire, Coma League, The Decks, Amazing Baby, The Color Turning, Roadside Graves, The Sweet Serenades and Paul Oakenfold. Enjoy the waning days of summer.

“Come Saturday” – Pains of Being Pure At Heart from s/t debut (2009)

“Davy Crockett” – South Ambulance from EP #4 (2009)

“The Old Days” – Dr. Dog from Fate (2008)

“Harold T. Wilkins” – Fanfarlo from Reservior (2009)

“Part of Me” – Electric Tickle Machine from Blew It Again (2009)

“Glass Brigade” – Little Tybee from I Wonder Which House The Fish Will Live In (2009)

“Nothing But Time” – Opus Orange, unreleased web debut (2009)

“Ebullience” – Podington Bear from The End (2009)

“Huntsville.CA” – Kevin Hearn & Thin Buckle from Havana Winter (2009)

“My Maudlin Career” – Camera Obscura from My Maudlin Career (2009)

“This Is Not A White World” – Cool Devices from Cool Devices EP (2009)

“I’m Turning Into You” – Wheels On Fire from Get Famous (2009)

“Pros and Cons” – Coma League from This Could Be The Night EP (2009)

“What You Said” – The Decks from Breath and Bone (2009)

“Bayonets” – Amazing Baby from Bayonets (2009)

“Marionettes in Modern Times” – The Color Turning from Good Hands Band Blood (2009)

“Far And Wide” – Roadside Graves from My Son’s Home (2009)

“Die Young” – The Sweet Serenades from Balcony Cigarettes (2009)

Here’s one for the time machine:

“Starry Eyed Surprise” – Paul Oakenfield from Bunkka (2002)

Get all five of the previous 2009 summer mixes.

Yesterday’s MP3 indie playlist: New songs from The Raveonettes, Why & Themselves, Paper Route, These United States, Datarock and many more.

Indie Rock Summer Mix, Vol.V: Free Energy, The Wallpapers, These United States, MayDay! & More

Posted on 08/23/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Philly’s Free Energy is a relatively new band on the indie rock radar that have been catching some good buzz from blogs and music fans in the past month following their DFA Records‘ limited debut 7″ featuring the energetic and memorable garage rocker “Free Energy.”

Earlier this summer, Free Energy self released the attention-grabbing single titled “Dream City,” which is included in this mix as a double-shot from Free Energy since both songs are good summer playlist material (and we desire to defy the waning of summer). Free Energy kicks off a predominantly northeast U.S. tour next Wednesday night at The Black Cat in Washington, D.C.

Following Free Energy is another relatively new rock pop band from the other side of the world – Paris, to be precise. The Wallpapers are a quartet of Parisian teens (ranging in age from 16 to 18) who self-released their debut “We Are On The Wall” last summer via MySpace that got the attention of Grammy-winning producer David Kahne (The Strokes, Paul McCartney and Sublime). Fast forward: U.S. label Revel Records signed the band in February and they are currently in New York recording with Kahne. The Wallpapers will play the Mercury Lounge in NYC on Wednesday night.

Aside from a few recent releases, most of the songs in this mix are off new albums that will drop sometime in September, including Grand Archives, These United States, Evan Voytas, Mayday!, Vic Chesnutt, A.A Bondy, A Sunny Day In Glasgow, Hopewell and Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse/Wayne Coyne.

“Free Energy” – Free Energy from debut 7″ (2009)

“Dream City” – Free Energy from single self-release (2009)

“Waiting In A Coma” – The Wallpapers from single on Revel Records (2009)

“Oslo Novelist” – Grand Archives from Keep in Mind Frankenstein (2009)

“I Want You to Keep Everything” – These United States from Everything Touches Everything (2009)

“Getting Higher” – Evan Voytas from self-released single (2009)

“Technology” – Mayday! from single released (2009)

“Chain” – Vic Chesnutt from At the Cut (2009)

“When the Devil’s Loose” – A.A. Bondy from When the Devil’s Loose (2009)

“Ashes Grammar/Ashes Maths” – A Sunny Day in Glasgow from Ashes Grammar (2009)

“Stranger” – Hopewell from Good Good Desperation (2009)

“Revenge” – Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse and Wayne Coyne (2009)

View all the summer mixes for 2009.

Indie Rock Summer Mix IV: Cymbals Eat Guitars, Times New Viking, Sonic Youth, Fruit Bats and More

Posted on 08/17/200907/22/2021 by Max Hammer

Staten Island band Cymbals Eat Guitars
Summer is still alive and kicking, and that’s a good enough excuse to share more great new songs from 2009 that have been favorites this summer.

Kicking off this mix is a great new track from Cymbals Eat Guitars called “Wind Phoenix.” The song is full of catchy pop harmonies and melodies that transform into a discordant crescendo full of guitar feedback and punk style vocals only to mellow out again to the sing-along charm the song opens with. The band’s impressive, self-released debut, Why There Are Mountains, is one of the best independent debuts of 2009.

Other songs in this summer playlist include hot new singles from Times New Viking, Sonic Youth, Fruit Bats, Plus 49, Lightning Dust, A Lull, Kurt Vile, Harlem Shakes, The Radio Dept. and a new remix from Animal Collective.

“Wind Phoenix (Proper Name)” – Cymbals Eat Guitars from Why There Are Mountains (2009)

“No Time No Hope” – Times New Viking from Born Again Revisited (2009)

“Sacred Trickster” – Sonic Youth from The Eternal (2009)

“My Unusual Friend” – Fruit Bats from The Ruminant Band (2009)

Naive Brother –Plus 49 from Integrity and Injury (2009)

“Never Seen” – Lightning Dust from Invincible Light (2009)

“Skinny Fingers” – A Lull from Ice Cream Bones (2009)

“Overnite Religion” – Kurt Vile from Childish Prodigy (2009)

“David”– The Radio Dept. from TBA (2009)

“Strictly Game” – Harlem Shakes from Technicolor Health (2009)

“Daily Routine” (Phaseone Remix) – Animal Collective, unreleased (2009)

Check out more 2009 Summer Mixes

Summer Indie Rock Mix, Vol. III: Songs from Opus Orange, Arctic Monkeys, The Raveonettes, Fanfarlo, Spoon and More

Posted on 08/09/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

To kick off this special summer playlist mix, IRC is happy to debut two officially unreleased songs by OpusOrange, the moniker of L.A. composer Paul Bessenbacher. who was featured last week and received quite a bit of interest.

The self-described ‘fun little ditty’ titled “Nothing But Time” was originally written on a ukulele. “It’s Alright” is short, upbeat song that provides yet more evidence of Bassenbacher’s talent as a musician; one can only wish the song went on for at least a couple of more minutes.

In addition, check out new songs from Arctic Monkeys, The Raveonettes, Bad Veins, Spoon, Yo La Tengo, Spoon, Fanfarlo, The Boy Least Likely To, Cage The Elephant, Yacht and Choo Choo La Rouge.

“Nothing But Time” – Opus Orange, unreleased web debut

Bonus: “It’s Alright” – Opus Orange, unreleased web debut

“Crying Lightning” – Arctic Monkeys from Humbug (2009)

“Suicide” – The Raveonettes from In And Out Of Control (2009)

“Got Nuffin” – Spoon from Got Nuffin EP (2009)

“Here to Fall” – Yo La Tengo from Popular Songs (2009)

“Gold And Warm” – Bad Veins from Bad Veins (2009)

“Drowning Men” – Fanfarlo from Reservior (2009)

“Tiny Little Robots” – Cage The Elephant from Cage The Elephant (2009)

“Psychic City” – Yacht from See Mystery Lights (2009)

“A Balloon On A Broken String” – The Boy Least Likely To from The Laws of the Playground (2009)

“It’s Gonna Happen Fast” – Choo Choo La Rouge from Black Clouds (2009)

Get more great, free and legal MP3s from these popular posts:

– New Release from ex-Concretes’ vocalist Victoria Bergsman band Taken By Trees

Ears To The Music, Vol. I – Songs from COYB, The Love Language, Firs, The Very Most and more.
Fresh Tracks from Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Dr. Dog, South Ambulance, Fanfarlo and another playlist from The Raveonettes, Why/Themselves, These United States and many others.

Indie Rock Summer Mix, Vol. II: Songs from Phoenix, Neko Case, Franz Ferdinand, Wilco

Posted on 08/01/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

With 2009 more than half over, indie best albums of the year lists are starting to appear. And there are common songs from said albums that are favored by fans and music critics alike. Earlier this week, IRC published the first summer 2009 mix featuring some of the best indie songs of 2009. This second volume includes more popular indie songs of the year so far from Neko Case, Phoenix, Franz Ferdinand, Wilco, St. Vincent, Japandroids, Rainbow Arabia, Camera Obscura and The Maccabees.

“This Tornado Loves You” – Neko Case from Middle Cyclone (2009)

“Lisztomania” – Phoenix from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)

“No You Girls” – Franz Ferdinand from Tonight (2009)

“My Girls” – Animal Collective from Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)

“One Wing” – Wilco from Wilco, The Album (2009)

“Paper Lace” – Sunset Rubdown from Dragonslayer (2009)

“French Navy” – Camera Obscura from My Maudlin Career (2009)

“The Strangers” – St. Vincent from Actor (2009)

“Harlem Sunrise” – Rainbow Arabia from Kabukimono (2009)

“Young Hearts Spark Fire” – Japandriods from Post-Nothing (2009)

“Love You Better” – The Maccabees from Wall Of Arms (2009)

The first summer mix featuring the best indie rock songs of 2009 includes new tracks from The Dodos, Foreign Born, Why?, Starlight Mints, Fun, Deastro, Passion Pit, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Throw Me The Statue and Akron/Family.

Indie Rock Summer Mix, Vol. I: The Dodos, Foreign Born, Why?, Starlight Mints, Fun and More

Posted on 07/28/200901/09/2020 by Max Hammer

Summer is at full throttle. Long, warm days. Barbecues with family and friends. Kicking back on weekends that end way too soon. Hanging out on the porch on a sultry summer night gazing at a brilliant full moon. And of course music. What would summer be without music?

Almost everyone has at least one song that in some special way defines summer time for them. It could be an obvious summer song – I don’t know, like “Summer In The City” by The Lovin Spoonful – or a more obscure, personal song that connects to fond and precious memories.

The music blog I Guess I’m Floating described one of three criteria for a “perfect summer jam” as a way to “look back with a proud, fuzzy nostalgia of memories that have been elegantly reduced to a warm translucent haze of images and sounds that you can’t…quite…put your finger on.” Indeed.

For this summer mix, the focus is on new and upcoming 2009 indie songs, featuring mostly well-known indie and alternative bands including The Dodos, Foreign Born, Why?, Starlight Mints, Fun, Deastro, Passion Pit, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Throw Me The Statue and Akron/Family.

Included in this mix is the new single from the band Fun, the new moniker of ex-Format (personally, I was bummed they broke up) frontman Nate Ruess who teamed up with band members from Anathallo, Steel Train and former Jellyfish keyboardist Joseph Manning, Jr. to record the album Aim and Ignite, slated for release in October. Enjoy.

“Fables” – The Dodos from Time To Die (2009)

“Vacationing People” – Foreign Born from Person To Person (2009)

“This Blackest Purse” – Why? from Eskimo Snow (2009)

“Paralyzed” – Starlight Mints from Change Remains (2009)

“Be Calm” – Fun from Aim and Ignite (Aug. 2009)

“Parallelogram” – Deastro from Moondagger (2009)

“Moth’s Wings” – Passion Pit from Manners (2009)

“Everything With You” – Pains of Being Pure At Heart from s/t debut (2009)

“Mirrored and Reversed” – White Demin from Fits (2009)

“Sun Will Shine” – Akron/Family from Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free (2009)

“Hi Fi Goon” – Throw Me The Statue from Creaturesque (2009)

“I Found The Bend” – Kid Bombardos from I Round The Bend EP (2009)

“Always The Same” – The Legends from Over and Over (2009)

“Cloud Hustle” – Blind Man’s Colour from Season Dreaming (2009)

For more songs not necessarily released this year, but all about summer, check out a summer mix IRC published last year (all songs still work) with songs from Beck, The Hold Steady, Queens of the Stone Age, Blonde Redhead, Pavement, Phoenix, Kings of Convenience, Grandaddy, The Kinks, Jens Lekman, The Flaming Lips and more.