The last few summers I’ve been struck by inspiration to make a nostalgic playlist that reminds me of summers past, or hypothetical romanticized summers from alternate timelines. The building process for this one playlist always ultimately balloons into making multiple; there are too many bands and songs that I want to include in the snapshots from the time. Last year I made four late 00s / early 10s electronic + synth pop playlists (Sun Glitters On Cool Water + Electric Eel Boogie + Melting Portal Vision + Sunset High Dive). These tracks brought an air of humidity, but in a tropical sense, ideally helping you visualize sitting at a pool or lounging on a beach. Just pure pleasure.
This year’s playlist inspiration stems from the garage rock overflow of the late 00s into the mid 10s. In the summer between high school and college, I accidentally “reformatted” my iPod, deleting its contents. This was in the middle of a move from the midwest to the east coast, and my family’s home computer with all my mp3s was many states away. In its stead, I solely listened to free mp3 downloads I’d source from Pitchfork, Stereogum, Gorilla Vs Bear via my new laptop for college. Thankfully 2011 was a pretty fertile ground for exciting fuzzy rock artists, with Ty Segall, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Thee Oh Sees and White Denim all putting out records. Additionally the two following summers (2012 + 2013) when I was working full-time at my college’s radio station and ingesting more garage rock provided fuel – all the tracks in this playlist are from 2008-2013.
Temporary Heatstroke is the starting point in this series. So many personal classics for me on this playlist, many spent listening in my car back in the last month I lived in Michigan, or spending time with new friends in Connecticut. There’s a gauntlet of all-timer bangers right at the end, a skull-caving Sleigh Bells track, heavy driving jams from La Sera, Mikal Cronin, Royal Headache and more. It’s a shaggy, fuzzy, and high-energy summer playlist to bring you back to the turn of the decade.
Warm Visions 