So here we are…can you feel it…just peeking around the corner…summer’s here kids! As promised here are not one but two summertime mixes to pleasure your hearing ears for months to come. This unprecedented sharing of the Summertime throne is not part of any grand scheme – the two aren’t really related though there are a couple nods from one to the other here and there. I made one mix with a theme in mind, which you’ll see in a minute, but I had so many more songs in mind for another mix – one that was more eclectic and current – that I couldn’t pass up mixing those songs down into another slice of summertime tunes. So let’s get to it!

The first mix, the one I had planned to do this summer since last summer, is a 1970s-early 80s throwback mix. A lot of credit goes to my friend over at The Second Single, whose three-disc retrospective of power-pop from the 60s to the 00s was a big inspiration for this mix – not to mention historically interesting and a hell of a lot of fun to listen to! So last summer I had a 90s-centric mix, featuring (I think) some of the best power pop of the decade. Just to clarify the term “power pop” – it’s just like it sounds, 60s-ish pop sensibilities with a bit more muscle and fuzz. That mix led me backwards a couple decades to the 70s and the fun, punky sounds of that decade’s rock. Rest assured that I have deliberately stayed away from overplayed AM hits – although there are many songs here that you’ll definitely recognize. This mix probably has the most “hits” of any mix I’ve ever put together, but I hope the context will give you a new take on some of them. And I only stole two songs from the “Dazed and Confused” soundtrack. Mostly I tried to keep a solid sound throughout, leaning on a style that’s a bit retro but still seems fresh and fun to 2009 ears. I should also add that the leadoff song is one I’ve wanted to use for years on one of these mixes…I just needed the right songs to follow it up!

King of Summertime 2009, vol. 1: Ain’t No Cure for the Summertime Blues

1. The King of Summertime
2. Alice Cooper – School’s Out
3. David Bowie – Rebel Rebel
4. Warren Zevon – Lawyers, Guns and Money
5. Sweet – Fox on the Run
6. Todd Rundgren – Couldn’t I Just Tell You
7. Joe Jackson – Pretty Girls
8. Big Star – When My Baby’s Beside Me
9. Tom Petty – American Girl
10. 20/20 – Remember the Lightning
11. Elvis Costello – (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding
12. Cheap Trick – Surrender
13. The Replacements – Bastards of Young (actually from 1985 but who’s counting)
14. The Clash – I Fought the Law
15. The Who – Summertime Blues
16. Nick Lowe – Cruel to Be Kind
17. Bruce Springsteen – Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

The second KoS mix here is more like the original mixes – that is, just a bunch of good summertime songs. No theme. Most of the songs are pretty current, as in released in the past few years – some of them earlier this year – but there are a couple 90s (Smashing Pumpkins anyone?!) and 80s gems. When I saw all these great songs sitting around I just couldn’t resist throwing some of them together. I don’t want this to sound like some tossed-together mix – I put a lot of care into it like I did the 70s mix and I’d say that depending on the mood you’re in it’s as good or better than the other one. I really like this mix a lot. The leadoff song here is another one I’ve been waiting for years to use. I took a risk by putting a couple more somber songs on this one, but I think they’re great songs and work well here.

King of Summertime 2009, vol. 2: And The Weather’s Good

1. The King of Summertime
2. Paul Westerberg – High Time
3. Band of Horses – Weed Party
4. The New Pornographers – Myriad Harbour
5. Crooked Fingers – Sleep All Summer
6. Red House Painters – Summer Dress
7. Smashing Pumpkins – 1979
8. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Dynamic Calories
9. Big Audio Dynamite – Rush
10. Vampire Weekend – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
11. Silver Jews – How Can I Love You (If You Won’t Lie Down?)
12. M. Ward – Never Had Nobody Like You
13. Blitzen Trapper – Country Caravan
14. Carbon/Silicon – The News
15. The Avett Brothers – Sixteen in July
16. Neko Case – People Got a Lotta Nerve
17. Talking Heads – (Nothing But) Flowers

Enjoy! Grab this and my older mixes in the Music Vault!

Like a cold hefewizen, charcoal grilling, a nice breeze, or a blast of AC, King of Summertime 2008 is here to save your summer from being lame! This is a milestone for the King of Summertime series. I made my first KoS in 2004, making this year’s mix the five-year anniversary mix! Every year it gets good reviews and lots of feedback from friends and other anonymous downloaders, and every year it’s a pleasure to make a new one for everyone to hear. I hope you enjoy the 2008 edition just as much.

But let’s get on with this year’s mix, which, dare I say, is my favorite so far in the series. This is a theme mix, and the theme is: the 1990s! I chose songs for this mix that I listened to and loved back in summers past, when I was a pasty middle-schooler crazy in love with something called “power pop.” Power pop as a genre is hard to define, but I’ll try my best. Influenced in equal parts by punk and the Beach Boys, along with healthy doses of new wave, 70s rock, glam, and Cheap Trick, power pop in the 90s was fast-paced music with well-defined melodies, and in the case of bands like Weezer, some lovely harmony thrown in too. Buzzing electric guitars, 80s synth sounds, and flourishing acoustic licks all mingle and clash together to form loud, fun, beautiful songs. And, with only a few exceptions, these songs are all about one thing: girls. Naturally. In mixes past I tried to keep the songs lighthearted lyrically, but in this case it’s the music that’s bouncy and fun, while the lyrics tend to the heartbroken side of things. A cornerstone of the 90s power pop sound is the mixing of heartworn lyrics with big guitars and sprightly melodies. Which is not to say these are sad songs. And some songs are in fact about being in love, in a good way.

This is very much intended to sound like a decade-spanning mixtape (remember these?). I even added a little cassette rewind sound bite at the end of the mix. This is also the shortest KoS mix I’ve made; short enough to fit (almost…) on a 60-minute tape. Except for four songs, all songs were recorded in the 90s. Two of them are from the 00s (Built to Spill and Guided by Voices), but I consider them to be closely related to the rest of the songs thematically. And I just couldn’t bear to take them off the mix. The third non-90s song, “Thirteen,” is by Big Star, a 70s band that influenced the 90s pop movement in a big way. The fourth is “Left of the Dial” by The Replacements, another highly influential band. That song is from 1985. Otherwise, these are all 90s gems. Some of them you’ll definitely recognize, like “Radiation Vibe,” “Hey Jealousy,” and “Dyslexic Heart.” Some others might be vaguely familiar, others you might not know, but I think all together the songs form a fun, cohesive mix. I hope that these songs do for you what they do for me, and that is unlock a few youthful memories and put a big ol’ smile on your face. Have fun, listen loud!

King of Summertime 2008

1. Intro
2. Sugar – If I Can’t Change Your Mind
3. Matthew Sweet – I’ve Been Waiting
4. Ben Folds Five – Kate
5. Guided by Voices – Girls of Wild Strawberries
6. The Replacements – Left of the Dial
7. Pavement – Range Life
8. Teenage Fanclub – Ain’t That Enough
9. The Lemonheads – Into Your Arms
10. Paul Westerberg – Dyslexic Heart
11. Gin Blossoms – Hey Jealousy
12. Weezer – My Name Is Jonas
13. The Rentals – My Summer Girl
14. Big Star – Thirteen
15. The Sundays – Summertime
16. Fountains of Wayne – Radiation Vibe
17. Wilco – Outtasite (Outtamind)
18. Built to Spill – Carry the Zero

This mix and all the others are in the Music Vault!