2012 Summer Playlist

February 4, 2013 2012 Summer Playlist

In high school, I made cleverly titled mix tapes like FRESHMAN Vol IV that catalogued the songs I liked at the time, in order, providing me with sonic time capsules of my youth.

Since around 2006 (which is when I started to go all digital), I’ve been making iTunes playlists in the same vein. These days I make two annual playlists and now that I’m well into the one called 2012 Winter, I figured I’d post the official soundtrack of 2012 Summer.

For some background: I don’t keep up with music news or the music press and I have no interest in what the coolest new underground band is. When Pandora still streamed internationally, I found almost all my “new” music through that service, but for the past four or five years, I’ve been dependent upon a couple well curated music podcasts, BBC Radio1 and French commercial radio. One of the big benefits of this system has been the discovery of old music I’d never heard that exactly suits my taste.

So, here are the songs that will remind me of the most recently passed period of my life. Presented in no particular order. (All links are to videos.)

1. Wax, Theme Park (2012) — Modern electro-pop + early 80s David Bowie
2. Comme un enfant, Yelle (2011) — French dance/pop version of Robyn
3. Five Seconds, Twin Shadow (2012) — If Simple Minds had been more rock
4. Fineshrine, Purity Ring (2012) — For Lykke Li enthusiasts
5. Get Closer, Life In Film (2012) — Like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
6. Time to Dance, The Shoes (2011) — Traffic + Daft Punk
7. True Romance, Citizens! (2012) — David Bowie + Two Door Cinema Club
8. I Love It, Icona Pop (2012) — If Robyn and La Roux had a baby
9. That Home, Cinematic Orchestra (2007) — Sad piano + sad singing = :)
10. Puritan, Blur (2012) — If you like Blur, this song is totally Blur
11. Bacon, Mrweebl (2012) — Novelty song about bacon with laser sounds
12. Marcia baïla, Les Rita Mitsouko (1984) — Super-80s French song
13. Harder Than You Think, Public Enemy (2007) — Kick. Ass. Beats.
14. All Alone, Superbus (2012) — French band kinda like a softer No Doubt
15. Brooklyn Go Hard, Jay-Z featuring Santogold (2009) — Beats to bike or drive by
16. Mon manège à moi, Etienne Daho (1993) — If Brian Eno had produced a French song in 1990

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Tags: BBC, Blur, Brian Eno, Cinematic Orchestra, Citizens!, David Bowie, Etienne Daho, Harder Than You Think, Icona Pop, iTunes, Les Rita Mitsouko, Life in Film, Lykke Li, Music, playlist, Public Enemy, Purity Ring, Radio 1, Robyn, Superbus, The Shoes, Theme Park, Twin Shadow, Two Door Cinema Club, U2, Yelle

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