Every summer there are certain songs that stick with you to remind you of that specific period in time. The thing about music is that it’s nostalgic and etches itself within you, whether you like it or not. Of course when it comes to summer, that nostalgia always seems to bring up fond memories of time spent with friends and loved ones. The good times always seem to roll in the summer time, and those need their own soundtrack.
You can either sit in your beach chair listening to the same music you’ve been hearing every summer since you were a kid, muddling the memories with those tunes, or you can put on something newer, specific to that certain summer. Back in the day, that meant firing up your FM dial and listening to what the radio stations deemed their songs for the summer. In 2017 though, the radio stations aren’t really doing listeners justice, instead playing the same 5 usual suspects twice an hour, every hour. Sure these radio stations are catering to their specific market focus – listeners that need something more generic for their background music made by the corporate sound machines finely tested in focus groups for the casual listener that simply needs a beat and a tried and true hook.
Luckily for true music lovers that are looking for something new and different that speaks to what 2017 is all about, you can get out, easily search for and listen to that new music from creative artists on streaming sites and more, making your Summer of 2017 unique to the year that it is. To help that process, we’ve scoured Spotify and put together our own OpenEars Summer Radio Mix for 2017 for those looking to hear the summer songs from the “name” indie artists (LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, Portugal. the Man, Future Islands, Spoon, The War on Drugs, and more) and also open for something new and possibly undiscovered.
Our Spotify playlist is over 100 songs long, hit shuffle and enjoy a nice radio mix that doesn’t repeat the same songs over and over, or start your day out by listening straight through. These are all songs primarily released in 2017, with some appearances from 2016 releases, including a few repeats from last year’s playlist such as Fantasy Guys, because even though they still may be a new artist, we’re pretty sure summer never even existed before they came along. The first part of the playlist starts out more chill, so grab your pool floats, a cold beverage, and press play to hear good new tunes from summery bedroom pop artists and more like Summer Salt, Hot Flash Heat Wave, Redspencer, Inner Wave and more. You can even enjoy a few songs you may know, such as CLAVVS hypnotic new cover of MGMT’s “Electric Feel.” The playlist eventually leads you into that time when the drinks have been flowing hard and you are ready to dance (Dot.s, Generationals, !!!, etc.) or get pumped up with some rock ‘n’ roll (Sheer Mag, Deer Tick, The Hernies, White Reaper, etc.), or even some hip hop (Big Boi, SZA, Frank Ocean). From there the playlist takes you later into the evening for those sweaty, trippy, hot summer nights, where things are fine and get a little weird (Cigarettes After Sex, Chromatics, HOMESHAKE, etc.).
So hit that play and subscribe button below, and enjoy the OE Summer Radio Mix 2017. If we’ve missed any must have songs to add to the list, comment below and we will be sure to add them in!
