What makes for a solid summer song? It’s an ontological discussion scholars far more astute and nerdy than us have debated since time immemorial, or at least since 1981. And what even defines a song as indie? Yikes that’s a fun one. Honestly though, stop thinking so hard. It’s summer now, and so it is time to get loose, and decide which indie banger to canonize as the representative soundtrack for your summer of looseness and bad decisions. Because it’s important to have a trigger to recall them later in life, in awkward situations, when you least expect it. And maybe that’s what really defines a good summer song: A song capable of bottling up this year’s mood, and then make your kids feel weird when you play it for them in dewy eyed reminiscence years later. Choose it wisely — you’re stuck with it forever. No pressure! Fun forever! Now, let’s do it together. Like a family.
Here’s how it’s gonna work: Name your top candidate(s) in the comments, and once a few prospective contenders have emerged, we’ll make an official shortlist (next week) and vote on it like Obama. It’s democracy in action! A democracy in which Gotye is absolutely exiled.
There will be only one winner, but there are a lot of worthy contenders. To get you started, consider these:
- The Walkmen – “Heaven“
- Azealia Banks – “Jumanji“
- Beach House – “Lazuli“
- El-P – “The Full Retard“
- Icona Pop – “I Love It“
- Animal Collective – “Honeycomb“
- Death Grips – “I’ve Seen Footage“
- Passion Pit – “I’ll Be Alright“
- Japandroids – “The House That Heaven Built“
- Superchunk – “This Summer“
- Tanlines – “All Of Me“
- Twin Shadow – “Five Seconds“
- Yeasayer – “Henrietta“
Does M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls” qualify if it came out in Q1? Maybe, maybe not. Does Usher’s “Climax” qualify because it is so good but also how is that possibly indie? Good point. Although his recent cover of last year’s winner suggests he’s campaigning. Shrewd dude.
Anyway — democracy. Write in your vote. Do it for summer, do it for forever. Let’s go!
POLL: Vote For The Indie Song Of The Summer 2012
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youth**
alabama shakes- hold on, going to the party
CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX (REMIX) CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX CLIMAX pls.
-dt.
I’m beginning to understand the thrill of Climax.
Thank you for showing me the light d-titties
my plesh
“Fleet” by Guillemots
“Make Up Your Mind” – Here We Go Magic
“Silence (Bag Raiders Remix)” – The Ting Tings
anything of the new Walkmen
Hey Jane – Spiritualised! c’mon
My shortlist… ;)
LA Vampires x Octo Octa – Freedom 2K
Tanlines – Brothers / All of Me
M83 – Reunion (Mylo Remix)
Major Lazer – Get Free
Tycho – Dive
Phédre – In Decay
Miike Snow – Paddling Out (A lil’ mainstream, but it’s gotten no airplay it’s just really catchy!)
Jessie Ware – Running (Disclosure Remix)
Chromatics – Birds of Paradise (Amtrac Remix)
Tomas Barfod – November Skies ft. Nina Kinert
Charli XCX – Spoons ft. Rudimental
Blood Diamonds – Phone Sex ft. Grimes (Minus all weird the “please daddy, take me home” parts)
Lemonade – Neptune
Poolside – Slow Down
Recloose – Feels Like Magic
Begin – Elate
Baio – Tanto ft. Matias Aguayo
Aeroplane – We Can’t Fly (Cassius Remix)
The Rapture – Sail Away (Cut Copy Remix / Aeroplane Remix)
Air France :’-( It Feels Good To Be Around You (Memory Tapes Version)
Beta Frontiers – Hondo ft. Becky Ninkovic
Breakbot – Baby I’m Yours ft. Irfane
Purity Ring – Obedear
Com Truise – Karova
Liars – Brats
OMBRE – Cara Falsa
DIIV – How Long Have You Known
Ty Segall & White Fence – I Am Not A Game
Japandroids – House That Heaven Built
Team Spirit – F*ck The Beach
Prinzhorn Dance School – I Want You
Lotus Plaza – Strangers
Dustin Wong – Purple Slipped Right
Deep Time – Clouds
Friends – A Thing Like This
Chairlift – Party ft. Kool A.D. (Live In-Studio Beyoncé Cover)
SoKo – First Love Never Die
Best Coast – No One Like You
Niki & The Dove – Tomorrow
Icona Pop – I Love It
THEESatisfaction – QueenS
Frank Ocean – Pryamids
Danny Brown Grown Up
Darq E Freaker – Blueberry ft. Danny Brown
Meek Mill – Amen ft. Drake, Jeremih
Kendrick Lamar – The Recipe ft. the Twin Sister vocalist
Jay Electronica – Dear Moleskine
Harry Fraud – Bird on a Wire (Instrumental)
Cassie – King of Hearts (Kanye West Remix)
Baauer – Harlem Shake / DumDum
FORTHCOMING TNGHT EP
DANNY BROWN – GROWN UP… top o’ the pops!!!
Icona pop I love it, or for more conventional summer music
Slow down – Poolside
I guess “The House That Heaven Built”, from what I’ve heard. I like how unabashedly retro-summer “Solid Gold” from Cornershop’s Urban Turban is, too, but that’ll never catch people’s attention.
“Full Retard” is good enough, too, but I’ll take the Japandroids track by a solid margin. There’s also still plenty to go.
This is the jamma jamma go anthem banana getter, JUMANJI ftw!
Tanlines – All Of Me
Chromatics – Kill For Love or any other
Django Django – Waveforms
Breton – Edward The Confessor
Conveyor – ‘Woolgatherer’
““Woolgatherer” is a great summertime track, blending up-and-down harmonies with punchy percussion as well as scorching sunshine and afternoon thunderstorms. The vocals remind me of Brooklyn’s ARMS and the snap-crackle percussion/harmony tango of juvenile Animal Collective.”- I Guess I’m Floating
Done.
Moonrise Kingdom
Japandroids!
I gotta go with Icona Pop: I Love It, or possibly Danny Brown: Grown Up.
Royal Headache – “Girls”
But Stereogum chooses to ignore this band for some reason
KOKO KOKO EURO SPOKO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtDhMzDkois
R.A.P. Music: The Song
White Arrows – Get Gone.
avicii – silhouettes?
Lots of good ones stick out (I Love It definitely has the summer energy) and lots of exciting sneak peaks of soon-to-be-released albums (Azealia Banks, Yeasayer, Passion Pit … yaya).
Only one that sticks out to me as clearly missing from the list is “Pioneers” from The Lighthouse and the Whaler … sooooo catchy, such summery goodness.
poolside
Icona Pop – “I Love It“