Let me begin by saying it’s not your fault you likely missed out on some great tunes this summer that should have been hits. Whether you listen to Top 40, Grooveshark, Pandora, Spotifiy, or even vinyl records (my favorite!) there is still a chance you don’t have the following songs in your iTunes library.
I can literally be here all day telling you what mainstream radio isn’t playing. Unless you listen to alternative stations or only listen to Indie, then you probably won’t recognize these songs. I wish I could begin with telling you about Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” (my 2012 summer anthem) or Capital Cities “Safe and Sound”, but those songs are currently top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and are actually more than a year old.
Here’s the list that you need to download immediately.
#10: “San Francisco” by The Mowgli’s. It’s a fantastic short breezy song that sounds good around a campfire from a California band that’s relatively unknown.
#9: “Mountain Sound” by Of Monsters and Men. Although it was released last Fall it only started climbing the adult pop & alternative charts early this summer thanks to a Discovery channel summer promo.
#8: “Diane Young” by Vampire Weekend. First single off their third album is quite impressive and a bit retro sounding. Perfect song to jam out on the edge of your deck while eating ice cream…right?!?
#7: “Million Voices” by Otto Knows. Although repetitive, this song was my late night jam. It has only been released in Belgium, but has charted in many countries except ours of course. It fits the electronic dance music trend going on right now. Purrrfect for the clubs!
#6: “Wildest Moments” by Jessie Ware. All I can say is I can’t believe this song has not charted here.
#5: “Bom Bom” by Sam and the Womp. This song is unbelievably catchy. It’s like Bjork just dropped some acid and ran into the Glenn Miller Band at a Disco in NYC .
#4: “Cayucos” by Cayucas. I’ll just say this. It’s like Youth Lagoon ditched his lo-fi sound and got married to Animal Collective because they toned down their weirdness and then found out Wes Anderson (watch the vid!) is their new landlord.
#3: “Pompeii” by Bastille. The British really got it going on this year. One of those “roll down the sunroof and blast this baby through Wilkes-barre” kinda songs.
#2: “Miracle Mile” by Cold War Kids. If you’re sad or feeling like a rebel then this one is for you!
#1: “Alive” by Empire of the Sun. Song of the summer right here baby! A feel good song perfect at your end of the summer party where everyone is dancing around with glow in the dark paint on them. Or even at the end of a 5K color run.
