It's the middle of winter here in Country NSW, so I've been making summersong playlists to get me through the rainsoaked days. There's something delightful about sitting in front of a roaring fire listening to festival music.
Into it:
1. Hilltop Hoods (feat. Sia) - I Love It.
What can I say, I DO love it. It's just a quintessentially summerish song to me - an ode to living your dream, being true, wank, wank, wank. Hilltop Hoods are, IMO, Australia's premier Hip Hop act, plus I really like Sia's voice, and I love her attitude and personality, but I don't really love her music, so for me, this song is full of win.
2. Noah and the Whale - L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.
This song is totally The Kinks' Lola sung by Tom Petty, but I don't care. If you compress a few of the letters, you can spell my name in the chorus. Go on, try it.
3. Architecture in Helsinki - Heart it Races
I actually had a different AiH song in this slot (Contact High) but I woke up this morning with this song in my head, which is weird because I didn't think I actually liked AiH. They're the kind of pretentious twats you only find in Melbourne (or, I'd wager... Williamsburg or something) but this song is catchy and they avoid their usual 'we can play 18 instruments, ask us how' trap.
4. The Wombats - Jump Into the Fog
I have a bit of a thing for Northerners, let's just get that out of the way straight off the bat. I saw The Wombats at a festival last year and they kept cracking jokes that very few people got. We thought it was weird, but thoroughly enjoyed their set anyway. Later, when a well-known wanker xmax Skip Hop act came on, the crowd realised that the womblebats were taking the piss out of them. Appreciation tenfold.
Even without that, you have to enjoy a song that uses phrases like: 'I just hope it's your brains that splatter, not mine', 'I feel the day deserves a truly sordid end' and my personal favourite, this sexy little number: 'I believe in these dirty little wicked games.' Enjoy, foreigners, enjoy.
You should probably check out their song 'Let's Dance to Joy Division'.
5. Seeker Lover Keeper - Even Though I'm a Woman
We've all been there, right?
This is kind of an Aussie Indie Lady Supergroup, incongruous as that sounds. I'm not that into ladysingers at the best of times, but the harmonies and shit are really pretty, and, well, the song speaks to me.
6. Urthboy - The Signal
This is an oldie but a goodie, this is from 2007, but it has a real old school feel to me, probably the scratching (haha!) but really, it's just a chilled out skipsong. Yeah.
7. Faker - This Heart Attack
If you don't like Robert Smith's voice, probably skip this one. The heart stopping conceit kind of shits me, but I guess if the theme of this mix wasn't Summertime, it would probably be Catchy as Fuck.
8. Grouplove - Tongue Tied
Can you believe these guys are Yanks? Me, neither. Unapologetically retro-sounding, this song is another celebration, doesn't it just transport you back to your suburban teens, screaming around in the back of your mates' car, singing along to the radio at the top of your lungs, thinking that you'll be doing this exact thing with these exact people for the rest of your life, and that it sounds like a pretty radical plan? No? Just me, then? Moving right along...
9. Drapht - Rapunzel
This song brings about much more recent memories. D-rapht closed the evening at the abovementioned festival featuring The Wombats. It was in Canberra and it redefined the meaning of cold for me, and at the very tippy top of the night, Drapht (not the wanker skip hop act) was playing in a little tent. It was completely packed out, but I squirmed and boob-shimmied my way to the front where I jumped around until circulation was restored to my idiotic converse-shod feet.
The song? It's catchy and clever (if you can understand all of the Aus references) and, well, my nickname in High School was Rapunzel. Never threw any phones, though.
10. Ball Park Music - It's Nice to be Alive
Another charmingly retro number, it's easy to be seduced by the sweet sing-a-long vibe and positivity and, frankly, it IS nice to be alive, especially in the summertime. Plus, the opening line is a cracker.
11. Redcoats - Dreamshaker
For me, a lot of the music released in 2011 was really derivative. No one really agrees with me on this, but i get a mad Tool circa 1996 vibe from this song. If you ignore the vocals and sing 'I don't want it, I just need it' a la Stinkfist, it rocks a bit harder.
12. Blue Juice - Vitriol
All of Blue Juice's songs kind of sound the same, and I guess this is the first one that penetrated my skull. Their sound is fun.
13. Pez (feat. 360 & Hailey Cramer) - The Festival Song
This one is a few years old now, but it's a keeper. I think I would like this one for the sample alone (I guess it's a sample of a sample?), but Pez has managed to encapsulate not only the experience of a Falls Festival, but the mood, smell, feel as well. 360 is a mega douche, but still... two thumbs up.
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