Summer Shuffle

Every summer for the past three years I have made a massive playlist called the Summer Shuffle. It usually contains between 75 and 100 songs, ranging from old classics to new hits or just whatever I've been listening to, or simply songs that remind me of summer. The tunes are in no particular order, and every time I listen to it, I just stick the whole thing on shuffle so a new mix comes up every time. I'm the kind of person who puts great care into making mixes. I try to make the songs flow perfectly into each other, and I put a lot of focus on what the first and last tracks are, making sure there's enough meat in the middle so that the listener doesn't get bored, etc. So, the Summer Shuffle is quite a departure from my usual mix-making tendencies, but it far-and-away my favorite thing to listen to in the summer. This year though, in addition to my Shuffle, I made an "abridged" summer mix, using 16 songs from the shuffle, organized to maximize the listening experience. Here's the track listing:


a waste of time, pure and simple.

1. Blankest Year- Nada Surf
2. I Feel it All- Feist
3. Wild Mountain Nation- Blitzen Trapper
4. Production City- The Whigs
5. Lights Out- Santogold
6. Graveyard Girl- M83
7. 7 Stars- The Apples in Stereo
8. Strawberry Swing- Coldplay
9. Baby Britain- Elliott Smith
10. Heavy Metal Drummer- Wilco
11. Kirby's House- Razorlight
12. To Go Home- M. Ward
13. White Winter Hymnal- Fleet Foxes
14. Boy With a Coin- Iron & Wine
15. In Our Talons- Bowerbirds
16. Neverending Math Equation- Sun Kil Moon

If you're interested in a copy, email me at nmsles@gmail.com with your address. I'll send over a copy of the mix in a one-of-a-kind case :)

And with that, I leave you with this summer-spirited picture.