If you know anything about me, it is that I love making Spotify playlists. Specifically, I like to make playlists for particular moods that I cannot properly verbalize.
So, here are my favorite summer playlists for every mood that help me romanticize my life.
Kool aid
When I made this playlist, I was envisioning a summer day at the beach with your best friends. Picture this: you’ve gotten back from the beach for the day, the sun is about to set and you’ve all just finished getting ready for dinner. Everyone has wet hair, minimal makeup, flowy outfits and you’re on the way to a restaurant. The windows are down, there’s no stress.
It was inspired by “Sundress” by A$AP Rocky, which sits at the top of the playlist. All of the songs have a solid beat that helps me jam out.
Slow-mo movie montage of riding a bike on a sunny day
I created this playlist after rediscovering my love for Norah Jones. The vibe I was trying to match is one of a movie soundtrack when you are watching a movie and the two main characters are riding bikes and falling in love in some European country in the summer.
Greece, Italy, Spain, France.
Each song could play as the movie shows short clips of them laughing, goofing around, sharing touching moments, etc. Now whether the movie ends with a classic “we can’t be together, but this was the best summer of my life” or a traditional happy ending, these songs are perfect for the beginning of their relationship.
I like to listen to this playlist while I’m lounging around in the sun with a warm breeze moving through the air.
Y2k and a pink iPod nano with a side of plaid capri pants
Now picture this: It’s the summer of 2008 and you’re walking into the grocery store with your mom. You’re wearing plaid capris, a top from Justice and some kind of pink tinted sunglasses. On the way there, you were sitting in the back of a minivan and listening to the local pop-hits radio station.
Here are the artists you’ll hear: P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, Ke$ha, Avril Lavigne, Natasha Bedingield, Sara Bareilles, Nelly Furtado, TLC, Britney Spears, Colbie Caillat, Black Eyed Peas, Outkast, Maroon 5 and more.
This playlist the intersection between Y2K and a grocery store intercom.
Vanilla scented candles
This is another more recent playlist of mine. I made it in the middle of February when I was in a deep need for a summer day. The exception here, is that during this summer day, it is raining. Not a storm just an entire day of rain, where you sit in a comfy oversized sweatshirt with your window open so you can smell the rain.
I titled it “Vanilla Scented Candles” because that’s the vibe. It’s cozy, it feels like fresh linen, big cable knit blankets and a record player spinning.
Garden of Eden
This playlist is one that to me, embodies absolute serenity and peace. The Garden of Eden if you will. It’s filled with lots of Hozier, The Lumineers, Bon Iver and Billie Marten.
This is what I listen to when I feel so content with my life and when I feel small in a big world, in the best way.
I picture myself barefoot in a white dress with wildflowers and drooping willow trees. Complete bliss.
The playlist you asked me the name of
This playlist is a conglomerate of random songs that just have a good vibe. It’s one that I put on when I don’t know what kind of music the people I’m with like to listen to — which can happen a lot during the summer. You’re with a group of people you just met and you want something everyone can vibe with? Here it is.
It has everything from Glass Animals to Frank Ocean to Coldplay. Not to mention Mac Miller, Kanye West, Billie Eilish, Lorde, Labrinth, alt-J, The Backstreet Lovers, Arctic Monkeys and Empire of the Sun.
For your tunnel Moment
If you haven’t seen “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” you probably don’t know what a tunnel moment is, so go ahead and watch it! But for those who are acquainted with the film, you can use this playlist is for your tunnel moment: the epitome of your coming of age movie in which you finally feel alive.
It has everything from Harry Styles to Florence + The Machine, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Briston Maroney, Snow Patrol, The Temper Trap and more. Of course, it has the original tunnel moment song “Heroes” by David Bowie as well.
This is for when you want to stand out of a sunroof with your arms out by your sides and your head tilted back into the air.
Dad songs
If you want to feel like you grew up in the 80s, driving cars with wood paneling on the sides, no cellphones and big hair, then this is the playlist for you.
All of these are songs that either my mom or dad played while I was growing up. Not only does it make me nostalgic for my own childhood, but for my parents as well. These songs were the soundtrack to their teenage years, and now I get to imagine what their lives were like back then with this playlist.
The most amazing spectacular summer of your life
This is your classic summer playlist. It is filled with throwbacks that you want to blast with your windows down while (safely) speeding down the highway with your best friends. You sing them all at the top of your lungs, sunglasses perched on the tip of your nose, and with the knowledge that your hair is going to be a tangled mess by the time you get to wherever you are going.
Simple. Classic.
I bet you didn’t know that i was dangerous
While watching the first season of “Euphoria,” there was a scene where they were at a dance for their high school and the song “Dangerous” by Big Data and Joywave played. I had completely forgotten about that song until I had watched the show.
That scene definitely inspired this playlist. It’s perfect for when you need a confidence boost. When you feel like the hottest, baddest version of yourself, this playlist can act as your own personal hype-person.
Summer nights + bonfires
Now this playlist is not mine, but it’s too good to not include. It was created by the Spotify user “teakafer.” When I listen to this playlist, I imagine sitting around a bonfire after a day on a lake. Oversized sweatshirts and barefoot because your feet have become accustomed to tree roots while the sun has just gone down.
It is the perfect playlist to end summer with, you are at your tannest and starting to think about going back to school soon. It is one that fills me with feelings of nostalgia.
Whether you love or hate these playlists, they are ones that undoubtedly scream summer.