Playlist: The Waning Days of Summer Mix (2012)

The Waning Days of Summer (2012) from gtimusic on 8tracks Radio.

Well, here we are.  Kids are going back to school, and the weather has turned into a muggy, hot mess.  The days are getting shorter and summer is clearly on its way out.  GTI's Sad Songs for Summer mix was the most successful mix we've done on 8tracks, and The Waning Days of Summer is even better!  Boom!

In all seriousness, I really dig this mix.  Like all my 8tracks mixes, it includes a bunch of great music already featured on Given and Taken in Ink, along with several songs I simply haven't gotten a chance to write about.  Leading things off in that latter category is the playlist opener, Eli Mardock's "Everything Happens for the First Time," an extremely catchy tune with some intriguing lyrics. Mardock is the former lead singer of Eagle Seagull, and is due to release his debut LP later this year via Paper Garden Records.

The Santa Monica-based Hello Echo, whom I discovered through GTI's friends Burning Jet Black, actually have two songs here.  I absolutely fell in love with "Birdbeat" the moment I heard it.  But the band also just released a great new EP last month, on which you can find "Country."

A.C. Newman is an artist who really needs no introduction.  The New Pornographers frontman also has a very successful solo career, releasing gem after gem with each album.  "I'm Not Talking" follows in the tradition of previous singles "Miracle Drug" and "The Heartbreak Rides" as yet another example of why Newman is one of the best songwriters in the industry.

Finally, The Record Company's music was introduced to me by Michael McGraw (another GTI favorite), and their bluesy rock is a refreshing change of pace.

While I'm calling it a "summer playlist," it's really just a collection of great songs, most of which were released around mid to late summer 2012.  Anyway, here's the entire list:

1. Eli Mardock - Everything Happens for the First Time
2. The Babies - Moonlight Mile
3. Hello Echo - Birdbeat
4. Fierce Creatures - Catacomb Party
5. Two Door Cinema Club - Sleep Alone
6. The Whigs - Waiting
7. A.C. Newman - I'm Not Talking
8. The Record Company - Don't Let Me Get Lonely
9. Hello Echo - Country
10. Calexico - Splitter
11. Anderson East - Fire Song
12. The Deadline Shakes - Sweeten the Deal
13. Lord Huron - Time to Run
14. The Gaslight Anthem - National Anthem

Spotify is missing a handful of these tracks, but here's what it does have: