Atlanta summers are typified by unbearable heat, inflated gas prices, reminders of “Why we chop,” and almost every great tour package rolling through.  Some spend their time and money traveling to places a few degrees cooler or with more water, while a handful busts their asses to support a wicked festival habit. 

Regardless of if you got out of town over the last few months, or just spent more than a couple warm summer nights at your favorite bar, chances are you found a few new additions to your seasonal soundtrack.

It is easy for “music journalist dudes” to get hung up on release dates and such.  I’m sure more than a couple of these songs were released before Venus was in Scorpio (or whatever) and therefore not actually summer songs.  Think of this little playlist as the best songs FOR the summer season rather than the best songs that just happened to be released during a specific time frame.

Oh, and if I missed something, please fill me in/send me hate mail.  I know this whole Atlanta radio thing is still a mess, but hit me up, yo!

Kurt@99x.com | twitter.com/kurt99x | facebook.com/kurt99x

1. Wild Nothing - Shadow

2. Cave Painting - So Calm

3. Summer Heart - A Million Times

4. Blonde Summer - Slow Days Fast Company

5. Wildcat! Wildcat! - The Chief

6. Shiny Toy Guns - Waiting Alone

7. Poolside - Slow Down

8. Stepdad - Jungles

9. POP ETC - Keep It For your Own

10. Still Flyin - Spirits

11. Jinja Safari - Forest Eyes

12. Made in Japan - Definitive Pulse

13. Nude Beach - Radio

14. Mister Loveless - Wild Summer

15. Van She - Idea of Happiness

16. California Wives - Purple

1. CIRCA SURVIVE - Suitcase
2. WILD CUB - Colour
3. KID SAVANT - NaNa Never Ends
4. MODOC - Coward
5. FREELANCE WHALES - Spitting Image
6. PAPER ROUTE - You and I
7. VAN SHE - Idea of Happiness *Import of the Week*
8. DIIV - How Long Have You Known
9. POLICA - Dark Star
10. M83 - Claudia Lewis
11. THE MARS VOLTA - Vedamalady
12. YEASAYER - Henrietta
13. OF MONTREAL - We Will Commit Wolf Murder *Local Spotlight*
14. ANIMAL KINGDOM - Glass House
15. HOT PANDA - See You All Around
16. A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS - And I'm Up
17. DELTA SPIRIT - Tear It Up
18. RICHARD HAWLEY - Down in the Woods
19. BEAR IN HEAVEN - The Reflection of You
20. MINUS THE BEAR - Steel and Blood
21. SANTIGOLD - Disparate Youth
22. POOLSIDE - Slow Down
23. MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY - Puppets
24. KITTEN - Cut It Out
25. OTHER LIVES - Tamer Animals *Indie-Folk Spotlight*
26. METRIC - The Wanderlust
27. COLD CAVE - Believe In My Blood
28. TORO Y MOI - New Beat
29. CRYPTS - Territories
30. ROYAL TEETH - Wild
29. STILL FLYIN' - Spirits

1. THE TEMPER TRAP - Trembling Hands
2. FANG ISLAND - Asunder
3. MADE IN JAPAN - Definitive Pulse
4. ANIMAL COLLECTIVE - Today's Supernatural
5. A SILENT FILM - This Stage Is Your Life
6. TWIN SHADOW - Five Seconds
7. BLOOD RED SHOES - Stop Kicking **Import of the Week**
8. EYES LIPS EYES - Don't Blow It
9. WALK THE MOON - Tightrope
10. WILD NOTHING - Shadow
11. WHITE ARROWS - Get Gone
12. JAPANDROIDS - The House that Heaven Built
13. NIKI & THE DOVE - DJ Ease My Mind
14. BLACK BOX REVELATION - High On a Wire
15. YEASAYER - Henrietta
16. TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS - You Need Me On My Own
17. SHINY TOY GUNS - Waiting Alone
18. JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD - Sixpack
19. REPTAR - Sebastian
20. HOLY GHOST! - Wait and See
21. THE GRATES - Turn Me On
22. BIRDS & BATTERIES - Let the Door Swing
23. THE ROMANS - I Was Born **Local Spotlight**
24. THE HELIO SEQUENCE - October
25. WILDCAT! WILDCAT! - The Chief
26. COLD SHOWERS - BC
27. FATHER JOHN MISTY - Nancy From Now On **Indie-Folk Spotlight**
28. BLONDE SUMMER - Slow Days Fast Company
29. ALEX CLARE - Up All Night
30. THE ROYALTY - I Want You
31. GRIZZLY BEAR - Yet Again
32. ICKY BLOSSOMS - Heat Lightning

This Sunday (8/19), I'll be introducing the 99X Sunday School Indie-Folk Spotlight.  Once a week, we'll ditch the synths, dancey 4/4 drums and reverbed-out vocals to check out something a bit more organic.  Bands like Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers and Of Monsters and Men have, in recent years, moved off of festival side stages and into the spotlight, filling the biggest venues in town.

This genre has plenty to offer, so to get things started, here's a playlist featuring some heavy hitters and some lesser-known gems.

DRY THE RIVER - No Rest
BUXTON - Boy of Nine
ADMIRAL FALLOW - The Paper Trench
LISSIE - When I'm Alone
WOVENHAND - Dirty Blue
FATHER JOHN MISTY - Nancy From Now On
EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS - Man on Fire
THE HEAD AND THE HEART - Down in the Valley
LOCAL NATIVES - Wide Eyes

Alright, we've all had our fun with Gotye.  I'll admit to laughing, hysterically at times, to a handful of the memes and YouTube parodies, but let's move along, shall we?  'Eyes Wide Open' is the second single on the "Making Mirrors" album and is probably a bit more indicative of the album's sound compared to the former, widely known, single.  

Here, Brooklyn dudes Yeasayer have their way with ol' Wally's work and the end result is a fuzzed out slow jam that puts a unique spin on an already unique track.  

Gotye is readying a remix EP of this latest single and you can catch Yeasayer in town at the Tabernacle on September 8.

1. KID SAVANT - NaNa Never Ends
2. NUDE BEACH - Radio
3. STARS - Hold On When You Get Love
4. KISSES - Funny Heartbeat
5. THE RAVEONETTES - She Owns the Streets **Import of the Week**
6. BAND OF SKULLS - The Devil Takes Care of His Own
7. THOM CHAPMAN - White Holes
8. MNDR - Faster Horses
9. THE WHIGS - Waiting **Local Spotlight**
10. ANIMAL KINGDOM - Strange Attractor
11. DIVINE FITS - My Love is Real
12. THE WOMBATS - Jump Into the Fog
13. GROUPLOVE - Lovely Cup
14. I WAS TOTALLY DESTROYING IT - Move So Slowly
15. IAMAMIWHOAMI - Goods
16. MORNING PARADE - Under the Stars
17. ZULU WINTER - Silver Tongue