The SLIS Best Alternative Rock Summer Playlist: We’ve compiled the best summer jams from classic alternative, punk, new wave, electronica, 70’s glam and more!

Folks my age don’t get the same kick out of summer like we used to. Gone are (what seemed like) the endless summers of our high school and college years. But, it just takes a few notes from some of your favorite summer jams to take you back to that time when life seemed more carefree.

But people still take summer vacations, road trips, music festivals and weekend getaways. Music remains the soundtrack to our lives.

I’ve compiled an iTunes playlist of perfect summer jams, including the best in 70’s, 80’s , 90’s and 00’s alternative rock.

And if you are still young enough to enjoy a summer free from adult burdens, then I hope you’ll find some new (old) tunes to enjoy.

So preview, and purchase any track that strikes your fancy (we get a percentage of each song sold, which goes towards the maintenance of this site, so thanks in advance!), and I’ll give some insight into my choices afterwards.

How did I choose my selections? Anything that included the word “summer”, or referenced the sun, the beach, heat, the ocean, or felt tropical were no-brainers.

I chose the NEU! track because it has the sounds of ocean waves. I chose songs like M83‘s “Kim and Jessie”, Cheap Trick’s “Surrender”, and My Bloody Valentine’s “Sometimes”, because they “feel” like summer to me; warm, languid and inviting.

And QOTSA’s “Feel Good Hit Of The Summer” was a must.

“Rockaway Beach” by The Ramones was an obvious choice you may say, but why did I pick “Blitzkrieg Bop?” Because it was in “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, the all-time classic 80’s summer comedy (written by John Hughes, no less).

Speaking of the Ramones, here’s another vacation themed song I remember after making the list. Oops.

Other selections I couldn’t resist were Type O Negative’s hilariously dark rendition of easy listening classic “Summer Breeze”, the surf version of The Pixies “Wave of Mutilation”,  and Ween’s Jimmy Buffett parody “Banana’s and Blow.”

And check out my iTunes playlists for best Wedding songs, Halloween Parties, Valentine’s Day, Holiday Parties, Rainy Day Songs, Best Cover songs, and  my Ray Manzarek tribute playlist.

Like my list? Did I miss your favorite summer song? Feel free to chime in below.

And unfortunately I couldn’t find an iTunes link for T. Rex’s “Celebrate Summer”, so check out the YouTube link. It’s killer.