Summer has always been a time of great nostalgia for me—it evokes memories of old family trips to someplace in the likes of Yosemite, equipped with long car rides under the blazing sun, frequent breaks along lonely-looking rest stops after miles of empty road and desert-looking land along the highway with nothing but power lines and dirt moving through the frame of the backseat window of the Toyota 4Runner that my mom once owned.
Each summer, I find myself revisiting old pastimes, such as TV shows or movies that I grew up with and most importantly, old bands that will always hold a near and dear place in my tiny heart. There’s just something poetic yet melancholic about going back to things that once were due to that aspect of familiarity.
Consequently, below is a list of familiar indie rock albums from the 2000s that we should revisit this summer to experience all the once-were feels.
1. Hot Fuss by The Killers
With songs such as “Mr. Brightside”, “Smile Like You Mean It” and “All These Things That I’ve Done“, “Hot Fuss” is unparalleled to every other album they’ve released thereafter (sorry, not sorry) and has proven to withstand the test of time. With a Xanga blogging profile that may or may not have boasted the name “Mrs. Brandon Flowers” above my personal bio section, it’s no surprise that this album topped the list.
2. Good News for People Who Love Bad News by Modest Mouse
My introduction of “Good News for People Who Love Bad News” came in the hands of the brilliant teen-angsty drama series “The OC“, AKA one of the best shows to ever grace television—the band even made a cameo in one of the episodes. When it came to music, Seth Cohen knew where it was at. With tunes such as “Float On“, “The World at Large” and “The View“, this album was pretty much made for blasting in car rides en route to the beach.
3. Transatlanticism by Death Cab for Cutie
“Transatlanticism“ explores themes of long-distance love and the trials of separation (“I need you so much closer”). Like Modest Mouse, my introduction of Death Cab also came in the hands of Seth Cohen, who no doubt understood that longing of love. It’s been about 13 years since the release of this album and the feels are still very much alive and real, especially with title-track”Transatlanticism” and “Title and Registration.” Seth Cohen totally gets us.
* Let’s just throw “Plans” under this section as well and call it a day.
4. Show Your Bones by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U238sohwrqo
“Show Your Bones” is a compilation of nonstop greatness led by the powerhouse of a woman that is Karen O, featuring gems such as “Gold Lion“, “Way Out” and “Cheated Hearts.” There’s something about this album that evokes my desire to throw on a leather jacket (100-degree weather be damned) and apply a deep, velvety red lipstick and roam the earth as if I owned the place. Yeah, it was that kind of album.
5. Antics by Interpol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r79W-djyrrE
“Antics” is an upbeat contrast to that of the preceding Death Cab and its melancholic musings, featuring hits such as “Evil” and “Slow Hands.”, With a creepy music video equipped with a sickly-looking puppet for “Evil”—which accommodates a song meaning that is completely lost on me—the album is pretty much one that you’d find in the soundtrack of an indie romance film during one of those generic exploration scenes.
6. Hopes and Fears by Keane
“Hopes and Fears“, filled with pianic rhythms coupled with lead singer Tom Chaplin’s soothing English accent, serves as one of the softer albums on this list but a must-have nonetheless, accommodating well-known tracks such as “Somewhere Only We Know.” A personal favorite of mine, my cracked white album now accommodates a timeworn look due to how many times I’ve taken it out to pop into that old-school Panasonic CD player from Best Buy I once owned.
7. Room on Fire by The Strokes
Timeless and iconic—these would be accurate descriptions for The Strokes. While “Room on Fire” made the list, let’s just come to an agreement that this section also quietly umbrellas “Is This It” and “First Impressions of Earth” due to the widespread classics that warrant acknowledgment—from “What Ever Happened” to “You Only Live Once” to “Last Nite.”
8. I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning by Bright Eyes
With tunes such as “Old Soul Song“, “We Are Nowhere and it’s Now” and”First Day of My Life”, “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” is both quiet and awe-inspiring—serving as the type of album that demands full attention upon initial listening in the case that one would miss the tellingly poetic musings of Conor Oberst. The album is worth revisiting during cool summer nights in July as well as rainy mornings in January.
9. Carnavas by Silversun Pickups
“Carnavas” serves as the textbook definition of indie alternative rock during this era due to its strumming guitar rhythmics and occasional shouts in lyrics, as evident in tracks like “Lazy Eye” and “Well Thought Out Twinkles.” My morning commute still consists of the occasional shout-a-longs to the words of “Lazy Eye” as I’m making my way through the highway.
10. Funeral by Arcade Fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OmMPaLmxKg
Accommodating fan-favorites such as “Wake Up” and “Rebellion (Lies)“,”Funeral” consists of tracks filled with vocals that evoke feelings of longing—desperate and hopeful against the backdrop of rhythmic electric guitars, filled with almost church or grade school assembly-like choirs in the track “Wake Up” that accommodate lyrical ooh’s and aah’s in endearing means. It’s the type of soundtrack you’d find on a low-budget, underrated indie film with an all-star cast that no one really knows about.
What are your favorite artists to revisit in the summer? Are there shows or movies that you also love to revisit in the summer? Share with us using the hashtag #CampusCropChat on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and be sure to follow us on Snapchat @ASICPP.
