Far Out 40: The ultimate sunny afternoon playlist
It’s here: the summer has finally arrived. As a lover of this balmy season, I am deeply distrustful of anyone who doesn’t share my belief that these three glorious months are the reason we human beings invented our most important cultural artefacts.
I’m talking about the pint glass, the hammock and the portable speaker. Honestly, anyone who tells you winter is the superior season is either (A) a sticky child looking forward to Christmas or (B) a Dane with a knack for Hygge. In both cases, they’re too sugar-addled to be trustworthy. Nope, summer truly is the one.
Here at Far Out we like to keep things seasonal, so we’ve bought you the ultimate playlist for those long lazy afternoons in the sun. Picture the scene: it’s about 9.30am on a Sunday morning. You’ve got no plans. More importantly, you’ve got no pants on. You might not put any on all day, such is the extent of your freedom. The bright blue day is all yours, and you’ve chosen to spend it doing what humans were made to do: loafing around drinking cool drinks, soaking up the sun and listening to good music.
While we can’t provide the cool drinks or the sunshine, we can offer you a bespoke playlist crafted with a whole lotta love. The following 40 songs, suggested by members of the Far Out team, offer a cross-section of our summer listening. Selected for their warmth, vibrancy and carefree atmosphere, these songs range from the halcyon days of the 1960s to the present day.
From trip-hop and psychedelia to dub and garage rock, this is the ultimate sunny afternoon playlist. Go forth and listen.
The ultimate sunny afternoon playlist:
- ‘Sunnyland’ – Kansas Smitty’s
- ‘Zion Gate Dub’ – King Tubby
- ‘At The River’ – Groove Armada
- ‘You Can’t Steal My Joy’ – Ezra Collective
- ‘Magenta Mountain’ – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
- ‘Dos Gardenias’ – Buena Vista Social Club
- ‘Way Too Hot’ – Toro y Moi
- ‘Abusey Junction’ – Kokoroko
- Galatea’s Guitar – Gabor Szabo
- ‘Unas Horas’ – Sinj Clarke
- Mesmerise’ – Chapterhouse
- ‘On The Sea’ – Beach House
- ‘The Flower Called Nowhere’ – Stereolab
- ‘Sweet Tides’ – Thievery Corporation
- ‘Will I See You Tonight’ – Devendra Banhart (feat. Vashti Bunyan)
- ‘Sketch For Summer’ – The Durutti Column
- ‘Summer Babe’ – Pavement
- ‘Sunny Afternoon’ – The Kinks
- ‘Itchycoo Park’ – Small Faces
- ‘All I Wanna Do’ – The Beach Boys
- ‘Brazil’ – Geoff and Maria Muldaur
- ‘Sunshine Superman’ – Donovan
- ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ – The Beatles
- ‘That Summer Feeling’ – Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers
- ‘Another Sunny Day’ -Belle And Sebastian
- ‘That’s Where You’re Wrong’ – Arctic Monkeys
- ‘Fashun’ – Willie Jay Healey
- ‘Earthquake’ – This is The Kit
- ‘Water No Get Enemy’ – Fela Kuti
- ‘Tara’ – Rodrigo Amarante
- ‘Elephant Gun’ – Beirut
- ‘Sweet Thing’ – Shuggie Otis
- ‘Sunny’ – Bobby Hebb
- ‘Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town’ – Talking Heads
- Give It Up 2 Me – Ojerime
- ‘Ce matin-là’ – Air
- ‘The Flow’ – Ericka de Casier
- ‘Clint Eastwood’ – Gorillaz
- ‘Bros Beyond’ – Sweet Valley
- ‘Dayvan Cowboy’ – Boards of Canada
Stream the playlist, below.
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