People have been writing in, calling, stopping us on the street, wondering: Where is the summer playlist contest? Well, stalkers, wonder no more! Today kicks off this year's contest, and we've changed the theme radically, from "summer" to "summer barbecue." That's right: We're looking for the best playlist to go along with that ritual of summer, grilling things over an open flame. We'll announce the big winner just before the Labor Day Weekend, so we need your submissions by Monday, Aug. 21. You're just playing for glory this time, but that doesn't mean we haven't thought up a few rules:
-- All tracks must be both free and legal and must be posted on the artist's Web site, on a label's Web site or on a legitimate MP3 site like Better Propaganda, Insound or Epitonic -- and you're welcome to dip into the Audiofile archives to find some of your material, but we'll be more excited about playlists that bring in new material.
-- Include the artist name, track title, album title and download link for every track.
-- Each playlist must have a title and a description (of about 100 words). As with last year's contest, we'll be judging the concept and description (almost!) as heavily as the playlist itself.
-- Each playlist should be between 10 and 15 tracks.
-- No streams! Only MP3 downloads.
-- You can't include your own music, and be sparing with music by friends -- include friends' tracks only if you must!
-- Submissions should be sent to bbqsongs@gmail.com with the subject line "BBQ Songs."
-- The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. EDT, Monday, Aug. 21.
To kick things off, here's a contribution from Audiofile's own Thomas Bartlett:
My mix is for when an afternoon barbecue is segueing into dusk. It's to facilitate the transition from sweaty, perhaps tipsy partying to postprandial calm and relaxation. It starts with dancing, continues with a burst of faux-'70s rock and a bit of glistening neo-psychedelia from the Animal Collective before the Castanets usher in the evening with some likewise glistening sunset music, the glisten fading to the faintest glimmer in the hazy, lazy sounds of Lambchop and the Clientele, and ending with a whisper, a hushed, tender duet between Susana Baca and Gilberto Gil.
1. "De Makeba," Jazz Dazzlers
2. "Sinigal Fast Food," Amadou & Mariam
3. "Instant Lady," Nervous Cabaret
4. "Panda," Dungen
5. "Roscoe," Midlake
6. "The Sun Comes Through," Kelley Stoltz
7. "Lies," Carl Hancock Rux
8. "Grass," Animal Collective
9. "All That I Know to Have Changed in You," Castanets
10. "The Distance From Her to There," Lambchop
11. "(I Can't Seem to) Make You Mine," Clientele
12. "Alles Wes Lebt Bewegt Sich," Barbara Morgenstern
13. "Thunderbird," John Hiatt
14. "Fuel for Fire," M. Ward
15. "Estrela," Susana Baca
Shares