A High School Indie Mix

featuring Stars, Arcade Fire, Feist, and more!

During grad school, my friend Molly (hi, Molly!) and I went to yoga every Friday morning and then went to get bagels. We frequented a trendy bagel shop that usually had on a playlist featuring songs we had both loved in high school. This week’s mix is inspired by that!

After my deep dive into Rilo Kiley during my sophomore year [more on that here if you missed it], it only made sense to venture into the wider world of early-aughts indie music. I discovered the music that became the soundtrack to this era from a few different sources:

• My dad’s iTunes library (thanks for Ben Folds, Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire)

• What my cool camp counselors liked (thanks for The Weepies, Brandi Carlile, Tegan and Sara)

• The show Gossip Girl (thanks for MGMT, The Kills, Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

I am not nostalgic for any of my high school experience apart from the music; as I have a dog named Rilo, this is a pretty clear exception. To me, listening to this mix feels like I just got my license and am driving around just for driving’s sake. Gas is way too expensive right now to drive just to drive, but I hope this mix will take you there anyway.

1. Zak and Sara- Ben Folds

2. Close Call- Rilo Kiley

3. The Next Messiah- Jenny Lewis

4. Your Ex-Lover is Dead- Stars

5. Sing Me Spanish Techno- The New Pornographers

6. The Calculation- Regina Spektor

7. Ragoo- Kings of Leon

8. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here- She & Him

9. I Know I Know I Know- Tegan and Sara

10. Die Alone- Ingrid Michaelson

11. You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb- Spoon

12. Satin in a Coffin- Modest Mouse

13. I’ll Believe in Anything- Wolf Parade

14. Conquest- The White Stripes

15. The Story- Brandi Carlile

16. Runaway- Yeah Yeah Yeah

17. I Feel It All- Feist

18. Time to Pretend- MGMT

19. Crooked Teeth- Death Cab for Cutie

20. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)- Arcade Fire

21. The Wolf- Miniature Tigers

22. Little Secrets- Passion Pit

23. Gotta Have You- The Weepies

24. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song- The Flaming Lips

25. Daylight- Matt and Kim

26. Foundations- Kate Nash

27. Bruised- The Bens

28. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor- Arctic Monkeys

29. Sour Cherry- The Kills

30. Wolf Like Me- TV On The Radio

31. French Navy- Camera Obscura

32. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa- Vampire Weekend

33. Two Weeks- Grizzly Bear

34. White Winter Hymnal- Fleet Foxes

35. Ole Black ‘n’ Blue Eyes- The Fratellis

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Thanks for reading and listening- please share with a friend if you’re enjoying Made You a Mix! Here’s Rilo at the beach for making it this far!