Other than a popsicle, nothing lifts the weight of a heavy summer’s day in New York like a good tune. But ubiquitous pop hits only add to the burden. So for some fresh inspiration, we turned to a few of our favorite musicians: neo-grunge rockers Vivian Girls, Brooklyn art-popsters the Fiery Furnaces, the sizzling young soul singer Diane Birch, and grizzly Dixie dude Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers. They each compiled a playlist based on a photograph we supplied.

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(Photo: Alex Tehrani)

Vivian Girls

1. Ramones, “Oh Oh I Love Her So.”
They mention going to Coney Island in the song, and this photo looks like it was taken there, plus it’s one of the best Ramones songs ever.

2. Beach Girls, “He’s My Surfin’ Guy.”
This is the perfect song to listen to at the beach, especially when there are babes there.

3. Wavves, “No Hope Kids.”
I couldn’t not pick Wavves for a playlist like this! “No Hope Kids” is good, too, because it looks like the diver is diving into shallow water.

4. Wanda Jackson, “Funnel of Love.”
This song has a really good jangly boardwalk feel to it.

5. Electric Light Orchestra, “Turn to Stone.”
Because it is so buoyant and makes me feel like dancing whenever I hear it.

6. Dick Dale & His Del-Tones, “Misirlou.”
There would be no point in making this mix if it didn’t have an amazing surf classic on it.

7. Chug, “Flowers.”
This song was used as background music in The Adventures of Pete & Pete, so I will forever associate it with the summertime.

8. The Bananas, “Feel Good Hit of the Summer.”
They’re the best band ever, and this song is the feel-good hit for hot weather.

9. The Beach Boys, “Girl Don’t Tell Me.”
We covered this and it just came on my iTunes and it makes me wish I was at the beach right now.

10. Chris Isaak, “Wicked Game.”
Because the music video rules.

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