#125 ‘Summer Here Kids’ by Grandaddy (20 Sept)

Album: Under The Western Freeway, 1997

Justification: They might be Modesto, California’s second-most-famous export after George Lucas, but Grandaddy are a band better known-of than known – and that’s not entirely unreasonable. While their first two albums are undeniably great (their second, The Software Slump, was whispered of in the same hushed tones as OK Computer by music critics in 2000), they suffered from diminishing returns through three more albums before expiring in 2006 with the deservedly-ignored Just Like the Fambly Cat. If people know them at all, it’s through this song: a mix of Pixies soft/loud dynamics and Abba-style piano flourishes from the band’s first flush of youthful optimism, when the world was free and Pavement-influenced indie still thought it was a commercial contender. Bless.

On a personal note, according to their lighting guy’s set list they were going to play this as the second and final encore at their sole Adelaide show at Fowler’s Live in 2003 or 04, but didn’t get enough applause to justify coming back on stage. By 2006, I was living in Sydney. Coincidence, Adelaide? Let’s just say I’m not angry anymore, just very disappointed.