Music Countdown to Summer: Songs of the Spring

Hey City girls! A few weeks from now exams will be over and summer will officially start! (Okay, we will have to get up every morning for internships and placements… But let’s not think about that for a second…). I know you guys are used to me writing about clothes and other girly stuff, but this week I decided to switch it up a bit and wax musical, ‘cos I don’t know about you but when the thermostat hits 20 degrees and my skirt hits above the knee, all I want to do is chill out and vibe with some good tunes.

What’s the best way to celebrate these last days of spring? Here are some of my favourite songs and artists of the moment with some added commentary – but if you’re a bit too lazy to read, scroll down the page, click the link, press play and kick back with a glass of Pimm’s.  Enjoy!

• For when you want to pretend you’re driving to the beach with your friends with all the windows down, a la any John Hughes 80’s film: Clouds and Cream – Sticky Fingers. Sticky Fingers are often hailed as a surf rock band, but those words don’t do them justice, because “surf rock” sounds dumb and their music is just happy. Like an Australian Arctic Monkeys without the heartbreak. 
• For your pop princess fix: You’re Not The One – Sky Ferreira. If you haven’t heard of Sky, you probably don’t spend a lot of time on the Internet, which is good for your social life but means you aren’t #trendy (sorry). This New York girl looks permanently hungover but also perpetually glamourous, and her songs are insanely catchy. Google her for some serious outfit inspiration and 90’s new wave vibes.

• For when you just wanna chill: Tell U – Jerome LOL, Stay Crazy (LePetitCaillou Mashup Remix) – Henry Krinkle feat. Ornette, Aminals – Baths, Somethin’ About Your Love – Exmag 
• For a weird but perfect genre-bending collab by the likes of Flume and Chet Faker: This Song Is Not About A Girl – Flume & Chet Faker. These two have come out with EP, ‘Lockjaw’, that’s indescribable but amazing. The two are both incredible artists from completely separate sides of the music game, and you’d think they couldn’t and shouldn’t mix – but they really do. 
• For your daily dose of French rap…: La Source – 1995. 1995 are a Parisian rap group my (also Parisian) flatmate introduced to me, and I don’t understand a word they’re saying but somehow their music makes me feel things. La Source especially reminds me of warm weather and having fun with my friends.

• …and your daily dose of Brooklyn hip hop: Machine Gun Funk – Notorious B.I.G. Would this playlist really be complete without a lil’ Biggie? I don’t trust anyone who can’t rap at least 5 Biggie songs (is that just me?), and if you prefer Tupac… Don’t even talk to me. His music might have some dark themes at times but he keeps it real – he’s nothing if not an artist, and a true poet.

To listen to the playlist click here.

What are your favourite warm weather songs? Let us know in the comments!

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