For a lot of people, springtime feels like a breath of fresh air after a long, and sometimes depressing, winter season. During the colder times of the year, there’ll be moments when all I want to do is sit and wallow in a comfortable state of melancholy with Mazzy Star’s haunting songs playing in my AirPods. But, with the sun finally shining and the world starting to look a little greener, it’s about time we get ready for the end of the school year and pump ourselves up with new music to represent the fresh start of spring – or “pre-summer” as my friends and I call it. Spring has long been associated with feelings of happiness and romance. Everyone is feeling renewed and can see the flowers blooming and the birds chirping. I know that for me personally, music can really change my mood and dictate how I feel, which is why I want to stop gatekeeping and share a few songs I love that I feel encapsulate that love-filled springtime feeling.
“Trade of Hearts” by Thee Sacred Souls
Thee Sacred Souls is one of my favorite bands of all time. Their discography is only filled with warmth and happiness, supplemented by their sweet, timeless sound that has been described as “discodelic” and “California sweet soul”, bridging genres of 60s/70s soul, R&B, and traditional Chicano music. Their self-titled album perfectly epitomizes romance, and although I love every song, “Trade of Hearts” feels the most like springtime to me. It tells the story of two people knowing they have feelings for one another but are still deciding what to do with them. It’s about the hope and pureness of getting to know someone and relishing in the honey-sweet feelings of the early stages of a relationship. The end of the song, during the “doo, doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo” part is so wholesome to me, reminding me of a good hug. The song is playful, fun, and romantic, perfect for listening to while walking around on a beautiful spring day.
“Cinderella” by Remi Wolf
Remi Wolf is another artist I love, with hits like “Photo ID” and “Disco Man”. “Cinderella” is her newest single, dropped in late March, and I haven’t been able to stop listening to it since. Sonically, it’s upbeat and addictive, making you want to cheer her on and dance around alone in your room. It reminds me of spring because of her descriptive lyrics about color and the rainbow, and how that can relate to changing emotions that might feel uncontrollable at times. The changing of emotions reminds me of the 180° switch from winter to spring. Remi is reminding herself that she’s in control of how she feels, that she is her own “fairy godmother”, dancing to the feel-good beat of a song that sounds like sunshine.
“When the Morning Comes” by Daryl Hall and John Oates
I’m not entirely sure what it is about this song that gives me an unbelievable amount of serotonin. It’s another song that audibly reminds me of sunshine, but in this case the sunrise (probably because of the title, but still). The lyrics tell an emotional story of a man who has an undying sense of hope and resilience despite being stood up and left out in the cold so many times before. He explains that there’s always a new beginning around the corner and the sun will always come up tomorrow. I think it’s a beautiful representation of springtime and a fresh new start. This is also an older song from the 70s, one of my favorite eras of music, and 100% my favorite Hall and Oates song.