Term Two is almost coming to an end, and when Third Term looms over the horizon we call Spring Break, you will find your vocabulary limited to three words: REVISION, EXAMS, and OH-NO-I’M-DOOMED. You might be ready to completely pull all your hair out (please don’t) because of the stress, but let me give you some music that you can make marvellous memories with!
10. Oasis – Live Forever
*groans* “So original (!)”. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Definitely Maybe and it’s going to be reissued with rare, unreleased tracks! So, what better way to begin the countdown than with this masterpiece! There is no other song, from this generation, that ignites so much passion through gleaming guitars and raw vocals. AND, if you’ve not been keeping up with one of the greatest British television series to grace our television sets since I don’t know when, then where have you been? My Mad Fat Diary is comedy-drama following the life of Rae Earl, an overweight Oasis fan living in the 90’s. Brit-Pop takes over this show and so let it take over your playlist this Spring Break!
9. The Refreshers – Banana Groove
If you want a heads up on a new-upcoming band, then add this to your playlist! The Refreshers are a 4-piece surf rock-pop band from Blackpool. Banana Groove is their latest song, featuring bongo drums, and their jangly guitar style, as influenced by The Beatles, gives them that likeability. Not forgetting, us girls love our skinny-jean, rock-and-roll bands, don’t we?! Their debut EP came out on the 7th March, so be sure to give it a buy!
8. Wolf Alice – Bros
Forget The Wolf of Wall Street (but not you, Leo), there’s something bigger and badder that will huff and puff and blow your house down! Wolf Alice are yet another set of youngsters hoping to make it big this year after a few years under the radar. They are often described as, “the lovechild of folk and grunge” and the ethereal sound of Ellie’s voice in this hit will send chills down your spine. The perfect sound for relaxing.
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7. Arcade Fire – Reflektor
The Reflektors, alias Arcade Fire took the world by storm with their fourth LP and, as always, their need to be different paid off. Whether it’s a 7 minute epic rock and roll groove, the multi-language lyrics, the epic range and use of instruments or a cameo from the great David Bowie, you aren’t going to want this song to end! Headlining multiple festivals such as, Glastonbury, Arcade Fire are a band you need to catch onto if you’ve missed out all these years!
6. Arctic Monkeys – Arabella
These four started off as a group of youths from Sheffield, and are THE hottest band in the world right now! They began indie and have evolved into a full-blown rock and roll dream team, with Alex Turner giving the odd shake of his hips as he mimics the accent of Elvis. Arabella features an amazing riff smack bang in the middle and if you need something more upbeat to keep you moving this Spring Break, then Arabella is the one for you.
5. Pharrell Williams – It Girl
This is yet another hit from Pharrell, who has been involved in, arguably, the top 3 pop songs of the last year. Huge amounts of work has gone into his debut album, G I R L, with some great collaborations. It Girl is going to become just as addictive as BECAUSE I’M HAPPYYYY. The Billionaire Boy has expanded his musical range and developed something stronger than when he first started. Who knew a rapper could get his voice so high?! It Girl is like a gospel choir just hopped into Mr Williams’ voice box and proceeded to sing.
4. Katy Perry – Dark Horse
Katy Perry’s vocal range is enough to make me become infatuated with her, and she doesn’t fail to impress me yet again with Dark Horse. The experimentation with urban music and rapper, Juicy J, contrasts yet compliments her soft-toned voice. This is definitely the dark horse of the playlist.
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3. Coldplay – Magic
We’ve not been without some new material from Chris Martin and the guys for too long, but this new release has just pulled me right back in. His intimate vocals foregrounding a drum beat is almost mesmerising. As always, Coldplay have done their research into where the music industry is headed; they’ve reinvented their sound once again, going for a more ice-cold indie vibe. I’m sure you can’t wait to see where the rest of this album goes!
2. Temples – Mesmerise
This new rock band are just psychedelic, baby! If you like The Beatles, you’ll love Temples, for their album, Mesmerise, is a hybrid of Rubber Soul and Sgt. Pepper. There are many catchy songs on the album, but Mesmerise really stands out for its ability to make you feel like you’re floating away on the dreamy vocals.
1. XO – Beyoncé
This song needs no description, but I shall give it one anyway.Beyoncé is THE queen of R&B and her stuff should be making those playlists of yours all year round, so don’t miss out on XO this Spring Break. She has the voice of a siren, which is probably why I find myself with her on repeat, and beyond the collection of slow jams, XO is a great pop song that will win you over (although it ought to have done already). I just can’t get enough!
And there we have it; your very own Spring Break 2014 playlist, courtesy of Her Campus Lancaster! It was extremely hard for me to narrow the full playlist down to just ten songs, so check out the full 30+ songs here:
https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:user:111988314:playlist:4IABhTs5e…
and let us know, in the comments, what you think!
Whatever you plan to do this Spring Break, make a playlist to compliment all activities, and remember; keep it diverse so it doesn’t become repetitive and make sure your friends will like it too (just for the small chance that you might leave your bed and enter the public domain whilst you’re away from Lancaster!)
Lauren X