When the weather gets warmer and the trees and flowers begin to bloom, you automatically start feeling great. You can literally feel the winter sluggishness melt off of your body as you walk to class.
I mean, you might even get excited to walk to class. It’s a great excuse to sun your skin and take in the fresh air (and makes sitting in a stuffy classroom in Leo even worse).
When it comes around to the springtime, we’re constantly looking for the best ways to make sure that we’re making the most out of our free time and to prolong our sun-drunk happiness. Unfortunately, it’s still not warm enough to listen to birds chirping all day long (they have limits, too, you know), so you’ve got to listen to something.
Luckily, you won’t have to waste any of your precious sun time pulling together a playlist to listen to because I’ve done it for you already! Let us bask in the wonderful sensations that music provides us, all get an awful farmers’ tan from all the quadding we will be doing in the coming weeks and pretend that our finals aren’t just around the corner!
Hooray, music and weather-induced ignorance!
“Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind & Fire, off of their album, Raise!.
If you have been around me in the last week and a half, you have learned (quite quickly, in fact) that I have listened to little else than Earth, Wind & Fire recently. It’s no secret that the funk genre is inherently fun, but there’s something special about “Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind & Fire – and it’s not because it’s your mother or father’s dusty record in the basement.
Falsettos, horns and heavy bass; is there anything else you could have asked for? This song features smooth vocals, exciting rhythms (the drums and clapping are constant auditory explosions) and a melody that swirls.
You might find yourself frustrated with the excessive repetition in this track, but let me tell you: the repetition works. This is the kind of song that you wish would never end – and the repetition of the melody ensures that it doesn’t because “Let’s Groove” is going to be stuck in your head until the day you die.
“Burning” by The Whitest Boy Alive, off of their record, Dream.
We’re going to take it back to the contemporary music scene now.
The warm, round sound of the guitar and bass is the glue of this song. The drums are sharp and bright; Erlend Øye’s (Yup, it’s that guy again) voice is mellow and lulling. “Burning” is one of those songs you wouldn’t expect to find yourself nodding your head to, but several repeats and a pulled muscle later – you get the general idea.
With the sun beating down on your face and those ever-missed spring breezes, “Burning” will ensure that you make the most happiness out of your beautiful spring day.
“Bright Sky” by Triptides, off of their album, Sun Pavilion.
I sat down the other day, logged into Spotify and had this song lodged in my “Discover Weekly” playlist. I subsequently hit play, groaned and threw myself down on my bed because I was so angry that “Bright Sky” was so good.
These are all positive things, by the way. I have a very visceral reaction to new music – so people tell me.
The guitars convey exactly the song’s title: bright skies. The bass commands you to dance while the guitars overwhelm you with sound and with dreams of a sunnier quad and salt water. It’s lo-fi sound calls for low commitment situations and carefree attitudes as you bask in the beautiful spring weather.
Please make a note, professors.
You’ll be begging for “Bright Sky” to run longer than it does. It’s that good.
“Silences” by Holy Esque, off of their single, “Silences / Hexx.”
“Silences” by Holy Esque is an epic song – there’s just no other way of putting it. The guitar riff, nestled neatly underneath Pat Hynes’ aggressive, gravely vocals is something that will get your heart pumping and wanting to share the music wealth with everyone you know.
“Silences” swells with an energy that only Scottish bands can bring to the table. I mean, can you deny the rapid guitar interlude between the chorus and verse?
No, you can’t.
The track features a drum beat that’ll have you kick-jumping off of beds, stairs or low walls on campus because you’ll have a wild level of energy with no outlet. When the song comes to the slowed bridge, I guarantee a wide smile is going to spread across your face. There’s just something undeniably happy about “Silences” and you’ll want it to last forever.
“Don’t You Wanna Be Relevant?” by The Cribs, off of their EP, I’m A Realist EP.
We’re going to take it a little further down south on the British Isle and take a quick stop in Wakefield to hang out with the Jarman brothers – just for a moment.
“Don’t You Wanna Be Relevant?” is energetic, positively furious and relentless. The drums are pounding; the guitars perpetually pushing forward. The Jarman brothers, refusing to hide their accents, demand a call for action to something. If you need to get something done – but feeling good about it – this is the track for you.
The lyrics, “It’s a lie / It’s fake / But it’s the dream / Living outside of your means” speak eons about the poor college student’s experience. Bond with your fellow poor college students – feel good about it. Smile. Maybe even tan a bit!
“Moth To The Flame” by Chairlift, off of their record, Moth.
I had to include a dance track in this playlist. There’s no purpose to dance music other than to feel good (if you don’t believe me, you can just take a look at how popular EDM artists have gotten in the past few years).
Don’t be mistaken, though. “Moth To The Flame,” a two minute, 57 second song puts them all to shame.
“Moth To The Flame” is a wildly intimate vulnerable track. Who knew that singing about falling victim to a bad crush could be so friggin’ dancey? And who knew that the perfect way to describe that awful sensation was to sing “I can’t help it / I’m a moth to the flame?”
I usually run in the other direction when I hear a spoken-word section in a track, but Chairlift’s “he’s that kind of man, mama” moment just works. Get moving, get in the sun and get dancing. You’re going to want to do little else than listening to this song forever.
“Heartbreaker” by Girls, off of their EP, Broken Dreams Club.
You’ve got to hand it to the Californians, man. When they set out to do music, they set out to do it right.
“Heartbreaker” by Girls, much like “Bright Sky” by Triptides, is a lo-fi, sun-stained guitar track. It’s the kind of song that you pull out a speaker while sitting on the steps of Smith Auditorium and making sure that everyone is blessing their ears with it.
Christopher Owens’ voice in “Heartbreaker” is tinged with a self-imposed locked-in-the-bedroom loneliness. The summery guitars, ever-bright and comforting, juxtaposed with the hopeless-sounding vocals leaves you with a confusing sensation in your chest. Are you to be happy? Sad? Angry?
Whatever it is, the feeling is cathartic. Let it all out, my friend.
“Do You Want To Live?” by Los Porcos, off of their album Porco Mio.
There are a lot of questions being asked in this playlist. This one is the most important as you should be answering yes! The summer is just around the corner and blah, blah, blah.
You can suffer if you’d like.
“Do You Want To Live?” is tropical rock at its finest. The song rotates around the beach-inspired guitar and the bouncing bass beg you to take a mental escape to some sort of sunny yacht. The nearly indecipherable lyrics, airy, high-pitched and sweet add a certain charm to the track – as if Los Porcos would like you to forget that you have many responsibilities to attend to.
The six-minute sunshine track features a wacky guitar solo in the latter half of the piece. It’s almost as if you can see the sand flying off of the guitarist’s fingers as he frantically fingers the fretboard for one hell of a musical experience.
“Live Forever” by Oasis, off of their record, Definitely Maybe.
With sun beating down on your face and the cool grass between your toes, there’s little else you want in life. Perhaps you might even consider asking some higher power to extend your life for forever.
Liam Gallagher’s voice is smooth and desperate; the guitars endlessly bright and hopeful. The instrumentals are cluttered, fuzzy and overwhelming, but Gallagher’s voice cuts through it and leaves you with a hopefully mantra: “You and I / We’re gonna live forever.”
I do not believe I have to explain to you the greatness that is Oasis (even though they are a bit rude at times), so I’m going to let you enjoy this one for what it is – sans explanation.
“So Tomorrow” by Official Secrets Acts, off of their album, So Tomorrow.
Your fun fact of the day: Official Secrets Acts features members from the band, Citizens!, before they were Citizens!.
Thomas Burke’s voice is low and features an aggression unseen in Citizens!. “So Tomorrow” is a song that is driven by the rumblings of the drums and finally takes off when Burke kicks his voice into overdrive and the guitar playing becomes that much more furious.
It has moments of smooth listening and explosions of sound. It is these exact explosions of sound that will get you off of your feet and inspire you to sing along. There is something about chanting “so, so tomorrow!” over and over again at the top of your lungs.
Given that we’re celebrating being alive and just have a general good time, it is best to leave you with this song last.
You can listen to this week’s playlist via Spotify below.