After slamming your head endlessly into your keyboard, cursing the moment you entered college, it comes. It finally happened. One of the most painful academic weeks you will ever experience has come to a close.
BYE MIDTERMS, SEE YOU NEVER.
It’s been a rough semester; we all need Spring Break. Whether it means you’re going to some warm, tropical place or staying home, you finally can kick off your salt-covered shoes and turn off your brain for a whole week. A whole week! What is most important, however, is having a good playlist to accompany your socially-acceptable period of perpetual laziness.
We’ve been especially lucky to have had weather that meant we could put away the giant peacoat. Walking to Leo is so much easier when you can actually see the walkway. Say goodbye to the winter winds blowing your hair into your face! Farewell to frozen hands glued to your iPhone! Hello to sweating incessantly in classrooms!
With good weather just around the corner, it’s time to put away the old, slow, folky tunes. It’s time to break out the poppy guitars and sun-stained vocals. No matter where you are this vacation, this playlist will mirror the exact happiness you felt when you saw that it was going to be forty-five degrees this morning.
“Honey Bunny” by Girls, off of their record, Father, Son, Holy Ghost.
So it might be a little early to starting parading around surf-rock tunes, but isn’t surf-rock synonymous with good weather, good friends and good times? Hell yeah, it is. “Honey Bunny” is a song that is reminiscent of the 60s (think The Beach Boys), but in a good way. None of that psychedelic nonsense. Kick off your Spring Break right with Girls as they quickly usher in the most overdue week of your life.
“Hammock” by MillionYoung, off of his record, Amanecer.
Can’t you feel the spring breeze running through your hair with the opening acoustic guitar? Because I certainly can. The vocals on this track are incredibly atmospheric — atmospheric enough to whisk you away elsewhere during this lovely break.
The lyrics are particularly useful when people start asking you to do something. Example:
Mom/Dad/SO/Sibling: “Hey, can you take out the trash?”
You: “Nahnahnahbadadadahdah”.
“Close” by Sun Airway, off of his record, Soft Fall.
I’m in love with how fresh Sun Airway’s tracks always sound. They’re not overworked, they’re not overly processed, they just “are”. No matter how many times you play “Close”, I guarantee it, you will never get tired of this song.
Spring time is associated with new life, a fresh leaf if you will. If this song doesn’t make you think about every freakin’ bird, every freakin’ plant that every existed in the world, I’ll consider my job failed.
“Stay With Us” by Seoul.
I first discovered this song on a compilation album by Majestic Casual (if you haven’t heard of these works of art, I heavily suggest you do your research immediately). This song, like “Close” is an uncomplicated piece of music. There aren’t fancy guitar runs or showy drum solos, just a constant synth that chills you to the bone. You need not think about it; just lay back in a hammock, your bed, your couch, whatever, and appreciate it.
There’s a reason why I listened to this song nonstop the week I found it to my suitemates dismay. It’s that good.
“Alone Again” by Betty Who, off of her debut album, Take Me When You Go.
BETTY WHO IS MY GIRL, ALL RIGHT? She’s one of the coolest female artists in the game today and it’s a damn shame that more people don’t know about her. She’s got a crazy powerful voice and writes lyrics of equal emotional strength. “Alone Again” is something you can dance to in your underwear and socks outfit and no one will question it. Betty would probably even endorse it if you told her.
“Meet Me In The Garden” by Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele, off of his record, The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele.
Ukulele is one of the most complicated words to spell in the English language, I swear. “Ukelele”? “Ukulelelele?” HOW MANY “LE”S?
“Meet Me In The Garden” is a song to dance to, no questions asked. Dent May has a voice that takes you aback initially. “Why?” you may ask. Well, no one sings like this anymore. Taking you back to the 50s and 60s with his “doo-whoas” in the bridge, “Meet Me In The Garden” is retro in all the right ways. If the sound of a ukulele doesn’t take you immediately to your dream island or whatever, I don’t know what will. Close your eyes and let Dent May be your personal travel guide to softer sands and clear blue waters.
“Come Alive” by Chromeo ft. Toro Y Moi, off of their record, White Women.
It’s got to be the honor of a lifetime to have Chromeo write a song about you. I frequently dream of it, but then realize that I don’t have the insane dance skills nor the extroverted nature to achieve it. Whatever.
What better way to “come alive” than in the spring? David Macklovitch, once a French professor at Columbia (!) just wants to “skip town on a weekend with you”, can you think of anything better?
No.
It doesn’t help that he looks like this:
“Holding On” by Classixx, off of their debut record, Hanging Gardens.
I’ve been very easy on your ears this week with lack of bass, but fret not, my dear reader, I’ve come back with the grooviest bassline that will ever grace your aural cavities. Think sitting on a private jet, reclined in a leather seat, flying to Mexico for the weekend. Classixx wants you to live that mental reality as you sink lower into your Cheetos.
Back with the atmospheric vocals, like back in “Hammock” by Millionyoung, Classixx doesn’t want you to think, just kick back and do nothing. That’s what vacation is about, whether you’re on an distant island or if you’re in the basement of your house.
“Fred Astaire” by San Cisco, off of their eponymous debut.
Everyone wants someone like Jordi Davieson to sing to them as he does in “Fred Astaire”. A certain longing, a certain desperation. You’re great, why wouldn’t someone be falling to their knees trying to get your attention?
The definition of a poppy guitar, this song will have you bouncing on your feet, shaking your head and screaming the chorus at the top of your lungs. Maybe even imitating the synth, too, but that’s a whole new level of musical appreciation. Baby steps, my friend.
“Change Of Heart” by TOPS, off of their album, Picture You Staring.
“Have a sudden change of heart / You don’t see what you used to see”, a lyric that can stir up either the most hostile of emotions or some of the greatest. “Change Of Heart” is another one of those “fresh” songs, but vaguely summery, you know? It’s the perfect way to close a spring playlist. This song garners some serious replay value; it doesn’t get boring. Sometimes you just need a soundtrack to your floundering about. What better track than this?