Can anyone else smell Spring in the air lately?

Because I can! It was about 60 degrees this morning when I was walking to the bus, and I'm starting to feel like maybe Winter is dwindling down, and in honor of my (most likely pre-emptive) excitement, I am going to tell you my favorite music to listen to during the Springtime! You may remember my Fall playlist from the end of last summer and this will basically be the same idea. Fair warning though, this is going to be pretty poppy/cutesy.

Artist: XTC
Album: Skylarking
Track: Season Cycle
It's really tough to pick just one song from this album because the whole album is just so great and many of the songs bring forth those feelings of Spring and Summer. It's hard not to with names like "Summer's Cauldron", "Grass", "Ballet for a Rainy Day", etc. Anyway, for the purpose of this mix, I would choose "Season Cycle" because it really kicks the mix off well. It's nice and poppy and reminds you that it's time to put away your sad bastard music for another time.

Artist: Suburban Kids with Biblical Names
Album: #3
Track: Trees and Squirrels
Ok, time for a walk in the park. This is seriously the best song, probably ever, but definitely for spring. It just makes you want to smile all the time. You can't fight it!

Artist: Camera Obscura
Album: Biggest Blue Hi-Fi
Track: Sun on His Back
I have to be honest, I mostly picked this one because I wanted a Camera Obscura song on the mix and this one had the word "sun" in it. At any rate, you can just listen to all of Biggest Blue Hi-Fi if you need more spring music after this mix is over.

Artist: Jens Lekman
Album: When I said I wanted to be your Dog
Track: You are the Light (By which I travel into this and that)
As I mentioned on the Fall playlist, I can't make a mix without Jens on it, so this one should be no different. "You are the Light..." is probably one of my favorites of his. I highly recommend playing this one in the car with all the windows down, screaming the lyrics. Trust me.

Artist: Mirah
Album: Advisory Committee
Track: Garden
I love the drums on this one so I thought I should put it now since you're already blasting your radio.

Artist: Spoon
Album: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Track: You Got Yr Cherry Bomb
This one doesn't have any particularly spring like qualities to it, but I defy you to keep from smiling and dancing around while this one plays. I mean seriously, just listen to that tambourine. You're having fun already, I can tell.

Artist: Sleater Kinney
Album: Dig Me Out
Track: Little Babies
For me, Sleater Kinney is one of those bands that I always want to listen to in the spring/summer. They're just so fun. If you're still looking for spring music and Camera Obscura is a little bit cutesy for you, you should just listen to all of Dig Me Out.

Artist: The Rentals
Album: Seven More Minutes
Track: My Head is in the Sun
Time to slow it down a bit. I must admit though, this is another one I just picked because it had the word "sun" in it, and because I love the Rentals.

Artist: Rilo Kiley
Album: The Execution of all Things
Track: With arms Outstretched
For me, this song completely invokes spring in every way. When I first discovered this album, it was actually right around this time of year (almost down to the day) because I was travelling to the final four basketball tournament in Virginia with the university pep band. Anyway, I listened through the album for the first time on the bus on the way there and could not take it out of my cd player for months after. I remember when the weather first broke, driving a car smashed with friends with all the windows rolled down screaming the lyrics at the top of our lungs, hungover and full from Denny's. Good times.

Artist: Saturday Looks Good To Me
Album: Sound on Sound Track: Summer Doesn't Count (Unless You're Here with Me) What better way to end this mix than with a song invoking summer? Enjoy!

It will be here sooner than you think...

The best thing about the changing seasons is the music that reminds you of your favorite part of those seasons, and seeing as though we are a mere 10 days away from the end of summer (but more importantly, the beginning of fall!) I thought I should share with you my fall playlist. It's time for me to put my indie-pop to rest for a few seasons until the inevitable "I hate you winter" playlist where I remember the songs I love about spring and summer a little earlier. Anyway, here it is:

Artist: Charlotte Gainsbourg
Album: 5:55
Track: AF607105
I’m not even sure how to sum up this album, but let me just say, it is definitely in my top five releases for this year. Charlotte’s hushed vocals are reminiscent of the French model’s her father used on his albums so many years ago, but the instrumentation gives the album a modern indie-folkrock feel. AF607105 starts with Charlotte talking in an almost indescernible whisper over piano and drum machine and I am a total sucker for how soft and calming this song is. Upon reading the Allmusic.com entry on this album, I learned that AF607105 was written in part by Air, which now makes total sense and I can't believe I didn't make the connection earlier.

Artist: Death Cab for Cutie
Album: Transatlanticism
Track: We Looked Like Giants
This album has always been a fall favorite of mine because it was released in October of 2003. The track We Looked Like Giants is such a perfect description of what it is like to be young and adventurous that I always like playing it around this time of year to remember those first awkward days back at school, first loves, best friends, etc. Even now as I'm writing this, I am really wishing I had the CD here with me at work.

Artist: Ben Folds
Album: Rockin' the Suburbs
Track: Carrying Cathy
This is another one of those albums that will always remind me of fall (I actually received this and Transatlanticism from the same friend in fall of 2003). Despite the more memorable pop songs from this album, Carrying Cathy is the one that most reminds me of fall. For some reason, the piano in this song mixed with the subdued strings brings forth images of driving around in the rain late at night. This whole album is so solid though, it is really hard to pick just one track.

Artist: Air
Album: The Virgin Suicides
Track: Playground Love
Ok, I'll be honest here, I probably wouldn't have even thought about Air if it weren't for the Allmusic.com entry about Charlotte Gainsbourg so this one is kind of an afterthought. However, I really love this soundtrack. Playground Love seems appropriate since fall is an obvious reminder of back to school time. I'm not sure if it is the "oooooo's" in the background or the very synthy keyboards that really make me love this song, but it is just so well put together.

Artist: Elliott Smith
Album: Elliott Smith
Track: Needle in the Hay
There is something so welcoming about Elliott Smith's music to me that I can't really explain. His songs are so simple, and yet they say so many things. Needle in the Hay is definitely one of my favorites off this album so I feel like it should be on the mix as well.

Artist: Frida Hyvonen
Album: Until Death Comes
Track: Come Another Night
Ok, the fall mix has been too depressing so far but here is the turn. I saw Frida Hyvonen live a few years ago (2006 maybe?) when she was touring with Jens Lekman and bought her album right away. I am usually not the type to buy a CD at a concert from the opening band, but I really loved her voice. It isn't perfect, and she was shaky when she first started, but there is something about someone who just puts it all out there for failure, for success, for whatever that really gets to me. Anyway, this is a jaunty little tune so I thought it would be a good one to add to the mix. When she played it live, some members of Jens Lekman's backing band came and played the horn parts and it was really memorable to me for some reason.

Artist: Jens Lekman
Album: Oh You're So Silent Jens
Track: Maple Leaves
Speaking of Jens Lekman... I can't make a mix without him on it these days. He has great songs for all the seasons and moods I can think of. This song is an obvious choice for fall since it invokes the images of leaves falling just by the title, but I just really love the play on words he uses.

"And when she talked about a fall,
I thought she talked about a season
I never understood at all.
And when she talked about a fall,
I thought she talked about Mark E. Smith
I never understood at all."

God, I love those lyrics!

Artist: The National
Album: Boxer
Track: Fake Empire
This is probably my favorite song by The National and this was reaffirmed when the track appeared on their live album The Virginia EP. When you're listening to the live recording of Fake Empire, it sounds like the audience comes in with the time signature change before the drummer does and it is a real "OMFG" moment. I don't really have anything else to say about this song, I just love it.

Artist: Procul Harem
Album: Procul Harem
Track: A Whiter Shade of Pale
Something about this organ part makes me think of fall. I don't really have much to say about this one either because I know little to nothing about Procul Harem's other music. I just love this song.

Artist: Saturday Looks Good To Me
Album: Every Night
Track: When you got to New York
Well, I had to save the best for last. This album is probably my favorite of all time. That is a very hard thing to say, because I listen to a lot of music, but this is one of those albums that I can listen to an endless amount of times on repeat. I first heard this album in the fall of 2005, so though it may seem more like a summer album if you've heard it, it will always remind me of fall.

I hope you enjoyed that. It took forever to write.