Tunes for Late March

[Disclaimer: The following post was written with regards to the geographical location of 39.8460 North, 86.2642 West and the surrounding meteorological area. Those of you outside of the general Midwest will have to use your imaginations if your weather does not happen to match.]

And here we are, Monday, March 28, 2005, the first no-kidding day of spring. Yes, the calendar claimed that last week’s March 20 grey-skies-high-50-crapfest was technically the start of spring, but I disagree. You need some basic spring components for it to be spring, and we’ve finally got them: Current temperature, 61. Sunny. Light breeze. The smell of green in the air. The first day you leave your coat at home and don’t regret it. Again, simple pleasures. Change of season = good. Spring = very good. And tomorrow (see below) is going to be even more ridiculously perfect.

Now that it’s so absurdly nice outside, what music are you listening to that complements the niceness? Given that music is fundamentally atmospheric, it is vital to be listening to the right tunes on days like today and tomorrow. This is a tricky choice, and one which I submit to you. In the interest of sanity, I’m going to limit this to a single album. For me, Paul Simon’s “Rhythm of the Saints” is working quite well today. Bright, soft, not overbearing. A song like The Obvious Child screams spring to me. I would also recommend “Give Up” by The Postal Service, which has quite a few excellent songs for spring, including Brand New Colony.

So, what is your perfect spring album? Yes, I know, it’s tough to make an entire album fit one day, but take a shot. Submit comments below and give me something to listen to tomorrow.