We are slowly approaching spring and when the seasons change, your playlist should as well. In the winter, my playlist consists of some older funk music that’s a bit more somber like Simon and Garfunkel or darker alternative rock like Radiohead. Usually I need some sad, self-loathing music in the winter. Spring is different. As a college student, spring means that you’re kicking back with your friends listening to music and crushing some beers. It also means that when you’re driving, the windows go down. Here are twenty songs to add to your spring playlist to maximize the vibes at kick backs.
Valhalla by Skegss
A few months ago, I saw Skegss live in Boston and they brought the energy to Paradise Rock Club. That energy was at a peak high when they played Valhalla. I believe that in the spring due to Valhalla being very upbeat and they content of the lyrics, you could use the Australian banger for a drinking game or just at a pregame. A line like, “All the ale you can inhale” should be utilized in some form or fashion when you’re preparing to pound brews.
Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks
The Kinks are a very prominent band from the 1960s and 1970s, but have become more of a cultural icon due to director Wes Anderson using their music in his films like The Darjeeling Limited. With “The Kings” being an older group, you’ll really have to have the right crowd to play this song. I think it’s a very artistic and folksy jam, but it’s not everyones cup of tea. For me, I’d play this on a nice drive either by myself to boost my mood or with a small group of people that I know appreciate older music. Waterloo Sunset is a serotonin bomb and can make you feel better at anytime.
A Beginner’s Guide To Destroying The Moon by Foster The People
The biggest reason I love this song is because Foster The People sampled A$AP Rocky’s banger song, LVL, for their intro. It’s almost the exact same and when you hear A Beginner’s Guide To Destroying The Moon start, you think you’re listening to A$AP Rocky. It’s the electric synth that fades in and out of your head phones, but “Foster The People” adds in light drums and then you’re blasted with electric guitar. That same synth is used as the beat for the entirety of the song. I think this is an ideal kickback song as it wains between hard indie rocky and soft lyrical genius.
The Suburbs by Arcade Fire
Much like A Beginners Guide to Destroying the Moon, Arcade Fire samples a great artist. The beginning of The Suburbs has the same jovial guitar as my favorite Bob Seger song, Fire Lake. They essentially play that same intro riff the entire song and it works beautifully. While I definitely feel like the guitar and rhythm of the song fit a laid back kickback setting, the lyrics are deep. Its Arcade Fire highlighting the wickedness of losing your childhood. And when you really think about that, that’s scary. “Sometimes I can’t believe it, I’m moving past the feeling, Sometimes I can’t believe it, I’m moving past the feeling and into the night.“
Give Up Baby Go by Peach Pit
I wrote about it last year, but Peach Pits album, From 2 to 3, was one of the best music projects of 2022. In addition, it’s one of the best spring/summer albums of the past ten years. From start to finish, Neil Smith injects your ear drums with a felicitous sound and Give Up Baby Go embodies that. The lyrics talk about getting drunk and high, but also how that can get in the way of a potential relationship; “You said you’re ready for a long time, But you’re on a roll of getting high.” Peach Pit strictly makes good vibes music due to their unique guitar sound and it’s optimal music to listen to as you cruise beers.
Undercover Martyn by Two Door Cinema Club
If you’re a college kid who is fortunate enough to have an off campus house and you host parties, Undercover Martyn needs to be on your playlist. Two Door Cinema Club takes you through melodic highs and lows of this song by speeding up the pace at the very beginning. Their usage of guitars, drums, and electronic synth brings joy to your ears. They also do a nice job building up to a vibrant peak of drums when the song hits a lower point volume wise so you can focus on the lyrics.
This Charming Man by The Smiths
Over my winter break, the first thing I’d listen to every morning was This Charming Man. The opening guitar riff that sounds a lot like Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard by Paul Simon makes you want to spring into action and have a great day. In the spring, waking up on a weekend to the light creeping through your blinds is a pretty sick feeling. You’ve slept in a bit and are refreshed and ready to have a great day. This Charming Man does an awesome job making you feel like a main character. When I’m walking around campus or driving with this song on and the sun is caressing my face, I feel like I’m in a Greta Gerwig, coming-of-age classic like Lady Bird. Embrace your inner main character this spring with This Charming Man.
Colors by Beck
Of all the groovy tracks on this list, Colors might be the grooviest. This Beck jam makes you feel like you’ve been shot into a hallucinogenic fever dream where you’re dancing with aliens in an 80’s themed night club. That’s probably the best way to describe Colors. It’s a great driving song to vibe out to and lends it self as a dance anthem. I also think that when you imagine spring, you’ll think of vibrant pinks, greens, and yellows and the title Colors gives that spring feeling.
Last Nite by The Strokes
To me, Last Nite feels like the mecca of pregaming songs. You’re outside or you’ve got the windows open and you’re playing beer pong with your friends. The cool spring breeze is smacking you on the cheek and you’re living your best life. Then, Last Nite by The Strokes comes on. You break out into an epic air guitar solo while your pong partner grabs an imaginary microphone and scream-sings “Oh, people, they don’t understand, No, girlfriends, they don’t understand.” With Last Nite playing at a pregame, it’s a lot like the Christopher Nolan film Memento. Time is backwards as you’re jamming out about the legendary night you’re going to reminisce about in the morning the night before. Mind blowing.
Kilby Girl by The Backseat Lovers
Having any song from The Backseat Lovers in your spring playlist is imperative. They make songs that make myself as an uptight New England kid at a regimented college feel like a California hippie in their early twenties that shreds gnar and lays in a hammock. Something about their music just turns me into a chill dude. There are multiple songs from this band I’d recommend, but the number one is their biggest hit, Kilby Girl. It features a monumental guitar riff that’ll blow you away and the lyrics about these mysterious girls with nose rings in Utah just make you want to sit on a porch and enjoy the spring weather. I’ll be seeing them play in June this year and I’m beyond pumped about that.
The Thrill by Wiz Khalifa and Empire of the Sun
While I do think that The Thrill is more of a summer bop, it’s never too early to play it. Wiz Khalifa raps over the original track, Walking On A Dream from Empire of the Sun and it elevates the song that’s already a certified banger to a legendary anthem. When this plays, no matter where you are, you’ll feel like the main character. Even in a crowd of hundreds of people at a darty, you’ll envision yourself hopping on flights to exotic places that you’ve only read about and it is galvanizing. The 90s had What Is Love, the 2000s had Hey Ya!, and our generation has The Thrill. What a time to be alive.
Rapp Snitch Knishes by MF DOOM
Is this the greatest hip hop song of all time? I’d hear the argument for it. What I do know is that it’s the hardest beat in hip hop history. Much like a lot of the artists and albums I’ve already listed, you could pull any of their songs and they’d bump in the spring. For MFDOOM, you could blare One Beer or Hoe Cakez, but Rapp Snitch Knishes is a certified banger. A lot like This Charming Man, Rapp Snitch Knishes will make you feel like the main character. You’ll throw your shades on when you’re driving to the bar or to hang with your friends and feel like you’re in a montage on The Wire. If you’re putting any rap songs in your spring rotation, Rapp Snitch Knishes needs to be it.
Speed Racer by Her’s
It’s a true tragedy that Her’s passed at such a young age in a tragic manner, but they left behind a remarkably beautiful catalog of music. In their song Speed Racer, they some how couple a 60s Frankie Valli sound with indie-pop music and make a mesmerizing bop. While this may not kill at a function, it’s a lethal weapon song to play in the car with the windows down. I’ve sung this more times than I’d care to share with my arm hanging out the window driving through Connecticut. “Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme lovin’ tonight.”
Dog Days Are Over by Florence and the Machine
This is just a classic banger. I recently saw a video from a musical festival a few years earlier where a bunch of white hippies with dreadlocks (gross) were jamming out to a live performance of Dog Days Are Over and I’ve listened to it, conservatively, twenty times a day. The clapping leading up to “Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father, Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers” is a potent feeling. I’ve personally never frolicked in a field, but if I were too, I’d have this on repeat.
Just A Little While by The 502s
I could have just added a Mumford and Sons song like The Cave or Little Lion Man, but The 502s hit song Just A Little While blends a Mumford and Sons folk style with a country flare that hits the ear in a proper manner. In the spring season, this song lends itself to be sung by friends whilst drinking, especially the distinct “HA, HA, HA” we hear in verse two. The fast lyrics and upbeat drum play makes you want to tap a toe right away and it only picks up from there.
I Can’t Quit by The Vaccines
I’m a massive fan of punk rock from the mid to early 2000s era and in 2018, The Vaccines brought that nostalgic sound to our ears with I Can’t Quit. To really master that sound, you need to nail two key components. You have to have a fun, guitar heavy beat which The Vaccines have along with catchy lyrics. You’re trying to get the listener to appreciate the jovial sound the instruments make and sing to your song. The Vaccines simpler lyrics make you want to scream “I CAN’T QUIT, I’M OVER IT.” Any punk rock fits spring, but instead of going back to the well on blink-182, try out The Vaccines.
Scenario by A Tribe Called Quest
“A-yo, Bo knows this (What?), And Bo knows that (What?), But Bo don’t know jack, ’cause Bo can’t rap.” A Tribe Called Quest spit some of the purest and most bombastic lyrics in rap history. Their songs also double as great head bobbing tunes for a kickback. Playing this song earns you aux points, but you get double points if you can recite a handful of lines. “Rawr! Rawr! Like a dungeon dragon, Change your little drawers ’cause your pants are saggin’, Try to step to this, I will twist you in a turban.” You could pick any Tribe song, but I think this one has the sickest beat of any of their songs. It’d be acceptable to play I Left My Wallet In El Segundo, but Scenario always slaps.
Hell N Back by Bakar
Bakar has really burst on the music scene the past few years. He established himself in 2019 with the melody Hell N Back. Traditionally I enjoy dunking on mangled mouth British folks, but Bakar’s voice is lovely. He has a smooth flow in Hell N Back and the flute beat just makes you want to sit in a lawn chair in someones driveway and tell “remember when” stories.
Fluorescent Adolescent by Arctic Monkeys
A song like Fluorescent Adolescent isn’t going to be a huge kick back song, but more for when you’re driving. It radiates a good vibe and I think should be a top rotational song for if you’re driving a short distance to Cumberland Farms or a buddies house. The opening guitar riff when you hear “du, du, du, doo, doo” is intoxicating and Alex Turners lyrics about getting older and the memories you’ll have are nostalgic. “The best you ever had is just a memory and those dreams, Weren’t as daft as they seem, aren’t as daft as they seem.“
That’s Life by Still Woozy
While Sinatra always hits, we’re not talking about that version of That’s Life. We’re adding the Still Woozy song That’s Life. I was able to see him live a year ago and when he played this song, it was a BANGER. It’s a bit of a softer jam, but is versatile where it can be played at a darty and you could bob your head to it or even do the classic, one arm in the air and sway move. The opportunities are really endless. To maximize the groovy vibe of That’s Life, I’d recommend to play it in the car or at a small get together. It has more of a laid back vibe that serves better in small crowds.
Just remember everyone, controlling the aux cord is a privilege. Not everyone can be given the chance to play their music that a crowd will like, and if you are this spring, I hope you use some of the songs I’ve recommend.
