By Erin Caine
Elm Staff Writer
Spring is here at last. Even though the weather is finally warming up, it may feel at times like you’re too busy tearing your hair out over midterms and essays to actually enjoy it. When you’re under a time-crunch, it’s especially hard to make time to go for walks or enjoy picnics with friends. To unwind and de-stress a little, here’s a list of a few songs from oldies jazz to upbeat contemporary indie:
1. “Keep Your Head Up,” The Kooks. Thirteen years ago, British indie band The Kooks formed in the seaside town of Brighton, debuting with their first album “Inside In/Inside Out” two years later. Their 2014 album “Listen” bubbles over in synths, rhythm, and retro-pop, but bonus track “Keep Your Head Up” takes on a clear, sparse style. Vocalist Luke Pritchard’s falsetto voice in the verses merges with air-light acoustic guitar and piano until the bridge, when the frenzied drums and electric guitars come in. It’s upbeat and dynamic, and every time Pritchard sings “So always keep your head up, your head up” in the chorus, you feel your spirits lift a little bit higher.
2. “Blue Skies,” Ella Fitzgerald. The song “Blue Skies” was written in 1926 as a last-minute addition to the musical “Betsy,” and was an instant hit with audiences. That same spontaneity and charisma is captured in Fitzgerald’s 1958 rendition of the song, complete with the kind of vocal acrobatics only Lady Ella can supply. Fitzgerald croons the lyrics, “Blue days, all of them gone / Nothing but blue skies from now on,” and the song is so charming and lighthearted you can’t help but wholeheartedly believe her. Her immaculate vocals conjure up images of sunny fields and driving with the windows down.
3. “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” Billie Holiday. This easy-going jazz standard was also originally written for a musical: Lew Leslie’s 1930 “International Revue.” Holiday’s sweet-tempered croon coaxes you to leave your concerns behind you and take a stroll “on the sunny side of the street.” Amid the mellow tinkling of the piano keys, Holiday’s genial vocals, and such rosy lyrics as, “If I never have a cent / I’d be rich as Rockefeller,” you truly feel as if all your worries have blown away.
4. “Put Your Records On,” Corinne Bailey Rae. The British singer-songwriter was a breakthrough act in 2006, the same year she debuted with a self-titled album. She became only the fourth British female act in history to debut with a number one album, which owed in part to the popularity of the track “Put Your Records On.” Untroubled and self-assured, the song has a memorable, expressive melody and relaxed yet vibrant instrumentation. Rae emphasizes the need to “let your hair down,” and gently assures you that “you’re gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.”
5. “April Come She Will,” Simon & Garfunkel. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel met in Queens, New York in 1953 and immediately began writing songs together. In the time since, they’ve won 10 Grammys and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—thanks in part to such melodious tracks as “Sound of Silence” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” This short-and-sweet track from the American folk duo is just a little under two minutes, and yet the union of Simon’s acoustic guitar and Garfunkel’s tender vocals is so soothing and winsome you can’t help but replay it again and again.