TYF’s Favorite Spring Break Songs

Spring Break 2016 is here and we all know it’s the season to dance the day and night away on the beach. What’s dancing without your favorite track blaring out of the speakers next to you? Here is a list of a few of our writer’s favorite songs to listen to as the season begins.

Amber Mack’s pick

“Elevate” – St. Lucia

Imagine driving down the coastal highway with the top down (or windows) singing at the top of your lungs, or dancing the night away with a group of friends on the beach. This is what comes to mind whenever I listen to this song. “Elevate” is gloriously cheerful, in that it could bring the sun out on the rainiest of days. The groovy instrumentation makes tapping your foot to the beat simply not enough.

“Oceans” – Coasts

I’m that person who likes their indie rock upbeat with a touch of melancholy and “Oceans” has a well-balanced mix of both. Bringing a soft nostalgia for those whimsical spring/summer days spent doing nothing, “Oceans“ is one of my go-to spring break songs. It’s about embracing the good times, leaving us wanting nothing more than to dance with a drink in hand until the sun sets.

Donald Strohman’s pick

“For You, and Your Denial” – Yellowcard

We all have that one song that instantly reminds us of the changing seasons. The cool spring breeze rushing through your hair, getting to roll your windows and blast your favorite music, feeling the sunshine radiate across your skin. Admit it, some song’s tune started playing in your head reading that, because nothing suits a memory better than the sound of your favorite spring time track.

For me, the song that reminds me of this feeling most is Yellowcard’s “For You, and Your Denial.” When I purchased my first car back in 2011, the Yellowcard album When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes was one of the very first CDs I popped into the player. “For You, and Your Denial” ended up being my absolute favorite song off the entire CD, and I proudly rolled the windows down blasting it everywhere I went, in hopes that those around me would also be able to enjoy the sensations of the springtime.

“Never Surrender” – Skillet

In the spring semester of 2011, our English class was required to write a speech on advice you would like to pass on to the people around you. Initially, I had no idea what my speech was going to be about, so for weeks I was stumped. That was until I began listening to a CD I had purchased on a class trip to Washington D.C., Skillet’s Awake. The 11th song on the record, “Never Surrender,” inspired me to write my speech around the philosophy of never quitting and always try being the best you can be. Every time I hear “Never Surrender,” it always transports me back to giving that speech, and receiving praise from my English teacher on giving “One of the best speeches he had ever heard.”

Ryan Gibbs’s pick

“Pearly-Dewdrops’ Drops” – Cocteau Twins

I live in New England, so I usually associate spring break with fog, light rain and temperatures in the low 40s — not particularly great weather to spend outside basically. In turn, I associate that weather with dream pop and shoe-gazing, genres that are built entirely on hazy soundscapes, tremolo and melodic, buried vocals. Cocteau Twins are the forbearers of that type of music and the definitive early spring foggy weather band. The 1984 single “Pearly-Dewdrops’ Drops” distills everything I love about this band and listening to them in this weather; Elisabeth Fraser’s beautiful, obscure vocals, the wall of church-like guitar and the ethereal production that became an unmistakable hallmark of the band in the ’80s. It’s perfect spring walking music.

Gabrielle Bondi’s pick

“Claudia Lewis” – M83

When the winter begins to die down, I always revisit M83’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. A favorite track is “Claudia Lewis,” a heart-pounding ballad that feels larger than life when blasting it from your car stereo.