Project Playlist: Seasonal Sounds

Nico YoungStaff WriterIn Antonio Vivaldi’s 18th century masterpiece, “The Four Seasons,” spring, summer, autumn and winter are recreated as four violin concertos. Each part is composed to be evocative of its season. The paces, rhythms, harmonies and melodies resemble the winds, leaf colors, mammalian noises and precipitation of each season.In the same way, this playlist is meant to mimic the transitional period of spring (conventional spring, not Californian “spring”). The spring season starts out just as the gloomy days of winter are beginning to blow over. The bulk of spring lingers in between chilly and warm weather forecasts. The season is eventually overcome by the blissful freedom and radiant heat of summer. In the same way, this playlist starts out with slower, gloomier songs, lingers somewhere in the middle for a bit, then eventually brightens up to lighthearted, more upbeat songs.The first few seconds of the opening track "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" by Frank Zappa simulate a wailing winter wind that begins to subside as soon as the song's heavy bass riff comes in. Although the song is filled with Eskimo imagery, its mostly upbeat chord progressions and playful lyrics celebrate the ending days of winter as the playlist digresses into gloomier tunes.The stretch of tracks from Dennis Parker’s “Like an Eagle” to Quasimoto’s “Season’s Change” represents the middle part of spring where the weather is not unbearably brisk nor uncomfortably hot. The songs’ upbeat, summery qualities are often ambiguated by certain minor chords in their melodies or upsetting lyrics.The playlist ends with a series of increasingly cheery tunes, ultimately culminating in Shaquille O’Neal’s 1998 summer anthem, “Pool Jam.”In other words, this playlist starts out in the last days of winter and ends in the first days of summer. With deep cuts from 70’s pop to 90’s post-punk to early 00’s R&B, there is surely something in this playlist for everyone.

1. Frank Zappa - Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow Suite
2. Money Mark - Cry
3. Jamiroquai - Everyday
4. Cody ChesnuTT - 5 on a Joyride
5. Handsome Boy Modeling School Feat. Roisin and J Live - The Truth
6. Dennis Parker - Like an Eagle
7. Sparks - This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us
8. Sonic Youth - Creme Brulee
9. Ween - Zoloft
10. The Mothers of Invention - What’s the Ugliest Part of Your Body?
11. Gap Mangione - Free Again
12. R. Stevie Moore - Times Have Changed
13. Marine Girls - Honey
14. Quasimoto - Seasons Change
15. Del tha Funkee Homosapien - Sunny Meadowz
16. Bad Brains - Leaving Babylon
17. The Flaming Lips- She Don’t use Jelly
18. Musical Youth- Pass the Dutchie
19. R. Kelly- You Knock Me Out
20. Shaquille O’Neal- Pool Jam

Project Playlist: Seasonal Sounds by Thesamohi on Mixcloud