Spirit Picks: A Few of Our Favorite Things, Summer edition

Cocktails the Rubin Musuem's K2 LoungeI'm fortunate enough to love my part-time job.  I work for two quarterly publications, The Park Slope Reader and the New York Spirit.  Have completely separate themes, working for these magazines keeps me in touch with what's going on around Brooklyn and New York City.  

I've found that what i enjoy the most is keeping up with what's new and exciting.  And this is perhaps why I enjoy the columns I write for these magazines more than anything.  I get to keep my finger on the pulse of the holistic world with the New York Spirit.  

Here are my recommendations for the Summer issue of the New York Spirit.  

Songs of Summer & Love

It's no secret that I'm an audiophile.  My music collections spans decades and covers a vast range of styles.  Back in the 90's I went through my swing phase, later I collected Bollywood soundtracks and then found Chinese pop music.  I spend a large amount of time listening to these songs: while working, in the car, at the gym.  At various times it seems certain songs become the soundtrack to my life.  These I throw on a compilation and give to friends. 

So it's no wonder that I was approached about music for weddings this summer.  I planned to attend two - one for my sister and the other for good friend here in NYC.  Working with the brides, we found songs that set the mood and unique personalities for each.  As I was going through my music, summer hit full swing.  Consequently, I have a new summer compilation of songs about the season and the sentiment.  I'll share my wedding choices in another post, but in the meantime, here are the songs about summer and love.

1. I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash
2. We Can Get Together - The Hold Steady
3. Georgia On My Mind - Ray Charles & The Count Basie Orchestra
4. My Love - Sia
5. Little Bird - Goldfrapp
6. Ride the White Wave - The Oranges Band
7. Better Together - Jack Johnson
8. You Just May Be the One - The Monkees
9. A Bite Out of My Bed - The New Pornographers
10. Wishing Well - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
11. Distant Shore - Billy Bragg
12. Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes
13. A Summer Song - Chad & Jeremy
14. Make My Heart Fly - The Proclaimers
15. Make You Feel My Love - Adele
16. Stick With Me Baby - The Everly Brothers
17. Summertime Blues - Brian Setzer
18. New Shoes - Paulo Nutini
19. Hot In the City - Billy Idol
20. Pallisades Park - Freddy Cannon
21. Brooklyn - Project Jenny, Project Jan
22. Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darin
23. Sea of Love - Cat Power

More Songs About Spring

I cannot work without music.  It's always been this way.  There's something soothing about playing music in the background.  When I'm creating, it helps me take the necessary pauses to break concentration.  It's a constant in my life, while at the gym, riding the subway, doing dishes or checking my email music is playing in the background. 

As I mentioned recently, a dear friend and I have been exchanging mix CDs.  And as I make them, I feel as if I'm collecting the soundtrack to my life.  They have been taking on themes, generally seasonal or geographic, which became a fun challenge this season.  My friend Chris mentioned a while back, as he was looking to life his spirits he found a majority of upbeat sounding songs contain depressing lyrics.  I thought about this for a moment and then casually tucked it away in my brain.  Then as I put together what I thought was a particularly clever spring compilation, I found myself singing along I realised that the collection was quite depressing.

Now I'm not generally one to sugar-coat things, but during this season I'm not looking to be depressed while I'm working.  So with a little reworking, I came up with something a little more appropriate.  Here it is:

1. The Hollies - "Bus Stop"
2. Death Cab For Cutie - "No Sunlight"
3. Duran Duran - "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise"
4. The Velvet Underground - "Who Loves the Sun?"
5. Super Furry Animals - "Hello Sunshine"
6. Vampire Weekend - "White Sky"
7. Robbie Williams - "Let Love Be Your Energy"
8. Basement Jaxx - "Raindrops"
9. Florence & The Machine - "Dog Days Are Over"
10. Madonna - "Ray Of Light"
11. Frightened Rabbit - "Living in Colour"
12. The Magnetic Fields - "Love Goes Home to Paris in the Spring"
13. Sprengjuhöllin - "Worry 'Til Spring"
14. Project Jenny, Project Jan - "Brooklyn"
15. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - "Johnny Appleseed"
16. David Byrne - "Don't Fence Me In"
17. Neko Case - "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth"
18. Eddie Vedder - "Hard Sun"
19. Jimmy Eat World - "Chase This Light"
20. Neil Diamond - "Sweet Caroline"
21. Love & Rockets - "Rainbird"

Now I'm ready to work.

Photo of the day

Spring has hit Brooklyn. It seems that blossoms are just erupting off branches.  And though I've lived in this neighborhood and walked these streets for years, I feel like I never noticed them before.  The colors seem far more vibrant than years past.

I'm not the only one noticing.  The Ditmas Park blog chose my photo of apple blossoms as the photo of the day yesterday.  It's a wonderful way to celebrate the season.

You Can Never Hold Back Spring

I recently reconnected with a great friend.  We met in high school and became inseparable during our college years.  When I think about the crucial moments of my life, she was there.  As happens in life, we lost touch over a few years.  But the magic of the internet recently brought us back together.  And it's amazing how we have fallen back into our friendship.

One of the (many) things I adore about her is her ability to put music together.  Back in the day, we traded mix tapes.  Now we have graduated to CD compilations.  She took a seasonal theme with her latest, inspired by the spring.  I just have to share it. 

So here is the perfect soundtrack to the beginning of the season

1. "If I Ever Feel Better" - Phoenix
2. "Apartment Song" - The National
3. "Spring Provides" - Matt Pond PA
4. "Planting Seeds" - Built to Spill
5. "Two Ways" - The 1900's
6. "I Feel It All" - Feist
7. "You R Loved" - Victoria Williams
8. "The Hideout" - Sarah Harmer
9. "Twisting By The Pool" - Dire Straits
10. "2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten" - Lucinda Williams
11. "Empty Baseball Park" - Whiskeytown
12. "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" - The White Stripes
13. "When My Baby's Beside Me" - Big Star
14. "Girl" - Beck
15. "You Can Never Hold Back Spring" - Tom Waits
16. "Al Green" - Clem Snide
17. "Dirt to Mud" - Paul Westerberg
18. "From the Morning" - Nick Drake
19. "First Light of Spring" - Luka Bloom
20. "A New Day" - Mary Margaret O'Hara
21. "All The Wine" - The National
22. "What A Wonderful World" - Joey Ramone

Enjoy!