Overcast Days Never Turned Me on...

Liz Maynes-Aminzade's Picks

It's been a dreary week, but the semester is winding down, and the warm weather will be here soon for good (or at least until next autumn). Whether April brings out the sun-loving party animal in you, or the rain has been convincing you that maybe T.S. Eliot was onto something, Spec Music has got the songs to fit your mood. Here are our picks for the best tunes for springtime.

"Do U Wanna Roll"--RL/Snoop Dogg/Lil' Kim

The ultimate kick-back-and-let-spring-roll-in jam. Snoop's rhymes flow easily over the sugary, funky bass line, and Lil' Kim's voice has never sounded so good. Like the Kanye West single "Through the Wire," it's a rap tune that's just happy to be alive.

"Just What I Needed"--The Cars

"I don't mind you coming here/and wasting all my time." It's time of the year to start wasting your time, because how are you going to work when it's so damn nice out? Bittersweet, but rather more sweet than bitter, and so well-crafted it sounds like it wrote itself. It's an example of The Cars at their best.

"California Love"--Tupac/Dr. Dre

Not to reprazent the West Coast too much, but this '96 Dre/Tupac collaboration shouldn't be left off any springtime mix. There's nothing to make you appreciate the season like being "Out on bail fresh outta jail/California dreamin'." Hearing this song on the stereo is like seeing the first robin on the lawn, the first blossom on the tree, or the first crowd of spring breakers all over each other.

"Stay With Me"--Rod Stewart and the Faces

There's something about that scratchy opening lick, that gravelly, bluesy voice, that nitty-gritty bar-band jamming that no one could do quite like the Faces. This homage to one-night flings slides off their guitars and into your ears like spring into summer: "Yeah I'll pay your cab fare home/you can even use my best cologne/just don't be here in the morning when I wake up." It would be cruel if only it didn't sound so sweet.

"California Sun"--The Ramones

There's no band like the Ramones to put you in the mood to burn all your school books and just hit the beach, baby. Granted, this one might be more summer than spring--and might make us a little envious of our Pacific coast counterparts--but I've already broken it out for the season. And besides, "Rockaway Beach" is on hand for when it gets really hot.

"Alphabet Street"--Prince

The warm weather is here and the kiddies are starting to spill back out into the streets--biking, break dancing and borrowing their daddies' T-birds. Meanwhile, the soundtrack of Prince screams and squeals blares from their boomboxes. Ok, maybe this doesn't happen in the real world, but at least that's the scene in the imaginary neighborhood of this '88 hit. Who wouldn't want to go down to Alphabet Street?

Patricia Feghali's Picks

"Heavy Metal Drummer"--Wilco

A fun song about "playing KISS covers beautiful and stoned" by our favorite lovelorn folk-rockers. There's no pain like happy pain.

"American Music"--Violent Femmes

The Violent Femmes are one of those bands that make you happy even when you have no idea what the hell they're actually trying to say. "Do you like American music? I like American music. Don't you like American music, baby?" Oh yeah.

"I Get Around"--The Beach Boys

You can't have spring or summer without the Beach Boys, and while some people go for the all-out beach tracks, "I Get Around" is a cruising classic. Grab your buddies and a cab to try it out.

"The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count"--The Divine Comedy

Ok, this is actually a "summer" song instead of a spring one, but how can you argue with a song that is about being "in love with the summertime" despite your allergies? Exactly.

"Everyday"--Buddy Holly

Every spring collection needs a simple love song, and who better to provide it than Buddy Holly? And this song even mentions roller coasters.

Rebecca Willa Davis' Picks

"Pain Killer (Summer Rain)"--Turin Brakes

Although the song may be about summer rain, it seems just as well suited for April showers. Lyrics such as, "Here comes a cold/I can feel it creeping/It's making me old" evoke early spring chills, and the duo's modern folk pop guitar strumming is just as breezy. The track is all about no stress, no tension, and no worries, just like spring should be.

"Kiss Life on the Lips (K's Trip)"--Faux Jean

On first listen this song seems innocent enough, with the energy and naïveté of a six year-old. But on closer inspection, one realizes that the lyrics are anything but pure and the music anything but gentle. Calling to mind a B-52's pool party or a Suede dance party, the band's explosive pop and distinct male-female harmonies will have you looking for your shades and a glass of lemonade in no time.

"Country Gentlemen"--Ambulance Ltd

Don't listen to this song if you have things to do; it will make you drop everything just so you can sit outside, flip through the day's paper, and forget about any and all responsibilities you may have. Although it's one of Ambulance Ltd's earlier songs, it still has that easy, breezy quality that has become the band's trademark. Best of all, the song provides the ultimate break-up line to say to that spring-fling of yours, when vocalist Marcus Congleton coos, "I'm just too young to belong to anyone/And I'm too old to be taken."

"Punchbag"--Band of Bees

Play this song and you'll wish you had access to a car in the city, just so you could drive it around with the windows rolled down and the music turned up. The band's take on psychedelic pop is impressively original, and this track, with a stuttering beat and the occasional horn, is no exception. The lyrics may baffle you, but the British duo doesn't care as their credo is less about intellectual understanding and more about just going with the flow.

"Daddy's Car"--The Cardigans

The perfect opening track for the perfect spring break road trip mix. The Cardigans eschew their usual tongue-in-cheek take on pop for this completely exuberant and overwhelmingly charming take on travel. Vocalist Nina Persson is, as always, pitch-perfect, but if their outlook is a little too sunny, just keep reminding yourself that the band looks to Black Sabbath for influence.