“The Playlist” Celebrates The Beginning Of Spring

Spring is here!  The weather arrived a little early (a nice gift), but the winter season is over and we managed to escape with minimal damage locally - considering how severe the last 2 winters went, we deserved a break!  Now we can embrace what many feel is the best of the 4 seasons.  Spring is not perfect, but is always welcomed knowing so many things come with this season.  This week's version of "The Playlist" embraces all things spring!

Robin Williams said it best when he described Spring as "Nature's way of saying Let's Party!"  The party has arrived with the weather, but that does not mean we won't have some cold nights ahead, plus we are familiar with April Showers (look for The Playlist to highlight "Rain" in a few weeks) bringing us May Flowers.  Spring brings the arrival of Easter, the tax deadline, the day of Fools (we'll salute the Fools of all kinds on The Playlist in 2 weeks), the "Run for The Roses", Arbor Day, the return of our feathered friends ............ we could be here all day listing all the things that make up spring!

The Playlist always finds way to take liberties with plays on words, and digging deep into songs to find lyrics around the weekly theme - this week is no exception.

The Playlist will not Tie a Yellow Ribbon around an Old Oak Tree, but we will give you 20 songs that should give a feel of Spring on many levels:

Bruce Springsteen -- Tunnel Of Love ("The Boss", Jersey Shore, and love to paint a picture of a SPRING moment)

Fleetwood Mac -- Silver Spring (Yes you see the pattern here right?)

Duncan Sheik -- Barely Breathing (Allergies will happen in Spring, and don't forget Duncan created the Tony Award musical "Spring Awakening")

April Wine -- Just Between You and Me (April +Wine = a nice Spring night, and a Top-25 hit in 1981)

Katy Perry -- Hot N Cold (how the weather and moods run in the Spring)

The Sundays -- Wild Horses (The Triple Crown for horse racing is in the Spring, and Easter is always on Sunday, plus this is a sweet cover of the Rolling Stones classic)

Bow Wow Wow -- I Want Candy (a whole Easter basket full!)

R.E.M. -- Radio Free Europe (the song that first launched the band to College Radio in 1983, produced by Mitch Easter, and yes it's a stretch!)

Eddie Rabbit -- I Love A Rainy Night (he's not the Easter Bunny, but this Rabbit will have to do with an April Shower?)

Lauren Hill -- Everything Is Everything ("After winter must come Spring")

The Wallflowers -- One Headlight (vivid orange flowers that bring color to Spring bloom)

Poison -- Every Rose Has It's Thorn (and they hurt when they get under your skin)

Talking Heads -- Nothing But Flowers (Top-5 Rock hit in '88, and a reminder to go work on your garden this weekend)

KT Tunstall -- Black Horse and The Cherry Tree (you heard this on SoJO a bunch back in 2005)

Patrice Rushen -- Forget Me Nots (very colorful flowers blooming in Spring, and a Top-20 hit for this One-Hit Wonder in 1982)

Wild Orchid -- Talk To Me (building quite the garden here, and Fergie blossomed from this 90's girl group)

Queen -- Bicycle Race (time to get the dust off the bikes that have hidden over the winter, and the band features Brian May on guitar)

U2 -- Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (the jockeys at the track, who else?)

Kelly Clarkson -- I Do Not Hook Up (her movie was horrible, but it did take place during Spring Break, and maybe she should have sung this to Justin to end that movie sooner)

Dave Matthews Band -- Ants Marching (think about that Spring picnic and those pests with March, to stretch the point again!)

Next week The Playlist goes to the diamond for the start of another baseball season.  Feel free to add to this week's version of The Playlist, or suggest a theme for a future edition.