The days are getting longer and I actually leave the office while it’s still light out – it’s a super novel concept but I’m digging it. What this really means is that I’m not a grumpy ball when I get home and I think you probably figured that out just by glancing at this week’s Music Monday playlist. I also did some damage at Zara this weekend, both in store and online, which I feel like is super exciting – for me and my wardrobe at least.

1. Elle Me Dit – Mika
   • Let’s start this one off with something different. I love – love – Mika, mainly from my middle school days but I didn’t realize he had French songs until a couple of years ago. Thanks Mike, for going to Quebec and making a music video to this song. I like French pop for background music, 1) because I like to lie to myself and pretend I’m absorbing the language, but mainly because 2) the words will never accidentally get typed into whatever chat or document I’m in at the time. Do you guys get that? Like your brain is on autopilot and just transcribes things around you?
2. Cheap Sunglasses – RAC
   • RAC is stupidly cheerful, I love it. Honestly, most of this mix should be the soundtrack of a happy puppy prancing around a field of flowers and steak. Highly recommend this in the morning because it’s so peppy.
3. Dear Maria, Count Me In – All Time Low
   • You know, I don’t have to defend this choice or even explain it, because it’s All Time Low. I was pretty tempted to put in some Boys Like Girls in this mix too but I felt like maybe I need to keep the early 2000’s throwbacks to a minimum.
4. Sound of Change – Dirty Heads
   • Are you in need of a motivational song? Are you secretly a movie protagonist at the point in the movie where they have a montage of them making big changes to their life? This is the song for you. But actually, I need you guys to listen to this song just because I know that the beginning chorus reminds me of another band but for the life of me I can’t figure it out.
5. Gravity – John Mayer
   • Aaaaand slowed this way down. Wow what a curveball I just threw you. Wow look at that super apt use of a baseball (??) idiom. As a person I think John Mayer can be kind of a knob, but his music does a pretty good job of pretending he’s not.
6. The Swan – Camille Saint-Saens
   • Started and ended this Music Monday on things that I don’t normally put on here! I do however listen to a lot of orchestral music, largely in part due to my four years of being a music student during high school. I can throw music buzzwords at you like rocket theme and crescendo, but now I just have a slightly above average rate of success at identifying concertos (sorry Mrs. BK). I love the cello because of how expressive it is and Wikipedia is trying to convince me that it’s the most similar to the range of the human voice. While we debate that, watch this extremely unnerving video of a piano that has been programmed to basically talk.