Last day of school playlist

Below is my playlist for my last day of school.  I played it during my drive to school, the hour and a half I spent waiting for check-out time, and the drive back.  I have a staunch all-killer-no-filler policy when it comes to playlists, and I've provided videos for what I feel are some of the most important ones, in case anyone cares to listen.  Apologies for the spacing, which I'm sure will be weirdass, embedding problems, and the length of this post.  Narrowing things down was very much a Sophie's Choice situation for me.

No Surprises--Radiohead  This is the song I always play on the first day of school, but I wanted the summer to reclaim it as I prepare to return to my pretty house and pretty garden.

Finest Worksong--R.E.M.  I love the buzzy anger of the guitar and the worker bee call-to-arms of the time to rise has been engaged.  My car's "service engine soon" light came on during this song, thus diminishing the drive just a bit.

Help Me Mary--Liz Phair  Oh my.  This song helped me cope with days and students I knew were going to be trouble.  I love the venomous way she spits out "basement" near the end. 

Goodbye Stranger--Supertramp  Completely appropriate lyrically.  I've always felt a bit disconnected from this school.  Maybe it's because I'm a high school teacher in a junior high building.  Maybe it's because of the punishing schedule.  Maybe it's the giant gray room with no windows.  Maybe it's the fact that I met so few parents.  Maybe it was my depression and loneliness that lasted nearly two years.  Ah, it's a lot of things.

We Are the Champions--Queen  I played this on my last day of school at Oregon, too.  It could not be more satisfying to sing along with this song. 

L'Arena--Ennio Morricone  I even punched my car's roof a few times while listening to this.  Perfectly timed to end as I pulled into my parking space.

 

Closer to Fine--Indigo Girls  I spent (17) years prostrate to the higher mind, got my paper and I was free.  This was my pull-out-of-the-parking-lot song.  I can sing harmony on maybe four songs, and this is one of them.  I burst into tears several times.

 

Watching the Wheels--John Lennon  The ultimate midlife check-out song, as my friend Melinda once noted.

 

Beyond the Sea--Bobby Darin  I chose this because I always listen to the Goodfellas soundtrack during clean-up day, and this is the summeriest song on it.

Saints--The Breeders  Summer is ready when you are.  And holy crap I am ready, summer.

 

The Other Side of Summer--Elvis Costello  Hilarious, true, and fun to sing.  There's malice and there's magic in every season.

 

Free Ride--Edgar Winter  A tribute to my Dazed and Confused viewing ritual.

 

Heroes--David Bowie  David Bowie got me through my darkest days at this place.

 

Cars--Gary Numan  Ahh, I remember this song being on the school bus radio on my last day of 5th grade.  It seemed so MODERN at the time and is forever linked with summer in my mind.

 

Kodachrome--Paul Simon  When I look back on all the crap I learned in high school... I kind of love and hate that line.  This sucker is diabolically catchy, no?

 

Forgot About Dre--Eminem, Dr. Dre  I've got it memorized, and it takes a lot of listens to memorize this song.  It helped me get into character before my toughest teaching days.

 

Drain You--Nirvana  I don't care what you think unless it is about me / It is now my duty to completely drain you.  Ahh, my beloved students.  ;)  Kurt died during my first year of teaching, and it was the only time I have seen my students visibly distraught over the death of anyone famous. 

The Fly--U2  My favorite song from the year that I began my learning-to-be-a-teacher odyssey.

The Way--Fastball  Plenty of 90s nostalgia on the playlist, and how could I refuse a song with the line an exit to eternal summer slacking?  It pairs nicely with:

 

You Get What You Give--New Radicals  My favorite one-hit wonder from the 90s.  It's just so danged positive.  U2 wish they wrote this song.  I actually read that somewhere.

 

Bittersweet Symphony--The Verve  Try to make ends meet / you're a slave to money then you die.  Sometimes living in the mold of Ms. Eddington became exceedingly unnatural.

 

Interstate Love Song--Stone Temple Pilots  Ahh, STP.  I played the radio in my OHS classroom and heard this song all the time.

 

Right Down the Line--Gerry Rafferty  I used to imagine myself as the woman in this song and Jeff was the singer (because I'm dependable like that), but this week it's been the other way around.  I could not do this without Jeff.  He is a genius, my best friend, and my rock.  And he's more than a little easy on the eyes. 

 

Tower of Song--Leonard Cohen  Driving to school while listening to this song, I was jealous of Leonard Cohen.  I wanted to pay my rent everyday in the tower of art, and now that is what I'm going to do.  I love the image of Hank Williams coughing all night long.  The whole song is amazing.

Overjoyed--Stevie Wonder  So few artists can convey pure joy, and Stevie is one of them.  This song comforts me.

 

Nobody Does It Better--Carly Simon  'Cause yeah, I'm a pretty awesome teacher, if you don't mind my saying so.
 

Theme from Mahogany--Diana Ross  I unironically love the questioning lyric and the melancholy melody--it's nice to finally be able to answer "yes" to these questions.

That Summer Feeling--Jonathan Richman  The perfect song about summer.  I urge you to listen to it if you've never heard it before (sorry about the hypnotic non-video here).  Life-changer.

Thunder Road--Bruce Springsteen  This song has been with me during all of the important moments of my life, and I particularly love the live-with-piano version.

Baba O'Riley--The Who  Another obvious choice.  The indescribable instrumental section near the end of the song sounds like the last month of school feels.

A Day in the Life--The Beatles  I mean, come on.

Comments

[Cindy Swanson]

I thought I was the only person who loved "Right Down the Line," or even paid attention to it! The song is on my mp3 player, along with "Baker Street" and "Home and Dry." I love me some Gerry Rafferty.

Also loved Stevie's "Overjoyed."

[Tiffany]

Loved a lot of this! Thanks for making me go out to iTunes and repurchase some of this because I'm too lazy to dig out and rip stuff I bought when I was in college. You know, the old days back in the early 90's when you had to physically purchase music. :)