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rainyday

PartnersMay 11, 2017

Spinoff staff picks: Calum’s top 10 rainy day songs

rainyday

There’s a perfect playlist out there for every scenario. Chances are the Spinoff staff playlists won’t be among them but we gave it a go anyway. Today: Calum Henderson details his very specific playlist for a rain delay at the cricket.

Top 10 Rainy Day Songs

I’ve always dreamed of being a DJ at the cricket. My specific dream gig is to DJ a rain delay in the middle of a test match. While the players take an early tea and the sparse crowd huddle under tarpaulins, I get to bleaken the mood with this melancholy set of rain-themed songs…

1. The Beatles – Rain

Rain / I don’t mind…

Obvious choice, but tasteful. One of Paul’s most lethal basslines. Lyrically, a savage takedown of people who don’t like rain.

2. Jean Paul Sartre Experience – I Like Rain

I like rain / when I’m inside…

Most cricket DJs would go straight for Dragon – ‘Rain’ at this point but not me. I think this is New Zealand’s best rain song.

3. Magnetic Fields – All The Umbrellas in London

All the umbrellas in London couldn’t stop this rain…

What you think you want: Rihanna – ‘Umbrella’. What I, the cricket DJ, know you actually want: the wry, morose songwriting of Stephin Merritt.

4. Prince – 17 Days

Let the rain come down…

Everyone thinks ‘Purple Rain’ is Prince’s best rain song but again, I know better and instead pull out this hard-hitting deep cut.

5. Enya – A Day Without Rain

[No lyrics]

Just when they’re least expecting it… hit ‘em with some Enya. Bam! A few people in the stands start crying at this point.

6. The Clientele – Monday’s Rain

My friends say I’m wasting all my time

The first half of this set was actually pretty upbeat, but with the rain showing no sign of easing, the mood in the stands is about to get VERY reflective.

7. Lucinda Williams – I Envy The Wind

I envy the rain / that falls on your face…

Maybe you came to the cricket to take your mind off a recent heartbreak. As you stare out into the rainy middle-distance, let Lucinda Williams sing your broken heart’s deepest desires.

8. Scott Walker – It’s Raining Today

It’s raining today / but once there was summer and you…

Too far. I’ve gone too far. The few remaining people in the stands are all openly sobbing now. They’re inconsolable. This is terrible.

9. David Kilgour & Sam Hunt – Every Time It Rains Like This

Nothing any friend or fisherman can do…

That’s better. There are few lovelier albums in this world than the one David Kilgour made with Sam Hunt. Everything’s going to be OK.

10. Nils Frahm – Over There, It’s Raining

[No lyrics]

Play has been abandoned for the day. Please, everybody, get home safely.


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