The Playlist Challenge: When It Rains, Make a Mix

Evan and I were talking the other day about rainy day mixes and how we've probably made hundreds of these. Today is the beginning of an especially rainy weekend in Boston. So, this morning I made a mix.

1. Loney, Dear - Sinister in a State of Hope
I downloaded this Loney, Dear album on a whim. I was about to take the train home to Pittsburgh for the holidays and I needed new music to keep me entertained on the 12-hour ride. Somewhere on the edge of Pennsylvania, I finally pressed play on this album. "Sinister in a State of Hope" was the first track, and as it started, rain began to fall. Few things comfort me like traveling by train through a steady rain.

2. Noah & the Whale - Slow Glass
The live version of this song here does absolutely no justice to the lushness of this song on the record. I have no doubt that this album - The First Days of Spring - will end up being in my top three of 2009. It's beautiful.

3. My Blood Valentine - Sometimes

4. Woods - Rain On
I sprinkled in some "rain songs" [and then I made that pun]. Be proud of me.

5. The Last Town Chorus - Huntsville, 1989
There's no video for this song on YouTube, and it's not on her MySpace page. But it's an excellent rainy day song, so seek it out.

6. Travis - Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
Here for obvious reasons.

7. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - House Fire
The guitar playing in this song sounds like raindrops.

8. Matt Pryor - Dear Lover
Here's another I cannot find a video or MySpace link for. It's delightfully rainy-day-y though.

9. Onelinedrawing - Um…
Onelinedrawing is Jonah Matranga and he grew up in Brookline. This song is sad. And it's OK to be sad on a rainy day like today.

10. Billie Myers - Kiss the Rain
Because it's an awesome song from the '90s that we shouldn't let fade into eternal obscurity.

11. The Album Leaf - One Day I'll Be On Time
Like the SSLYBY song, this song sounds like raindrops. Falling into puddles and onto paper-thin rooftops.

12. Owen - Declaration of Incompetence
My love for Owen is extreme and unwavering. My only wish: that he'd play tracks from his self-titled debut album. He never does, and these songs are undoubtedly my favorites. On rainy days, I often feel a mess. I don't shower in the morning, because it's unlikely I'm venturing outdoors to be with people. I sit and stew and think about the disaster my life has become in Boston [I'm being dramatic]. "If you don't want to see the worst in me … just leave."

13. Rocky Votolato - White Daisy Passing
I remember a night during my sophomore year in college when - on the way to CMJ in NYC - radio station friends and I stopped and stayed with a friend of mine at Bucknell. While my college friends hung out inside, my high school friend and I sat on back porch, the screens just barely protecting us from a cold rain. Though I didn't hear this song until many, many years later, it makes me think about that night on the porch.

14. Phil Collins - I Wish It Would Rain Down
Phil Collins wrote a song with the word "rain" in the title, so of course it's included here.