Weekly Top 10: Songs for Spring

Though spring has actually been upon us for the past week and a half, the 70-degree temperatures currently in my locale have finally made it official. Below you'll find tracks both about spring and evocative of spring as well. Some may be more obvious (The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun"), while others may not jump out right away (Wilco's "Hummingbird"). Still, an enjoyable, seasonal collection. Check it out.

[Previously on Animal Noises: Weekly Top 10: SXSW Acts (Part 2)]

Weekly Top 10: Summer Songs

In keeping with the feature we relaunched last week, we'll be posting up 10-track playlists on Thursdays every week from now on. These playlists are themed in some way, and this time we chose summer. So enjoy. Oh, and my apologies for not having the actual Beatles version of "Here Comes the Sun". Imeem doesn't have most of the band's catalog, so hopefully George Harrison and Paul Simon will suffice.

Matt's Track of the Week: "Blue Jay Way"

Song: Blue Jay Way

Artist: The Beatles

Album: Magical Mystery Tour

Year: 1967

Although at times his contributions to the group have been overshadowed by the work of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, when speaking of The Beatles, we can't overlook the number of classics which were authored by Mr. George Harrison.  Songs like "I Me Mine", "Something", "Within You, Without You", and my track of the week, "Blue Jay Way", are all standouts on their respective records, and some of my all-time favorite Beatles tunes.

"Blue Jay Way" was written by Harrison while he was waiting to be joined by friends on a foggy night, at a house on a Los Angeles street of the same name.  As the lyrics of the song suggest, his friends got lost in their travels, and he was left there alone, hoping it wouldn't be very long before they arrived.  Soon the minutes turned to hours, and before he knew it, it was almost morning.  It's hard to believe that such a simple idea could give birth to one of the more experimental songs ever to make it onto a full Beatles LP.  Unfortunately the audio for this one wasn't available on Imeem.  You can check it out in the video below.

John's Track of the Week: "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"

Track: I Want You (She's So Heavy)

Artist: The Beatles

Album: Abbey Road

Year: 1969

Sorry to include another track having linkage to The Beatles in any way, but this song had to be discussed.  For the past week, I've been listening to a lot of The Beatles (among other artists, of course), specifically 1969's Abbey Road.  One of my favorite albums of all-time, it's layered with classics, the true epitome of the band's diverse body of work.  The track that stands out the most, however, is "I Want You (She's So Heavy)".

Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney (with input from Yoko Ono), the song explores a very different side of The Beatles.  The melody and verse are simple, repeating the same words and guitar chords in descension.  It delves into a part of psychadelia and almost prog-rock with its grinding, driving guitar and spiraling vocals.  I'd consider this to be the band's heaviest song, while others may insist "Helter Skelter".  Either way, still a very enjoyable listen.

Unfortunately, due to Michael Jackson owning a good portion of The Beatles' library (among other reasons), the track isn't available in its original form on Imeem.  However, the version of the song from the motion picture, Across the Universe is, and should suffice.