Scene Selections: Springing into ... Spring!

Unpack those jean shorts and dust off that ATV ‘cause it’s springtime in South Bend. Since nobody in jorts likes to four wheel in silence, we, the Scenesters, have prepared a list of exceedingly springy songs for your listening pleasure. Enjoy responsibly.

“Can’t cool me down” by Car Seat Headrest

By Mike Donovan, Scene Editor

Encroaching climate disaster buoys Springtime’s unearned confidence against the has-been winter. “Can’t cool me down, can’t cool me down,” he sneers at the newly puddled snow and ice — a sense of the industrial hiding behind his crackly voice, tinging fresh flowers with greed’s oily scent. Before long, the pleasantries of this revised springtime wear off, revealing the unseasonably warm weather’s true skeleton: “There is a hole in the ceiling / Everything but me and it has got no feeling / Smoke is pouring out t

he vents.”

“Can’t cool me down, can’t cool me down,” he repeats.

This doesn’t seem like Springtime, not really, we think as we digest his incessant boasting. He’s not himself — possessed, almost. And that’s when we hear the marginal cry: “It’s a time of need and I need you to help me.” Easy to miss amidst the “can’t cool me downs.” He’s about to burn out, and we’re about to let it happen. We’re about to let him burn to a crisp, sacrificing ourselves in the process, all because we refuse to listen.

Listen. “Please.”

“Wag Your Tail” by Okey Dokey and Welles

By Willoughby Thom, Scene Writer

Springtime: the birds are chirping, the bees are buzzin, and the sun is shining!

Oh spring! The time we all escape hibernation and emerge from the supermassive black hole of our dorm rooms to see sunshine after months of the gloom and dreary weather.  All you want to do is “wag your tail, raise some hell.”

It’s a time when things come alive again and become new. The world is like a phoenix, rising from the ashes. More specifically, not only are our spirits lifted but the permacloud is too. The squirrels are fighting in south quad and the flowers are blooming. Maybe not right now, but they will, hopefully. However, even in this time of revival we are still in the midst of chaos— “everything's fine, yet everything's f—d.”

Thankfully, we have one week until we get to escape. Whether “you safe at home” or “got some folks,” enjoy the vacation that marks the beginning to a fast-coming end of the semester and — hopefully — better weather.

But during this time of perceived serenity, “let us all know that you're doing well,” and remember, “you’ve gotta labor if you’ve got a dream.”

“Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles

Nia Sylva, Scene Writer

If you look up and squint, you can just about see those first few golden rays peeking out from behind the cold gray blanket we call a “permacloud.” Soon, you know, we’ll be trading all that darkness for skies as blue as robin’s eggs. “Here comes the sun:” it’s about time.

“It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter.” Fold up your hats and scarves and toss them into the back of your closets, or stuff them into desk drawers next to unopened packs of white-out and miscellaneous paper clips. You won’t need your cold-weather gear until next semester.

“The smile’s returning to the faces.” Peals of laughter and shouts of joy abound in every direction; now that our good old (flaky) friend the sun is back and the temperatures have thawed, North and South quad are awash with rambunctious lawn games. If you don’t watch out, you might get hit by a runaway frisbee — but you won’t mind. This weather is just too nice for you to do anything but grin.

“I feel that ice is slowly melting.” The lake paths are practically pools of mud, thanks to the piles of snow and layers of ice that are beginning to liquify. But you’ll want to run around them anyway.

“It’s alright.” It will be. Tests and papers are a lot more manageable against a backdrop of blue; day-to-day drudgery seems almost exciting when you’re trudging through a campus that’s finally come back to life.