What Records Help You Chill Out?

noah | April 17, 2009 6:00 pm

Last night, between a very annoying Mets loss and a session of bug-searching, I took some time to listen to a side of the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour while sitting on (well, leaning up against, really) a bean bag, a cold beer in my hand. And I did nothing else. It was nice! It was also the first time in a long time that I’d just spent listening to a record and staring into space and not doing anything else–not even a crossword puzzle. And today is a beautiful spring day in New York City, one that’s perfect for engaging in similar activities (while being outside). Three records that I need to really pull out and just chill out to sometime soon before I go crazy, after the jump. Feel free to share yours!

Broadcast, The Noise Made By People. Given that the climate in the Northeast is slowly (so slowly) edging away from the winter chill, the clock may be ticking on this album’s seasonal appropriateness. But Trish Keenan’s vocals–icy, precise, removed–are, paradoxically, like warm milk.

George Michael, Ladies And Gentlemen The Best Of George Michael: For The Heart. Yes, there’s a lot of emotion, but there’s also a lot of room to just sink in to the music. Scott MacIntyre, your future is in helping stressed-out hausfraus make it through.

Wye Oak, If Children. The aural equivalent of a fifty-foot featherbed and an endless rainy afternoon. Their new album is going to come just in time.

Just a note: It was way too hard for me to come up with just three of these albums. Can I blame the Information Age?