The Shit List: Songs To Play On A Rainy Day In The Windy City!

There's no better major city to be in on a rainy day than Chicago.  The streets take on an oily glisten and the green of the leaves on every tree becomes just a little more vibrant.  The beat of the city is joined by a chorus of raindrops hitting a million different surfaces and if you listen closely, you can hear the city, the rain, and the human heart all beating as one. 

There are probably as many songs about rain as there are raindrops, but the songs that comprise today's Rainy Day In The Windy City playlist are those songs that come closest to capturing that hint of sadness and introspection that so many of us feel on a day like today.

Set Fire To The Rain - Adele

I know, I know, picking an Adele song is like an urgent text at three in the morning from Captain Obvious, but that doesn't lessen the emotional impact of this collaboration between Adele and producer Fraser T. Smith that became the centerpiece on Adele's mega-hit album, 21.

With an opening verse like "I let it fall, my heart/And as it fell you rose to claim it/
It was dark and I was over/ Until you kissed my lips and you saved me", one can already feel the emotional pull of attraction that is destined to become the memory that forever haunts us in those darkest of moments.

Happy When It Rains - The Jesus and Mary Chain

Ever tried playing a Motown classic during a rain storm?  It doesn't work, too bubbly, but that's why it's always good to have a little JAMC handy.  They deliver the same earworm chorus, but with a vaguely plaintive darkness that makes it perfect for days like today.

Coming Up Close - Til Tuesday

This standout track from the criminally-ignored second Til Tuesday album, Welcome Home, doesn't have "rain" in the title, nor does it seem to be about rain, but it so perfectly captures that feeling of knowing that the moment in which you are living at that very moment will be one you'll find yourself reliving a thousand different times on a day like this.  There is something decidedly joyous in losing yourself in that moment and letting the rain and tears mix together; the taste of life being lived and savored.

Stormur - Sigur Ros

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that I have no idea what the words are to this ethereal tour de force by Icelandic band Sugur Ros, but it feels right on a day like today.  Maybe it's because I don't know what they're singing that I'm able to let the raindrops beating against the window fill in the gaps while the music itself is alternately hopeful and melancholy.

Rain - The Beatles

This one's always been one of my favorite tunes by the fabs because it so perfectly captures that moment when the cheery, "She Loves You" sheen of Beatlemania gave way to a world-weary and brooding vibe that fit Lennon's voice perfectly.  Plus, look at Ringo in the above clip, he loks like he just lost his dog.  This was a decidedly different Beatles, perfect for a rainy day.