Sunday means something different to all of us. Some people wake up bright and early to get after it like any other day, some recognize their sabbath, some play or watch sports, and others take the opportunity to sleep in and relax before the week begins anew.
For me, Sunday is a a catch-22. I want to enjoy the end of my weekend, but I also need to get things done to set myself up for the upcoming week. I can’t fully relax, nor can I fully have fun, nor do I have enough work to treat it as any other day.
Some people refer to these trials as the ‘Sunday Scaries’ – in short, the anxiety that sets in when we realize the ephemeral weekend is slipping away from us and there’s nothing we can do about it. The seven stages of grief can be felt on any given Sunday.
As with any other trial or situation in life, there’s certainly music out there that might make it better, or at least complement it in a way that makes you think you’re meant to be doing whatever you’re doing in that moment. Hence this playlist.
It’s a tricky day for choosing music to play, because you want just enough low-key stuff to enjoy yourself and kick back to, but you also need more lively energy to power through whatever’s on your plate.
I’ve tried to encapsulate those competing themes into a 15-track playlist, which should run for roughly an hour – enough time for you to get a head start on whatever it is you should be doing right now instead of reading this. It’ll rotate every week to include some fitting new releases, but is certainly not limited to new music or one genre only. If variety is the spice of life, then music is the atmosphere of the restaurant of life, where one dines on the dish with the spices, which are variety… aaaand I’m lost in my own extended metaphor. Carry on.
The title of the playlist is an homage to this song by the Starland Vocal Band (1976) about a pretty nice way to spend an afternoon. I’ve included it as a bonus track for this week’s playlist. The original music video is worth the watch, though the song is perhaps best remembered by this scene in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004: my favorite film; don’t judge me).
Besides, ‘Sunday Afternoon Delights’ is a much nicer name than ‘Sunday Scaries’, don’t you think? Happy Sunday.