new years eve playlist s'il vous plait!

assuming you're french and a fan of my musical taste and in need of a new years eve playlist, you may have found this choice of a title appropriate. otherwise, please ignore. okay now that i've gotten that off my chest, let's get cracking on forming your tune selection for the evening. i am attending a house party in which my ears will be at the mercy of the host, but if you plan to do something more lonesome like spend the night by yourself on the roof of a building that overlooks an urban skyline (see also: this is what i would ideally be doing), this may be right up your alley. and so:

blue jeans-lana del rey
i still don't really know who lana del rey is or why i should care and/or shake my fist at her. i do know that i enjoy her music, though, even if the music video that everyone was so jazzed about for 'born to die' was one of the more terrible things i've ever seen. if i were celebrating new years eve in the desert huddled around a burning trashcan, i would most definitely choose this as the opening track. i would also probably do a lot of shifty sideways glancing at the other people standing around the trashcan. they would be wearing fingerless gloves and we would all look unhappy as a group. and we would probably throw 2011 in the fire and give it a lot more importance and attention than it really deserves. see also: i still went grocery shopping and sat down in 2011.

i go deep-jim rivers
this is what i would listen to while getting dressed and trying on three thousand different outfits and realizing that i have nothing to wear. and i'd also realize i didn't even really want to go to this party, or maybe i did though, i wouldn't be sure. so i would sit down and stand up and pace and repeat and i'd finally end up going to the party. it'd be a decent time.

in the dark places-pj harvey
this is what i would listen to if i were looking in the fridge for more beer but then got distracted by all the weird condiments in the side of the door.

mer du japon-air
this is what i would listen to if i got invited to a party where all the men were wearing black suits and had five o'clock shadows and bright white teeth (you would never see them smile with their teeth, but you still would know they were bright white). they would not be wearing ties. the lighting would be greenish, and you would be in a swanky apartment full of floor-to-ceiling windows. see also: i would never get invited to this party unless i was reincarnated as an earring worn by a female party guest. she'd be wearing a long dress, probably red.

with every heartbeat-robyn
this is what you would listen to if you were stuck in traffic in the ten minutes before midnight. it would still be possible to arrive on time, but that window of opportunity would very quickly be closing. you'd be bouncing your knee and and chewing your nails and gripping the door handle. you wouldn't tell us if you got to the party or not, but we would assume the best for you.

coastal brake-tycho
i would listen to this while confetti was falling and champagne bottles were popping in a mix of slow and fast motion.

goodbye-ulrich schnauss
i realize this may be overkill as i posted the youtube video just a few days ago, but this is definitely the kind of song that i would like to be listening to at the stroke of midnight in a crowded room of happy strangers. in this scenario i would also be invisible, and the music would drown out all celebratory sounds. as an aside, i also think this song would make a lovely movie trailer for an action-drama.

high school lover-air
more air! see also: air is a very good new years eve band. anyway, this is what you would listen to at around 4:47 in the morning. everyone would be passed out, and there would be empty plastic cups and bits of colored paper littered on the coffee table and the ground. you would be sitting in the middle of the couch. someone spilled a drink on the cushion to your right. you'd be hunched over with your head in your hands because you just realized you forgot something really important like your wallet or your kid in 2011. and now that it's 2012 you can't go back through the door to retrieve the thing you left behind. you probably try to pour yourself a glass of champagne to feel better about this horrible error, but all the bottles will be empty apart from a few droplets. so you sigh and return to your former head-in-hands position.

flowers bloom-high highs
maybe you listen to this closer to 6 in the morning, probably near the edge of some woods in the backyard. the sun is coming up but the sky is that terrible gray and yellow colour that makes your stomach feel cold. you realize that all your attempts at successful resolutions for 2012 are futile, but you feel okay about it.

ambitions-donkeyboy
this is playing as you leave the party in the morning. you high-five everyone in slow-motion. somebody's got marker on their face.