Grazing in the Grass: A Picnic Playlist

Aside from the food, the drinks, the dinnerware, the blanket, and the friends, you need eleven things for a truly kick-ass picnic:

1. This big soft-sided Picnic Time Insulated Cooler. Measuring 20" x 13.5" x 9", it’s got ample room for your meats, cheeses, fruit, and booze.

2. through 11. The ten songs in this picnic-flavored playlist, picked (LOL) by me, Meh writer @JasonToon. I won’t inflict this Menudo atrocity on you again; once is enough for one lifetime. Instead, come on and surrey down to a “Stoned Soul Picnic” with the Fifth Dimension:

I was glad to see the Monkees song in last week’s psychedelic country playlist get some forum love, because I’ve got another one this week and I won’t apologize for it. This time, it’s the love-is-a-picnic metaphor “You Bring the Summer” from their new album Good Times, written by Andy Partridge of XTC:

If you have any interest in '60s-style pop or just catchy music in general, don’t sleep on that new Monkees album. It’s fantastic.

The picnics of Wanda Jackson’s youth included heaping helpings of Jesus, she reminisces in “Chicken on the Ground”:

The Young Fresh Fellows bring an eye for detail to their 2007 anthem “Picnic”, the only lyrics I know of with the phrases “carpenter ants”, “potato salad”, “mosquito bites”, and “Wiffle ball”:

What better song to listen to while you’re grazing on your picnic than “Grazing in the Grass” by the Friends of Distinction? Can you dig it?:

Don’t forget the carrots and celery if you’re picnicking with '90s indie-pop janglers Cub, as they warn on “A Picnic” (unfortunately not featuring then-drummer Neko Case):

And if that was too cutesy for you, you’ll really hate the extravagantly childlike “Kits Are Fun”, a sonic cathedral of twee, by the Free Design. I love it myself:

Let’s blast all that sugar out of your ears with “Drive Me to the Park” by the Embarrassment, the cream of the Wichita early '80s punk/postpunk/college rock/whatever scene:

Whew! Now let’s take it easy with the smooth soul of Billy Stewart’s “Sitting in the Park”. OK, it’s about him getting tired of waiting for his lady, but he’s gotta eat something while he’s waiting, right?:

And we’ll shake out the blanket with “Picnic” by Shelly Fabares, better known for “Johnny Angel” and roles in two sitcoms, The Donna Reed Show and Coach. I can’t say it’s a great song, but it’s pleasant enough background music as we’re packing the leftovers back into our insulated cooler:

I hope these ten sandwich jams add some sunshine and flavor to your next picnic. Or at least drive the ants away. Vote for your favorite in the poll below, and suggest your preferred picnic soundtrack in the forum. Until next time, picnic hard!

Waste more of this beautiful Sunday with our playlists past:

• 808: The Drum Machine That Moved The '80s
• Gated Reverb: Boom and Bust
• Songs to Scrub By: Our Shower Playlist
• Beyond the Legend: Bob Marley Deep Cuts
• Library Music: Overdue for Recognition
• Turn On Country Style: Psychedelic Country Nuggets