Sunbeams & Slow Sips

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A Sunday with no plans before noon deserves its own soundtrack. This tape was made for a slow morning with coffee and sunlight, so it's warm, gentle and in no hurry. Nothing here asks you to get up: the songs are soft enough for the first sleepy hour and bright enough to carry you into the day.

It opens with Neil Young's "Harvest Moon", a gentle strum and brushed drums, then The Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning", with its soft chimes and hushed vocal. Jack Johnson's "Banana Pancakes" is a song about staying in because it's raining and there's no need to go outside, and Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On" and Jill Scott's "Golden" let the sunshine in, breezy and soulful. Jack Johnson comes back with "Better Together", as easy as the first.

The middle drifts. Arctic Monkeys' "Cornerstone" is the band at their softest, Alex Turner telling a wry, wistful story, and Childish Gambino's "Feels Like Summer" is a lazy, warm groove. Then the coffee kicks in: Blur's "Coffee & TV" is jangly and quietly hopeful, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' "Home" opens with whistling and turns into a happy duet, and The Lumineers' "Ho Hey" is all stomps, claps and shouts. Bob Marley & The Wailers' "Three Little Birds" ends it with its promise that every little thing will be all right.

The songs span more than fifty years, from the sixties of The Velvet Underground to 2018, mixing folk, soul, indie and reggae, but they share the same unhurried warmth. Good for a slow breakfast, a long shower, or one more chapter in bed. Put it on as a YouTube playlist and let it run; if the morning turns into a lazy afternoon, play it again. And if the weather has other plans, make a tape for a grey Sunday instead.