On weekends in springtime, when the warmer weather has yet to click into place, relaxing can be hard. It’s sunny, but for how long? Don’t ask questions, just get out there and get into it. The day is a wave and you need to catch it. The wools and downs, winter’s armor, are useless today. Today, when you’ll learn to get dressed again. The same thing every year, but every year it’s still a jolt.
Don’t overthink it. Here’s some music to help.
The playlist, a collaborative effort by readers of The Morning, is a big sprawling thing. It has more than 1,000 songs that have been bringing readers joy lately, more than 1,000 tracks that are “that song” for someone — the one they put on when they want to feel up, to feel better, to set the stage for a good day or to turn their mood around.
The mix is multifarious, unpredictable, full of old favorites and new stuff you might love or might skip. Jimi Hendrix. Harry Styles. Bob Seger. De La Soul. The National. The Little River Band. Wet Leg. More than one Chumbawamba song. We weren’t able to include every song submitted, but at over 24 hours, the playlist is more than long enough to provide a soundtrack for your entire spring. Put it on while you’re making breakfast, while you’re running errands, while you’re on a long drive.
The other evening, I got a meeting time wrong and arrived an hour early. I sat down in the sun. How long had it been since I found myself with a totally unscheduled hour in a strange place? I challenged myself to just sit and look, to resist the impulse to catch up on emails or distract myself with texting. The sun started to set, it got chilly, I didn’t have a jacket. I stayed outside anyway, appreciating that evening chill that is winter saying it’s not done with us yet.
For more
Break down spring cleaning into manageable chunks.
Here are 22 works of fiction to read this spring.
“A possible self can take you beyond daydreams, which are often fleeting and not necessarily grounded in reality.” If spring is a time of rebirth, why not a rebirth of your self?
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
Alec Baldwin returned to the set of “Rust” as the charges he faced in the shooting death of a cinematographer were dropped.
Stars of the Netflix series “Beef” called a story of sexual assault by another actor on the show “undeniably hurtful.” He has said he made it up.
By settling a defamation lawsuit, Fox News made clear it would keep its audience in a bubble at all costs, The Times’s James Poniewozik writes.
After social media users panned Frank Ocean’s Coachella set and shared a fake hit from Drake and The Weeknd, The Ringer asked: What is artistry in the age of A.I.?
Outside a stadium in Tampa, Fla., hundreds of Taylor Swift fans waited overnight in the rain for Eras Tour merch.
The choreographer Benjamin Millepied remade “Carmen” to capture her essence and tell a modern story. (Read The Times’s review.)
Naomi Watts and Elle Fanning: 40 female artists share the younger women who inspire them.
A descendant of the painter Camille Pissarro teaches life drawing in New York.
The future of social media is full of ads and influencers, Brian X. Chen writes.
Book bans are rising rapidly in U.S. schools, driven largely by organized efforts and new legislation.
A star of “Kokomo City,” a documentary about Black transgender sex workers that won awards at the Sundance Film Festival, was shot to death.
A former member of the boy band Menudo said he was sexually assaulted by Jose Menendez, whose sons gave a similar rationale before they were convicted of killing him in the 1990s.
The death of the singer Aaron Carter in November was ruled accidental: He drowned in his bathtub after taking sedatives and inhaling a spray cleaner, officials said.
THE LATEST NEWS
The Supreme Court said that the abortion pill mifepristone would remain widely available for now while an appeal of a lower-court ruling moves forward.
Here’s what to know about mifepristone and how it’s used.
The suspect in the leaks of classified U.S. documents had been posting sensitive information online since soon after the start of the Ukraine war.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s debt legislation would only modestly change the nation’s debt trajectory and is also aimed at President Biden’s energy agenda.
Representative George Santos’s former campaign treasurer used accounting practices on other campaigns that drew suspicion.
The N.F.L. suspended three players indefinitely for betting on league games. Two others received more modest punishments for betting on other sports.
CULTURE CALENDAR
???? “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” (Friday): A key text for many an adolescent girl is finally making it to the big screen after more than a half-century. But as Judy Blume herself admits, sometimes things are worth the wait. (A new documentary, “Judy Blume Forever,” is also streaming on Amazon Video.)
???? “Perry Mason” (Monday): It has brought me joy to see Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys — one of my favorite on- and off-screen married couples — back on television after the finale of their great show “The Americans” five years ago. Russell plays the U.S. ambassador to Britain in the new Netflix series “The Diplomat.” And Rhys will end his second season in this reboot of the strong, but still under the radar, reboot of the classic TV legal drama.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Yellow Sheet Cake With Chocolate Frosting
It’s my birthday this week, so why not bake me a cake? Just kidding! But if you are on the lookout for the perfect yellow sheet cake with chocolate frosting, you can’t go wrong with Erin Jeanne McDowell’s recipe. I especially love the frosting, which somehow manages to be both deeply chocolaty and light. If you’d prefer a more classic layer cake, you can bake the batter in two 8-inch pans, and start checking them after 25 minutes. You can even bake and frost this cake a day ahead. Just store it in the fridge until ready to serve. It’s excellent both cold and at room temperature.
REAL ESTATE
A mobile work space: What if your home office was a train?
Container garden: There’s a design formula: a thriller, a filler and a spiller.
What you get for $3 million: A circa 1718 house in Charleston, S.C.; a duplex penthouse in Hoboken, N.J.; or a Tudor Revival in Highland Park, Texas.
The hunt: Looking to downsize, a pianist still needed enough space for a grand piano. Which home did he and his partner choose? Play our game.
LIVING
Crimp your hair: Rihanna and Zendaya are.
Modern Love: A couples therapist who struggled with marital confrontation.
Seasonal allergies: Why do some people develop them in adulthood?
Travel: Spend 36 hours in Lisbon.
Strep on the rise: How to minimize your risk.
ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER
Deep-cleaning dust
If the spring bloom gives you watery eyes, itchy skin or other seasonal allergy symptoms, a canister vacuum may bring some relief at home. Of all the options Wirecutter experts have tested, Miele’s — with tightly sealing bags and high-quality filters — were the strongest, deepest-cleaning and most reliable. If you suffer from particularly bad allergies or asthma, you can add a HEPA filter. Mine even helped capture dust mites that gave my daughter eczema. A relief for all. — Christine Cyr Clisset
For step-by-step advice on how to keep your home squeaky clean, sign up for Wirecutter’s Clean Everything newsletter.
GAME OF THE WEEKEND
Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors, N.B.A. Playoffs: The Kings are in the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, while the Warriors’ stars — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green — have won four titles together. But the youthful Kings dominated the aging Warriors for the first two games. The Warriors won Game 3, thanks to Curry’s 36 points. Game 4 is crucial: If the Warriors lose, they face an elimination game on the road, where they have been dreadful all season. 3:30 p.m. Eastern tomorrow on ABC.
For more
“Light the beam!” A towering purple laser lights the sky over Sacramento after every Kings win.
The Kings’ Mike Brown won coach of the year, and their point guard De’Aaron Fox won the inaugural clutch player of the year award.
Domantas Sabonis, the Kings’ center, came up in the shadow of his Hall of Fame father, Arvydas.
NOW TIME TO PLAY
The pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was virtual. Here are today’s puzzle and the Bee Buddy, which helps you find remaining words.
Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week’s headlines.
And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku.
Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — Melissa
Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com.