Six Songs That I Might Be OK With Waking Up To Every Morning If I Was Trapped In A Groundhog Day-Like Purgatorial Existence

Today is Groundhog Day, and while rodents on the East Coast are split on whether or not 2012 will actually see something resembling winter around these parts, one thing's for sure: People will probably watch the 1993 Harold Ramis-directed Bill Murray vehicle Groundhog Day, in which the comedian plays a weatherman resigned to relive February 2 over and over and over again until he learns how to be less of a jerk, and, by extension, more OK with himself and the people around him. (It's airing on CMT tonight, in case you were wondering.) In the film, the February 2 that Murray's Phil Connors is stuck inside opens with Sonny and Cher's 1965 chart-topper "I Got You, Babe," which hits its sweetly sappy chorus just as Connor's clock radio flips from 5:59 a.m. to 6:00. This got me thinking: If I was trapped in an existential purgatory that made me have to relive one day until I got a valuable life lesson about myself and the world around me through my thick skull, what song would I be OK with as far as a day-opening jam, albeit one that reminded me of being utterly trapped? Six candidates below. Feel free to nominate yours in the comments!

PJ Harvey, "Let England Shake"

I've actually been waking up to this song lately, in part because the chiming "Istanbul Not Constantinople" bite at the song's opening sounds like the sound of a particularly old-timey alarm clock. (Never let it be said that I'm not afraid to open my day on a downer!)

JJ Fad, "Supersonic"

Just think: If I woke up to this song enough days in a row, I could maybe be able to teach myself the rapidfire spitting at the end.

Bruce Springsteen, "Cover Me"

This song was in fairly heavy rotation on the Z Morning Zoo during its worst-to-first heyday. (I was barred from listening to that program once my mom got wind of the Dirty Joke Of The Day, alas.) That opening guitar lick is like a lightning bolt, although I can foresee the title of this song serving as an excuse for me to whimper to myself, "No, cover me," and huddle back under the covers, terrified of whatever behavior I had yet to change manifesting itself yet again.

Debbie Gibson, "Only In My Dreams"

OK, this would probably make me turn over and moan and wish that I could go back to dreaming, or at least escape the nightmare that was living the same day for the rest of my life (side note: If I lived the same day for 365 years in a row, would I actually age? Would the people around me?). But on the other hand, it's pretty peppy!

George Michael, "Hard Day" (Shep Pettibone Remix)

Won't you give me a break, somebody give me a break now, indeed.

Sleigh Bells, "Comeback Kid"

Haha. Get it? I wonder if I'd get out of my purgatory in time to see this place on Pazz & Jop next January. Motivation, I guess!

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