Perfect Hangover Playlist (For the Day After)

Toward the end of your short little banking holiday vacation, you hit your partying stride. You and your friends seem to be all working on the same page, which often leads to bouts of warbly group karaoke. Guided by Voices' "How's My Drinking" was custom tailored for this situation. Turn it up loud, but not too loud.

Unfortunately, that stride you're hitting usually leads to nowhere good. It could be that dark quality that brings us to the party in the first place, though. Either way, the Pixies' "Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)" will carry you away to oblivion, which will take the form of a wadded-up jacket for a pillow and a very hole-filled Afghan blanket behind the couch. Also, it reminds you of how awesome that movie Pump Up the Volume was, and you decide you just might watch it tomorrow.

Waking up in a strange place with a debilitating headache is never a good feeling. You realize you were awoken by a song on repeat playing loudly on the stereo in a room full of unconscious bodies curled up on the couches and corners. The song is the Cure's "Fascination Street," and maybe it's the first time you've really appreciated what a cool song it is. When it starts over at the beginning, you sit and listen to almost all of it before getting up to look for the bathroom.

It's a bummer, but sometimes these nights happen to help us forget something bad that happened, like a blowout with your significant other. Or did the blowout happen because of the kind of night it was? Sometimes it's tough to tell those apart. But Lucero's got you covered. "Nights Like These" pretty much says it all.

Your situation probably isn't as bad as Mike Cooley's is in the Drive-By Truckers' song "Women Without Whiskey." But it still has some wisdom to it that might help you decide to leave the party early next time, like the line 'Whiskey don't make you do a thing, it just lets you.'

Beck's "Nobody's Fault But My Own" will help you cop to making some bad decisions over the weekend. Plus, this classic song from one of Beck's more under-appreciated album, Mutations, is pretty easy on the noggin, which we know you will appreciate.

Once you get some coffee and aspirin in your belly, you wonder what you're going to do next. You walk past a small restaurant with a couple of empty tables out front. "Summer Wine" is playing on a small radio set just beside the entrance. Why not get some lunch and let Lana Del Rey's voice help you forget your headache?

You know what? A beer or two might help your head. You're probably not getting anything done today anyway, what with the way you're feeling. And as luck would have it, you've shown up at happy hour. Kings of Leon know how you feel. Just check out their raggedy tune, "Dusty," from their first album, Youth and Young Manhood.

Feeling better now, what's next for the day? Who knows? You've got your second wind and your headache's finally under control. Might as well see what everybody else is up to. And Tei Shi's "Nevermind the End" gives you just enough pep in your step to go home and shower before meeting your friends at the bar.

There's a kick-ass song on the jukebox at the bar. It's White Lung's "Drown With the Monster." You get three steps inside the door before a friend puts a shot of whiskey into your hand. As the French say, "C'est la vie." We can do this playlist all over again tomorrow.