Come On, Get Happy

Because we're all feeling a little down, or at least feeling the effects of what's going on (plus some seasonal affective disorder for those of us in northern climes), I thought I'd post a list of songs that make me unbelievably happy, no matter what. Sometimes you just need some dance-around-the-living-room tunes.

Disclaimer: These aren't necessarily posted in the way that I would put them on a mix CD, just a random list. And there are some guilty pleasures on here. You know you have some too.

Disclaimer 2: I'm missing some songs, inevitably, and I lost this post once already, so I'm probably missing even more.

Superstition, Stevie Wonder
What I Like About You, The Romantics
Supernatural Superserious, R.E.M.
Anything You Want, Roy Orbison
Anything by the Traveling Wilburys
You Wreck Me, Tom Petty
Everlong, Foo Fighters
Shake Shake, The Subways
Raspberry Beret, Prince
Billie Jean, Michael Jackson
Da Funk, Daft Punk
I Want You Back or ABC, Jackson 5
Ignition, R. Kelly (I know)
Hey Ya!, Outkast
Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
Seether, Veruca Salt
Oxford Comma, Vampire Weekend
Fat Bottomed Girls, Queen
Mysterious Ways, U2
Crater Lake, Liz Phair
Interstate Love Song, Stone Temple Pilots
Spiderwebs, No Doubt
Son of a Preacher Man, Dusty Springfield
The Way We Get By, Spoon
I Like It, I Love It, Tim McGraw
The Twist, Chubby Checker
Find the River, R.E.M.
Rave On, Buddy Holly
Freedom 90, George Michael
My Favourite Game, The Cardigans
Sweet Child O Mine, Guns 'n' Roses
Today, Smashing Pumpkins
Cecilia, Simon & Garfunkel
Sedated, The Ramones
Disturbia, Rihanna
SexyBack, Justin Timberlake
Since U Been Gone, Kelly Clarkson
Mach 5, The Presidents of the United States of America
To Be With You, Mr. Big
Pump It Up, Elvis Costello
Green Onions, Booker T & the M.G.s
Rising Sign, Mike Doughty
Like a Prayer, Madonna
Jealousy, Liz Phair
Jackson, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
99 Problems, Jay-Z
Sunshine of your Love, Cream
Maneater, Hall & Oates
If I Run, Semisonic
Suspicious Minds, Elvis
Electrolite, R.E.M.
Pretty much anything by the Pixies

Funny how a lot of my thinky favorite songs don't make it on here...just the ones that make me want to dance, mostly, or make me feel like the world's OK.

Your turn: What are your faves?

Those Pretty Faces Always Stand Out In a Crowd

So, I've had a weeklong bad mood, pretty much. I swing back and forth, but I've just been feeling tired and overwhelmed and running my fool head pretty much clear OFF, so I haven't been around on the blogs lately. So sorry.

I have a few more things to do tonight and tomorrow, and then I'm finally ready for Christmas and done with some projects. Then I have time to RELAX! I have Christmas to the 4th off, so I'm gonna be all up in this blog when that time comes.

I promise to make it up to you.

In the meantime I'm listening to songs that make me happy. Have you heard the Subways' "Shake Shake"? Go listen to it right now. I'm dancing around in my house to it and I can't help but giggle. See also: Jackson 5.

He's Not Petty

So, last night, because my friend Fatty (who knows of his nickname and is not offended, probably because he's not really fat) is an astute ticket buyer, I was seated in the fifteenth row for a Tom Petty show. (Thanks, Superfat. You rock.)

Tom Petty has been one of my favorite singers for . . . my whole life, I think. It's like I was born knowing the lyrics to all the songs. Tom has comforted me during the rough times. He's celebrated my big moments. He's been with me on summer nights, cruising around with the windows down, volume loud enough to just drown out my singing. Tom understands when I feel like a loser or an outsider. And he understands when I just feel really damn lucky to have the life I have.

I love the jangly guitar, the consistently rhyming lyrics, the basic truths. I love the southern nasal drawl. I love the out-and-out rock. I love his criminally underrated Heartbreakers. I love how approachable and normal they all seem. I love that he loves his job.

I have now seen Tom four times live. Every time has been unbelievable. Last night didn't disappoint. Electrifying. Highlight of the night for me was when he sang "End of the Line," from his days with the Traveling Wilburys (a supergroup that never really became a supergroup...another awesome thing about Tom). I could have died happy. I'm still happy from those four minutes. Sometimes you just have to escape, and I can do that with Tom.

I'm learnin' to fly . . . but I ain't got wings.

Everything just feels all right when Tom's around.

Superstition

More posts later, but I"m on deadline for a story tomorrow.

I just have to say.

Happy Birthday, Stevie Wonder!

Let's give a little love to the legendary genius. I can listen to Stevie in any kind of mood, and instantly feel better. A lot of people get caught up in his '80s "I Just Called to Say I Love You", but come on. To the man who wrote Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Master Blaster, Higher Ground, and my personal favorite—Superstition.

If you don't believe the man was the funk masta, or even if you do, you have to check out his rocking appearance on Sesame Street. No, I am not kidding, and get ready to groove. It's my favorite. Dance with me, now.

ipod love

One of my blogging buddies, Nanette, who, incidentally, introduced me to lots of other bloggers, did a little thing about what came up on her ipod on shuffle. . . first ten songs, no cheating. i totally dug it, so here's my ten with a little commentary.

here it goes again
by OK Go
off Oh No
i bought this record because i had seen their first choreographed video (They're in a backyard, not the treadmills) on youtube. i super dug the song, and then the sticker on it said spin gave it five stars. i don't consider spin a benchmark for whether i'd buy a cd, but it helped it make the cut. i ended up LOVING the whole cd. good rock music.

creep
by TLC
the SNL 25: the musical performances is a great cd. it reads like my teenage angsty years, with nirvana, oasis, hole, beastie boys, the pretenders, alanis morrisette, and more. i loved TLC too though. this version is pretty killer. those songs just
take me back to being sixteen, which has become, sadly, only nostalgia.

heavy metal drummer
by wilco, off yankee hotel foxtrot
i saw wilco open for REM in august of 1999. i remember that because i was so extremely excited to see REM and just wanted wilco off the stage. i was so close i saw michael stipe's eyeliner running down his face. wilco was on its summerteeth tour. i was such a moron at 18. what an awesome doubleheader! now i'm sorry i didn't care about wilco then and every time i hear that record, i wince inwardly at my idiocy. anyway, heavy metal drummer. . . love this song. it reminds me of the kilipino, it reminds me of rocking out with the windows down, it always puts me in a good mood.

e-pro
by beck
off guero
i love the hook in this song, although this record is not my favorite of his. i'm a pretty big beck fan, although . . . of course i like the older stuff. am i stuck in a time warp or just choosy? i don't know.

mean mr. mustard
the beatles
off abbey road
although i adore the white album, i think i love abbey road more. i think my favorite song is oh! darling though. man, they were on a lot of drugs. they seemed so wholesome. . .

so cruel
by u2
off achtung baby
agh. . . this whole album makes my heart hurt. this definitely takes me back to high school, wishing i had a boyfriend. it reminds me of my summer job, working at a wreath factory, in love with the boys who worked there. i can listen to the whole thing over and over, although i haven't listened to it on repeat since my teenage years. there are u2 albums i like that they made after this one, but i think this and the joshua tree are my favorite. did you know that u2 almost broke up over the making of this record?

positive jam
by the hold steady
off almost killed me
either you love 'em or you hate 'em. hailing from minneapolis, now brooklynites, craig finn, who was part of legendary minneapolis punk band LFTR PLLR shout-sings his shoutouts to minneapolis and st. paul over really great guitar riffs. he likes plaid shirts wtih pearl snaps and common-man beer like PBR. i do feel like it's listening to a little slice of the twin cities. positive jam is my favorite song by them.

laughing
by REM
off murmur
REM is my all time favorite band. screw the songs on the radio; michael stipe has always said they were terrible at picking singles. murmur was the band's first album, and a wicked killer one at that. he actually utters my name in one of the songs. sigh. this album soothes me when i'm in a blue mood, simultaneously wrapping me in a warm blanket to cheer me up while saying "you're right, life sucks."

5ives
by heiruspecs
off a tiger dancing
i'm not a huge hip hop person, i won't lie. its not in my daily music routine, although there's pretty much nothing better to dance to. there are some artists, and there are some songs, that cannot be denied. heiruspecs is a crazy talented outfit from st. paul. i love the beatboxing in this song, it is insane.

pop life
by prince
the man. have you seen prince perform? even if you hate him, i guarantee he will convert you at one of his shows. he's electric. he makes your hair stand on end. and because of his antics, you may have forgotten what a completely GENIUS musician he is. he's sexy, he's talented, that voice will melt you. he will, he will, rock you. my favorite songs. . . oh that's hard. 7, nothing compares 2 u, raspberry beret, little red corvette, alphabet street. mmm hmm!


so there you go, a little slice of what's in my ear. i don't feel that it's representative of what i listen to every day, necessarily, but they are artists that are really part of what i love. the funny thing is how so many twin cities bands came up. . . i'm not necessarily so location-centric.

this will be the day where you will hear me say that i will never run away

this should have more accurately been the title of my anniversary story but instead it's my prince review, which i'll keep short. playing three shows in three consecutive blocks on 07/07/07--with one being appropriately shut down by the cops (if de-elevator tries to break you down, go crazy!) at 4 a.m.
the man is 49, and he can rock harder than i can.
can i say that i fall in love with prince more every time i see him? the man is a genius. he's an amazing performer (check those moves), an amazing musician (he played guitar, bass, and piano on saturday night)--my thought is always: does he sit down and write a song.. and think to himself "awwww yeah. 10 million records, right there!" like, who writes raspberry beret? what a perfect pop song.
i think the best part was that he really seriously seemed to be enjoying himself. he was having fun. quoted as saying "if you got a cell phone, yo better use it to call the babysitter, because we're going to be up alllll night."
the fashion sense. mm-hmm. sharp white suit. the only man i know that can wear heels and be sexy. that smile... he maintains that serious-ity so much that it's enjoyable to see him smile.
of course, he's from minneapolis. and there's some hometown pride there, too.
highlights for me: his piano pieces, which he ended with the title line up there...the beginning of diamonds and pearls. i just loooooove when he sings in his lower register, which he doesn't do that often. he stopped the song right there, smiled, giggled, and said "i just have too many hits, y'all... i can't play 'em all!" and strapped on a guitar and rocked out to something else (i can't remember what because i was too busy quivering from diamonds and pearls intro). sheila e rocking out with him--esp. on a glamorous life. wendy melvoin flying into the twin cities at 9:45 when the show was to begin at 8:30...to open the show alongside prince.... purple rain. last time i saw him, he ended with it. he sang cream, which is one ofm y favorite, favorite prince songs. he sang satisfied, off 3121, which isn't one of my faves on the record, but damn if it isn't now.
prince has always been in the background of my life. stuck in my head. sung even when i was playing hopscotch. i remember calling and requesting the song 7 when i was babysitting once, and i made it on the radio. i guess prince has made his fans all feel pretty special at one point or another.
oh. i did a video about prince fans waiting in line for The Work, and the local news channel saw it, and i was on the news, too. it's kinda nerdy but in a post about prince, i can't not say that.
and go read found out about me for another side of the coin--one of my friends who joined me that night.

watch out boy, she'll chew you up!

so what if i don't really feel guilty admitting that i love hall and oates, and that right now i have that song "she's gone...oh-why.. better learn how to face it...she's gone... what went wrong??" in my head?
if i say i don't feel guilty and that my love for the easy-listening duo is completely unabashed.... does that totally discredit my musical snob title? is that so wrong?