I have a BFF who insists that Lionel Ritchie is road music. Really. To paraphrase Taylor Swift (also not a road trip soundtrack), I will never, ever, ever be taking a road trip with her. But sssshhhhh - she doesn't know that yet. I just keep telling her I'm too busy.
In keeping with the theme of progression and reforming my cynicism, I have scratched with a sharp stick all of my CDs (*see definition below) that contained the less-than-positive stuff. I did a LOT of scratching. (Wanna see my blister?)
Good-bye depressing
So good-bye Arcade Fire's "Windowsill". Absolutely great that you're a Canadian band, with a cacophony of sound from lots of nifty instruments. In fact, I'm patriotically happy for your popularity and success. And the lyrics on this one resonate particularly well for me. But the angst... it's kind of bringing me down.
And good-bye to Elbow, especially "Leaders of the Free World".
- "But the leaders of the free world are just little boys throwing stones
- And it's easy to ignore 'til they're knocking on the door of your homes"
Fabulous song. Love the 'dirge' element and oh so directly on point. But not really a happy song, is it? ... "We're caught in a landslide where only the good die young"... no, definitely not happy.
Even good-bye to you, REM's "Bad Day". Catchy music, yes, and admittedly one of my playlist staples for quite some time, but I've moved on. And sorry, Stipe and Co, I had to scratch ALL of the Around the Sun album, much as I loved it unreservedly (I was one of the 5 who did, I think.)
Hello cheerful
(well, cheerful for me):
Starting with the frothy "Island in the Sun", courtesy of Weezer. Doesn't it just make you want to sit back with a tropical coconut drink? Or three? Even the power chords in the chorus don't detract from the lilt of the verses. And the animals in the video are so darn cute!
Next up: "Look Out Sunshine" by the Fratellis. Getting a bit darker (must be the Glaswegian influence), but still a good beat and nobody dies.
Finally, my new signature song - Cage the Elephant "Shake Me Down". Admittedly, not thoroughly cheerful, but the chorus is perfect.
In my life, I have seen,People walk into the sea,
Just to find memories,
Plagued by constant misery,
Their eyes cast down,
Fixed upon the ground,
Their eyes cast down
I'll keep my eyes fixed on the sun
(Even on a cloudy day)
And for those days when I forget, I have a new reminder:
CONTEST: $5 (CDN) for anyone who can find the themes in each of these two sections. The cheerful theme is pretty easy to spot. Hopefully more of a challenge with the angst-y one.
BONUS TRACK: This one just makes me smile (warning: very explicit language): Macklemore & Ryan Lewis "Thriftshop".
DEFINITION SECTION: *CDs - shiny round discs that produce sounds when they are slid into chunky electronic boxes. (Kids, go ask your parents.) Also useful as coasters when your sloppy, spilly friends come over and you want to protect your Roche Bobois. Ok, no one I know actually owns any Roche Bobois. Plus, I suspect that anyone who does own it would have better coasters than old CDs. Unless they are retro-ironic, or something.
