ramble on, baby.
Internet, today a brilliant thing happened to me. My old iPod, which I thought was gone forever, turned the fuck up. IT WAS TRAPPED IN THE BOTTOM OF A BAG I HAVEN'T USED IN LIKE TWO YEARS, THERE WAS A FOLD OF FABRIC I GUESS I NEVER CHECKED, dfhsdfsdkf. And, see, when I lost this iPod it was a double tragedy, because in a bad coincidence I also lost half of my laptop harddrive the same week, so a shit ton of music was just forever lost. Or so I thought! Point being, after some time with Senuti and some flailing squee, I am in possession of ten gigs of music I thought I'd never see again.
I am the happiest camper. I am the happiest camper of them ALL.
So this, right, this is a mix of songs that make me happy, complete with rambling thoughts about all of them. It's, er, sort of part random indie music and part terrible 90s songs and part classic rock education? WHATEVER. THESE ARE THE HAPPY SONGS.
Happy As Fuck, Yo: The Mix
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer - George Thorogood
Okay, folks, here's what you've gotta understand: this song, in its true form, is, in fact, two songs. If you think "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" starts with the line "One bourbon, one Scotch, and one beer," you are fucking wrong, and also you are missing out. The first half of this, the part that the radio cuts off half the time because there's assholes, the part some folks sadly don't know, is about how our hero ended up in the bar ordering all those drinks to begin with. IT IS BETTER THAN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SONG, AND THAT IS REALLY SAYING SOMETHING. The full version of this song is the pinnacle of George Thorogood's brilliance, and do not argue with me on this. I don't care if you like Bad to the Bone better. I don't care if you'd rather listen to Hello Josephine. I am generally very open to considering everyone's opinion, even if they're opinions I don't share, but not on this; I have seen this man live, and this is as good as it gets.
You stick with that and I'll be real nice. Lord, I'll be lovey-dovey.
One - Aimee Mann
This is the first of two really fantastic covers on this mix; this is Aimee Mann singing Three Dog Night's (well, okay, technically it's a Harry Nilsson song but Three Dog Night made it famous) "One is the Loneliest Number." It's Aimee Mann--do I even need to say that her voice is amazing? The song was brilliant to begin with, a classic, and this version is musical orgasm heart explodey joy brilliant WIN. Is it a happy song? Notttt really. Does it make me happy anyway? YES. It's Aimee Mann covering Three Dog Night, it's basically my musical wet dream, hnnnnnng her voice.
Cheap Guitar - Richard Julian
RICHARD MOTHERFUCKING JULIAN OH MY FUCKING GOD. Okay so THIS DUDE, right, I love his music but it is impossible to find, and I got it from a friend back in the days when I was just plugging my iPod in eeeeeerywhere (read: college) and then when I lost the iPod I COULD NOT FIND HIS STUFF AGAIN. Two songs I've made due with, I could only find two of his songs forEVER, and now, hello, hello, I have him back. This song is about how love can be like a cheap guitar or a rank motel, and I just. His voice is so unique, so gorgeous, and his style is just so unbearably fucking cool, the things he makes his guitar do, oh, Richard, hi hi hi never leave me again.
Unbelievable - EMF
You know this song from the 90s and/or the fifteen million different movies it's been in; I know it because it is the best breakup song ever. Seriously--when you are pissed the fuck off at someone and just want to yell, you crank up this shit and start screaming along with it in the car. It will make you feel better and you will be laughing by the end, because it is such a ridiculous, terrible song. If you are not laughing by the end, lather, rinse, and repeat, it'll work the second time.
Your Mother Was the Lightning - The Court & Spark
OH MY FUCKING GOD I FORGOT ABOUT THIS FUCKING SONG HNNNNNG IT IS THE BEST SONG EVER HNNNNG. First of all, the band is named after a Joni Mitchell song--my seal of approval, they have it. Second of all, this song meanders around a story with these gorgeous lyrics and music that just draaaaaaws you in, and the lead's voice is amazing. Yes. Yes. Yes. YES, I CAN'T BELIEVE I ALMOST LOST THIS SONG FOREVER, SDFHSDJF
Young Folks - Peter Bjorn & John
This song is just. I just. Happiness, I don't even know why--that is such a lie, I totally know why, it is the use of WHISTLING, there is not enough whistling in music today, everyone should whistle in all of the songs because it is brilliant and I love it.
Sheep Go to Heaven - CAKE
Okay, guys, here's the deal: I love CAKE. I love CAKE more than actual cake, and I had to resist the urge to put Mexico/Never There/Shadow Stabbing/Italian Leather Sofa/I Will Survive/sixteen other songs on this mix too, because when I lost my old iPod I lost the entire CAKE discography, and I couldn't bear to purchase it/find it again, because I did not feel I deserved it after losing it so carelessly like that. SO THIS IS ALL MY CAKE BEING BACK, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG.
And this song, you know, thematically, doesn't necessarily seem like the happiest thing ever, until you spend a minute with the line, "As soon as you're born you start dying/so you might as well have a good time." Because you know what, CAKE, that's a little morbid, I recognize that, but I see what you are saying there, and I am about it.
Ramble on Rose - The Grateful Dead
Okay, non-Deadheads on my flist, I'm not going to try to convert you. I'm not going to go into how this is a version of this song from the Europe '72 tour and they could still harmonize back then and Jerry still mostly remembered the words when he sang. I'm not going to talk about how this song in particular is such a quintessential Jerry song, because you guys are not Deadhands and I can respect that. However, I am going to tell you that this song, like many of the Dead's songs, was written by Jerry Garcia and a guy named Robert Hunter. Robert Hunter was a poet, you guys, like, I can't even--part of this song is about Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, I get it if you don't like the Dead, I do, but if you don't like this song, try just…looking up some of Robert Hunter's lyrics sometime. Ripple, Comes A Time, Box of Rain, just, seriously, trust me on this.
ALSO WHATEVER THIS IS THE BEST VERSION OF RAMBLE ON ROSE I OWN AND I THOUGHT I LOST IT FFFFFFF YES
Pencil Thin Mustache - Jimmy Buffet
So, my folks are Parrotheads, I listened to a lot of Buffet as a kid. I think I might have posted something about this song at some point once, but whatever--it was my favorite of his when I was growing up, and I still love it to death. It's just so fun! Plus, I think we all want a pencil thin mustache so we can solve some mysteries too, right? Right.
No Particular Place To Go - Chuck Berry
You guys don't really need me to say anything about this, do you? If you do, stop reading this post, get thee hence to Wikipedia, and look up Chuck Berry. Then go on Grooveshark or youtube or last.fm or wherever, pick your poison, and listen to Johnny B. Goode (his version, not the fifteen other amazing versions out there, HIS ORIGINAL VERSION). Great, now listen to Maybellene, Rock and Roll Music, and this song--congratulations, you officially know more about rock history and the origins of modern rock than you did ten minutes ago. Chuck Berry was a visionary and a genius and his music is amazing, APPRECIATE HIM.
For added fun, go watch the last fifteen minutes or so of Back to the Future. Funnier now, isn't it?
Lover Undercover - KGB
This is a ridiculous, stupid, and basically terrible song. But it is hilarious and upsettingly catchy, and I can't listen to it without being put in an instant better mood. It follows Chuck Berry on this list just to highlight how much it sucks, because that makes it that much more amusing.
Shake It - Metro Station
Try not to dance while listening to this song. I dare you. I double dog dare you. Hint: you caaaaaaaaan't. Also, for real, best driving song ever. EVER. Blast it on the highway, blast it on the backroads, blast it in residential neighborhoods and relish the dirty looks from responsible citizens watering their yards.
An aside: dance in your cars, guys. Sing in the shower. Rock out with your headphones in whenever you feel like it, whether you're in public or not. People can look at you funny all they want--do not let them rain on your parade. It is my personal life dream to live in a world where people can dance in public without it being a thing, even if they're terrible at it, and YOU CAN ALL HELP ME REALIZE IT. Live without shame. Join flashmobs. Aside over.
L-O-V-E - Frank Sinatra
Fraaaaaaaaaank. Is there any song more happy-making than this? Is his voice not like butter and honey and choruses of smooth, smooth angels? Is it possible to listen to this song and NOT feel better about life/think about the Little Rascals a little bit? I don't think so.
Walking on the Sun - Smash Mouth
…oh, shut up. This song is a BLAST, okay, I don't care what you think about Smash Mouth, I don't care that it's kind of…not that awesome, it's a great driving song, it's got a strong backbeat to shake around to, it's easier to sing along with than All Star, and it makes me grin. JUDGE ME NOT, LIVEJOURNAL.
Jai Ho - A.R. Rahman
You know I made someone send me this the other day because I missed it so much? And then my iPod turned up! (Speaking of which, if anyone on my flist has Bollywood music to rec/that they would be willing to er, hypothetically send to me, shoot me a PM, yeah? MOAR BOLLYWOOD, I had a bunch but lost it all in in that hard drive disaster, because it never ended up on this iPod because this iPod was full. It was deeply tragic and I am still sad about it.)
So, yeah, this is the original version, not that Pussycat Girls nonsense, if you're seeking that you will have to see elsewhere! MY LOVE FOR THIS SONG = A LOT. When Burro and I went and saw Slumdog Millionaire we were the only people in the theatre, and we got up and danced to this like assholes just because we could. LIVE WITHOUT SHAME, I WILL KEEP SAYING IT FOREVER.
Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
I'm not saying this is the best Bob Dylan song. I'm not even saying it's my favorite -- I think at the moment that would be "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again," but it changes a lot, and also which version of which songs I like best changes a lot, because Dylan and the Dead and Janis and Joni Mitchell and [insert other awesome artists here] wrote and recorded each other's shit all the time back then. Actually, one of the coolest things about music from the 60s is how collaborative it was--not that there isn't some of that now, a lot of that now, but it's wrapped up in a different sort of culture. Which makes sense, since the 60s were, Christ, 50 years ago, WHY COULDN'T I HAVE BEEN BORN INTO AN EARLIER TIME, UNIVERSE, I WOULD HAVE DONE BETTER AS A HIPPIE. I COULD HAVE GONE TO WOODSTOCK.
…er. Got off track there. Point being: not saying it's the best, not saying it's my favorite, but for rocking out to it is hard to beat. Subterranean Homesick Alien comes close, but no cigar. Plus, the story and the underlying satire here is really cool, very much in Dylan's typical dissenting vibe, and I dig it, yo. I dig it.
Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash was on my mind anyway because I was introduced to SGA last night and while a lot of the show…most of the show…is weird and really ridiculous, the captain dude has a Johnny Cash poster on his wall, in space. STAMP OF APPROVAL. And then my iPod came back, and hello, various and assorted Johnny Cash that I never got around to replacing because it was all on my Grooveshark playlists anyway.
So, here is the deal: if you do not know this song, that's okay! But stop what you're doing and listen to it right now. THIS IS IMPORTANT. JOHNNY CASH IS IMPORTANT. Do I need you to understand the benefits and pitfalls of naming your son Sue? No. Do I need you to understand the real meaning behind Jackson? Nope. Do I need you to know what I mean when I say I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die? Yeaaaaah, yeah I do. You don't have to like him, but you do have to have heard this song at least once. For science! For justice! For that dude in Reno, especially, he gave up a lot to bring you guys this music.
King of the Road - Rufus Wainwright
The final song on this mix is the other awesome cover--this is Rufus singing what was originally a Roger Miller song. The original King of the Road was great, but kiiiind of a one-hit wonder sort of dealie; this is that brilliance, but layered over with Rufus Wainwright's voice. I'm pretty sure Rufus's voice is illegal in some places it's so good. This song is win.
♥ Download it here, folks. ♥
I am the happiest camper. I am the happiest camper of them ALL.
So this, right, this is a mix of songs that make me happy, complete with rambling thoughts about all of them. It's, er, sort of part random indie music and part terrible 90s songs and part classic rock education? WHATEVER. THESE ARE THE HAPPY SONGS.
Happy As Fuck, Yo: The Mix
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer - George Thorogood
Okay, folks, here's what you've gotta understand: this song, in its true form, is, in fact, two songs. If you think "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" starts with the line "One bourbon, one Scotch, and one beer," you are fucking wrong, and also you are missing out. The first half of this, the part that the radio cuts off half the time because there's assholes, the part some folks sadly don't know, is about how our hero ended up in the bar ordering all those drinks to begin with. IT IS BETTER THAN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SONG, AND THAT IS REALLY SAYING SOMETHING. The full version of this song is the pinnacle of George Thorogood's brilliance, and do not argue with me on this. I don't care if you like Bad to the Bone better. I don't care if you'd rather listen to Hello Josephine. I am generally very open to considering everyone's opinion, even if they're opinions I don't share, but not on this; I have seen this man live, and this is as good as it gets.
You stick with that and I'll be real nice. Lord, I'll be lovey-dovey.
One - Aimee Mann
This is the first of two really fantastic covers on this mix; this is Aimee Mann singing Three Dog Night's (well, okay, technically it's a Harry Nilsson song but Three Dog Night made it famous) "One is the Loneliest Number." It's Aimee Mann--do I even need to say that her voice is amazing? The song was brilliant to begin with, a classic, and this version is musical orgasm heart explodey joy brilliant WIN. Is it a happy song? Notttt really. Does it make me happy anyway? YES. It's Aimee Mann covering Three Dog Night, it's basically my musical wet dream, hnnnnnng her voice.
Cheap Guitar - Richard Julian
RICHARD MOTHERFUCKING JULIAN OH MY FUCKING GOD. Okay so THIS DUDE, right, I love his music but it is impossible to find, and I got it from a friend back in the days when I was just plugging my iPod in eeeeeerywhere (read: college) and then when I lost the iPod I COULD NOT FIND HIS STUFF AGAIN. Two songs I've made due with, I could only find two of his songs forEVER, and now, hello, hello, I have him back. This song is about how love can be like a cheap guitar or a rank motel, and I just. His voice is so unique, so gorgeous, and his style is just so unbearably fucking cool, the things he makes his guitar do, oh, Richard, hi hi hi never leave me again.
Unbelievable - EMF
You know this song from the 90s and/or the fifteen million different movies it's been in; I know it because it is the best breakup song ever. Seriously--when you are pissed the fuck off at someone and just want to yell, you crank up this shit and start screaming along with it in the car. It will make you feel better and you will be laughing by the end, because it is such a ridiculous, terrible song. If you are not laughing by the end, lather, rinse, and repeat, it'll work the second time.
Your Mother Was the Lightning - The Court & Spark
OH MY FUCKING GOD I FORGOT ABOUT THIS FUCKING SONG HNNNNNG IT IS THE BEST SONG EVER HNNNNG. First of all, the band is named after a Joni Mitchell song--my seal of approval, they have it. Second of all, this song meanders around a story with these gorgeous lyrics and music that just draaaaaaws you in, and the lead's voice is amazing. Yes. Yes. Yes. YES, I CAN'T BELIEVE I ALMOST LOST THIS SONG FOREVER, SDFHSDJF
Young Folks - Peter Bjorn & John
This song is just. I just. Happiness, I don't even know why--that is such a lie, I totally know why, it is the use of WHISTLING, there is not enough whistling in music today, everyone should whistle in all of the songs because it is brilliant and I love it.
Sheep Go to Heaven - CAKE
Okay, guys, here's the deal: I love CAKE. I love CAKE more than actual cake, and I had to resist the urge to put Mexico/Never There/Shadow Stabbing/Italian Leather Sofa/I Will Survive/sixteen other songs on this mix too, because when I lost my old iPod I lost the entire CAKE discography, and I couldn't bear to purchase it/find it again, because I did not feel I deserved it after losing it so carelessly like that. SO THIS IS ALL MY CAKE BEING BACK, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG.
And this song, you know, thematically, doesn't necessarily seem like the happiest thing ever, until you spend a minute with the line, "As soon as you're born you start dying/so you might as well have a good time." Because you know what, CAKE, that's a little morbid, I recognize that, but I see what you are saying there, and I am about it.
Ramble on Rose - The Grateful Dead
Okay, non-Deadheads on my flist, I'm not going to try to convert you. I'm not going to go into how this is a version of this song from the Europe '72 tour and they could still harmonize back then and Jerry still mostly remembered the words when he sang. I'm not going to talk about how this song in particular is such a quintessential Jerry song, because you guys are not Deadhands and I can respect that. However, I am going to tell you that this song, like many of the Dead's songs, was written by Jerry Garcia and a guy named Robert Hunter. Robert Hunter was a poet, you guys, like, I can't even--part of this song is about Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, I get it if you don't like the Dead, I do, but if you don't like this song, try just…looking up some of Robert Hunter's lyrics sometime. Ripple, Comes A Time, Box of Rain, just, seriously, trust me on this.
ALSO WHATEVER THIS IS THE BEST VERSION OF RAMBLE ON ROSE I OWN AND I THOUGHT I LOST IT FFFFFFF YES
Pencil Thin Mustache - Jimmy Buffet
So, my folks are Parrotheads, I listened to a lot of Buffet as a kid. I think I might have posted something about this song at some point once, but whatever--it was my favorite of his when I was growing up, and I still love it to death. It's just so fun! Plus, I think we all want a pencil thin mustache so we can solve some mysteries too, right? Right.
No Particular Place To Go - Chuck Berry
You guys don't really need me to say anything about this, do you? If you do, stop reading this post, get thee hence to Wikipedia, and look up Chuck Berry. Then go on Grooveshark or youtube or last.fm or wherever, pick your poison, and listen to Johnny B. Goode (his version, not the fifteen other amazing versions out there, HIS ORIGINAL VERSION). Great, now listen to Maybellene, Rock and Roll Music, and this song--congratulations, you officially know more about rock history and the origins of modern rock than you did ten minutes ago. Chuck Berry was a visionary and a genius and his music is amazing, APPRECIATE HIM.
For added fun, go watch the last fifteen minutes or so of Back to the Future. Funnier now, isn't it?
Lover Undercover - KGB
This is a ridiculous, stupid, and basically terrible song. But it is hilarious and upsettingly catchy, and I can't listen to it without being put in an instant better mood. It follows Chuck Berry on this list just to highlight how much it sucks, because that makes it that much more amusing.
Shake It - Metro Station
Try not to dance while listening to this song. I dare you. I double dog dare you. Hint: you caaaaaaaaan't. Also, for real, best driving song ever. EVER. Blast it on the highway, blast it on the backroads, blast it in residential neighborhoods and relish the dirty looks from responsible citizens watering their yards.
An aside: dance in your cars, guys. Sing in the shower. Rock out with your headphones in whenever you feel like it, whether you're in public or not. People can look at you funny all they want--do not let them rain on your parade. It is my personal life dream to live in a world where people can dance in public without it being a thing, even if they're terrible at it, and YOU CAN ALL HELP ME REALIZE IT. Live without shame. Join flashmobs. Aside over.
L-O-V-E - Frank Sinatra
Fraaaaaaaaaank. Is there any song more happy-making than this? Is his voice not like butter and honey and choruses of smooth, smooth angels? Is it possible to listen to this song and NOT feel better about life/think about the Little Rascals a little bit? I don't think so.
Walking on the Sun - Smash Mouth
…oh, shut up. This song is a BLAST, okay, I don't care what you think about Smash Mouth, I don't care that it's kind of…not that awesome, it's a great driving song, it's got a strong backbeat to shake around to, it's easier to sing along with than All Star, and it makes me grin. JUDGE ME NOT, LIVEJOURNAL.
Jai Ho - A.R. Rahman
You know I made someone send me this the other day because I missed it so much? And then my iPod turned up! (Speaking of which, if anyone on my flist has Bollywood music to rec/that they would be willing to er, hypothetically send to me, shoot me a PM, yeah? MOAR BOLLYWOOD, I had a bunch but lost it all in in that hard drive disaster, because it never ended up on this iPod because this iPod was full. It was deeply tragic and I am still sad about it.)
So, yeah, this is the original version, not that Pussycat Girls nonsense, if you're seeking that you will have to see elsewhere! MY LOVE FOR THIS SONG = A LOT. When Burro and I went and saw Slumdog Millionaire we were the only people in the theatre, and we got up and danced to this like assholes just because we could. LIVE WITHOUT SHAME, I WILL KEEP SAYING IT FOREVER.
Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
I'm not saying this is the best Bob Dylan song. I'm not even saying it's my favorite -- I think at the moment that would be "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again," but it changes a lot, and also which version of which songs I like best changes a lot, because Dylan and the Dead and Janis and Joni Mitchell and [insert other awesome artists here] wrote and recorded each other's shit all the time back then. Actually, one of the coolest things about music from the 60s is how collaborative it was--not that there isn't some of that now, a lot of that now, but it's wrapped up in a different sort of culture. Which makes sense, since the 60s were, Christ, 50 years ago, WHY COULDN'T I HAVE BEEN BORN INTO AN EARLIER TIME, UNIVERSE, I WOULD HAVE DONE BETTER AS A HIPPIE. I COULD HAVE GONE TO WOODSTOCK.
…er. Got off track there. Point being: not saying it's the best, not saying it's my favorite, but for rocking out to it is hard to beat. Subterranean Homesick Alien comes close, but no cigar. Plus, the story and the underlying satire here is really cool, very much in Dylan's typical dissenting vibe, and I dig it, yo. I dig it.
Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash was on my mind anyway because I was introduced to SGA last night and while a lot of the show…most of the show…is weird and really ridiculous, the captain dude has a Johnny Cash poster on his wall, in space. STAMP OF APPROVAL. And then my iPod came back, and hello, various and assorted Johnny Cash that I never got around to replacing because it was all on my Grooveshark playlists anyway.
So, here is the deal: if you do not know this song, that's okay! But stop what you're doing and listen to it right now. THIS IS IMPORTANT. JOHNNY CASH IS IMPORTANT. Do I need you to understand the benefits and pitfalls of naming your son Sue? No. Do I need you to understand the real meaning behind Jackson? Nope. Do I need you to know what I mean when I say I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die? Yeaaaaah, yeah I do. You don't have to like him, but you do have to have heard this song at least once. For science! For justice! For that dude in Reno, especially, he gave up a lot to bring you guys this music.
King of the Road - Rufus Wainwright
The final song on this mix is the other awesome cover--this is Rufus singing what was originally a Roger Miller song. The original King of the Road was great, but kiiiind of a one-hit wonder sort of dealie; this is that brilliance, but layered over with Rufus Wainwright's voice. I'm pretty sure Rufus's voice is illegal in some places it's so good. This song is win.
♥ Download it here, folks. ♥