Playlist of the Week: Happy (Music)
It’s nice to have a happy playlist - one that can cheer you up when you are sad, or enhance a good mood when you feel great. I have a very large happy playlist, which has over 80 songs in it, so I have broken down the highlights into two part; tracks, which have happy music, and tracks, which have happy memories. One for this week, one for next week. This week, I am covering the music-y side – tracks that a really happy feel, positive message and/or upbeat vibe. So here, take a sonic happy pill:
1. “El Scorcho” – Weezer
This is just a nice, happy song. The rhythm has a lot of emphasis on the 3rd beat of the bar, which makes its quite physical – good to walk and dance and drive to. The singing is also just so unashamedly chirpy, and it has a very sweet, crushed up vibe.
2. “On Mercury” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
A truly upbeat track off what was essentially quite a sombre album (By The Way), this track is fast and funky, but with an accessible pop-like feel. Foot-tapping fun, with ace archetypal RHCP vocal harmonies.
3. “Next to You” – The Police
The reggae-ska-punk feel of early Police is just the epitome of upbeat. The sweet youthful message of it being enough to just be with someone when you miss them is also quite heart warming.
4. “Free” – Estelle
Again, a lovely message of positivity is present in this track, but also, for an R&B track, this is really light, comfortable and warm in its production and delivery. It also has a polyphonic, collective musical approach, with lots of parts and lots of percussion.
5. “Let’s Go Surfing” – The Drums
Is there any action more happy and carefree than whistling? Of course not – as this great song by The Drums demonstrates. With cool surf style meets Brooklyn cool guitar parts and a joyously nonchalant positivity, this track is just great.
6. “Little Secrets” – Passion Pit
This track is so filled with upbeat, layered licks, riffs, samples and vocals that it just encourages positive physicality. It has a transcending quality through its complexity, where the track becomes greater than its parts, turning itself into a positive ball of energy.
7. “Go Wild in the Country” – Bow Wow Wow
Again, the polyphonic percussion and complex rhythm section in this track provide a good platform for mad, happy dancing. …’s singing is also so obviously excitable and happy it cannot help but be infectious.
8. “Bang Bang Bang” Mark Ronson & The Business Intl.
Possibly the best thing Mark Ronson has done. The staccato rhythm of the lyrics adds to its cool bounciness, it has a lot of pleasing musical events like pauses and repetition. I also personally cannot help but smile at this much synth. Gotta love synth.
9. “The Way My Heart Beats” – Good Shoes
Yummy, complex and well put together guitar parts really make this song sing. A good degree of build up and release of punchier parts and softer parts is also very pleasing.
10. “A-Punk” – Vampire Weekend
Ah – happiness personified. Such an upbeat song with a wonderfully excitable guitar part and a cute flute part. This track always reminds me of summer, which is never a bad thing.
11. “Tightrope” – Janelle Monae
This track has such cool, whipped rhythms and percussion parts, which just fills you with a jangly positivity. Janelle’s perfect, fast-paced rap-scat with word spilling over word never fails to bring a smile to my face. Foot tapping, finger clicking, this is the funkiest R&B.
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