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  • Cheery songs…

    Cheery songs…

    Last week, I had the blues. This week, I’m focusing on cheery songs…

    Last week was not so good for me. A bunch of stuff piled up, causing me to go into minor crisis mode. I found myself listening to the blues a bit, because sometimes a little musical empathy is good for the soul. As the week wore on, I decided to think about more positive things. I realized that cheery songs are better than the blues when it’s time to get over it and move on. So that’s what today’s post is about, cheery songs. And there are a lot of ’em!


    Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” is an obvious entry…

    “Don’t Worry Be Happy” is kind of the anthem for getting over yourself. This song was popular when I was a high school sophomore. It was a huge hit and Bobby McFerrin enjoyed some sudden fame as he was tapped to record the theme song for The Cosby Show during its fourth season on the air. In 1988, George H.W. Bush used the song in his run for president. Bobby McFerrin was notably upset since he neither gave permission for Bush to use “Don’t Worry Be Happy”, nor did he even plan to vote for Bush. But twenty-six years later, it’s still one of my go-to cheery songs.


    A live video of Dr. John singing “Accentuate the Positive”.

    “Accentuate The Positive” is another great song for chasing away the blues. This song is a classic, having been penned by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. It’s been covered by a whole lot of people, from Aretha Franklin to Bette Midler. I’m partial to Dr. John’s version, which has sort of a sassy New Orleans flair. I liked it even before New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but having seen that city bounce back in the years since that huge storm, I appreciate it even more.


    Randy Newman’s “Happy Ending” from his musical, Faust, is another entry in my list of good cheery songs.

    This song is included on the Faust’s 1995 soundtrack for his musical, Faust. On that album, he plays Faust, and at the very end of the album, he sings a song called “Happy Ending”. It’s about moving to Las Vegas, where they’ve got everything! It’s hard not to tap your toes to the jaunty rhythm and the lyrics are pretty funny, too. Randy Newman in general cracks me up, so a lot of his songs are a good bet for snapping me out of a mood. On the other hand, he’s done some bluesy songs, too.


    “Let It Go” from Walt Disney’s Frozen is another song that begs listeners to cheer up.

    I don’t generally get into Disney songs that much, since I don’t have kids and my days of watching Disney movies are long over. However, I can’t overlook “Let It Go”, an anthem from the movie Frozen. This is a song that will resonate with a lot of people who need to snap out of it.


    Billy Joel’s “You’re Only Human (Second Wind)” is an anti-suicide song with a jaunty beat that begs listeners not to forget their “second wind”…

    The melody is very spunky and the video is a bit silly, but the words are surprisingly moving. In fact, even as I smile at the video, I feel tears welling up in my eyes. Maybe it’s not one of the best cheery songs for me, but the message is definitely a consolation for many people.


    “Always Look On The Bright Side of Life”… Yes, Monty Python is probably a better choice for me.

    British humor always makes me giggle, so it’s probably best if I stick with silly songs by Monty Python when I need a mood booster. I love absurd humor, so as I recover from “Second Wind”, I can laugh at the guys in Monty Python as they hang around on their crosses. Blasphemous? Maybe it is… but it made me smile. As a matter of fact, listening to Monty Python Sings never fails to cheer me up.

    Anyway, I’m hoping this week will be somewhat better for you and me. Cheers!

  • My new red dress…

    My new red dress…

    A few songs inspired me to buy my new red dress…

    My husband Bill and I didn’t go out on Valentine’s Day last week. By the time Bill thought to make reservations somewhere, most of the tables at the better restaurants in San Antonio were booked. We could have gone to Dick’s Last Resort and that might have been a lot of fun, but somehow it seemed wrong to celebrate Valentine’s Day at a place with the word “Dick” in its name, even if Dick is a person and not a thing. I didn’t have anything decent to wear, anyway.

    The other night, I asked Facebook friends if I should buy a red dress. I got a lot of affirmative answers. One person reminded me of a song that was very popular in the 1980s and later used in commercials…


    Yes, it’s Chris De Burgh singing “The Lady In Red”. I have to admit, I really like this live version.

    Truth be told, I’ve never been a huge fan of this song. In fact, back in 1986, when it was a very popular number, I actually disliked “The Lady In Red” because it was always on the radio. But I remembered the breathtaking mood of Chris DeBurgh’s now classic song and decided to buy the dress, which arrived yesterday. The dress I bought was recently modeled by a college friend who has lost a lot of weight and inspires others to follow her lead. It looks really great on her.

    The same dress is now hanging in my closet. I tried it on last night, thinking the color was a little brighter than I would prefer. I’m not one to call a lot of attention to myself by what I’m wearing. I try to get attention with my larger than life personality. My husband likes it, but I’m not sure how often I’ll wear it. It’s pretty daring for someone like me.


    I’m not exactly 80s era Kelly LeBrock, though this song by Stevie Wonder is more to my liking than “The Lady In Red” is.

    Ultimately, I decided to buy my new red dress because most of the dresses I have for nights on the town are black. They are comfortable and practical, especially since they can be washed at home. They don’t wrinkle and show off my décolletage, which is probably the best part of my figure. I usually pair my black dresses with a pretty silk shawl. I decided my wardrobe could use more color. I needed “something in red”.


    I sort of identified with Lorrie Morgan’s song, “Something in Red”.

    Of course, I can’t think of red dresses without also thinking of Reba McEntire’s classic hit from 1990, “Fancy”…


    My new dress is red, but it’s not a “satin dancing dress with a split clean up to my hip”.

    But even when I was 18, I wasn’t one for wearing flashy red dresses. I have never “been nice to the gentlemen” for the sake of propelling myself into high society, either. If that were the case, I would probably be a lady who lunches rather than one who writes on music blogs and rarely wears makeup, let alone bright red dresses.

    I just decided I wanted a new red dress in my closet, complete with new red shoes. I’m glad I bought it, too. At least next year on Valentine’s Day, I’ll be prepared for a night out on the town, hopefully not at Dick’s Last Resort. On the other hand, maybe Dick’s Last Resort really is the perfect place for me.

    Have a nice weekend, everybody!

  • Random downloading…

    Random downloading…

    I have found some great stuff via random downloading. I have also found some terrible stuff that way…

    If you are a regular reader of Pop Rock Nation, you know that I am a music lover and enjoy a broad spectrum of musical styles. I often discover music by stumbling across it. If I hear something I like in a bar, for instance, I’ll use Shazam to find out the name of the song and the artist. A lot of times, I’ll then purchase the song. Sometimes I’ll download free songs on Amazon or iTunes. I’ll even pay to download something if the mood strikes me and have quite a few albums in my iTunes library that I bought on a whim.

    Now that I think about it, I’ve actually bought a lot of music that way. Back in the days before the Internet, I used to buy albums without hearing them first. There was a time when there weren’t any “listening posts” in music stores. You basically took a risk whenever you forked over your hard earned money for a new album. Sure, you might have heard a song or two on the radio if the album had a hit or two. But the rest of the album might very well have been a mystery. I had a friend about twenty years ago who often refused to buy albums for that very reason. She only wanted the songs she knew and liked, so she’d buy singles or tape stuff off the radio.

    A couple of weeks ago, I downloaded a couple of albums off of Amazon.com that consisted of Spanish guitar music. I was inspired by our recent trip to Spain and Portugal and wanted something nice in my collection for times when I wanted to make a mental escape back abroad. I kind of knew what I liked and listened to a couple of samples, but otherwise knew nothing about the artists other than what I heard on the short clips Amazon provided. I bought one album by a fellow names Armik because he’s Armenian-Iranian and I used to live in Armenia. From what I heard on Amazon, he plays a hell of a good Spanish style guitar. I bought another by Johannes Linstead because his album got a lot of great reviews. So far, I’m pretty pleased with both purchases.


    “Andalucia” by Johannes Linstead.


    “Flames of Love” by Armik.

    The flip side of this is that sometimes I have ended up with some less impressive purchases. I bought an album by Argentine pianist Raul Di Blasio based on a beautiful acoustic piece I heard on a YouTube video. I could only get the piece by buying the whole album. I did, and it turned out I liked the rest of the album much less than that one beautiful piano piece I’d heard on YouTube. The rest of the album was very new age and kind of bored me.


    Raul Di Blasio’s “Solo”, piano version.

    As much as I love music and engage in random downloading, I also love books. I will even read self-published books if the subject matter interests me. Today’s post was actually inspired by a terrible book I downloaded last night. It was kind of my fault. I didn’t read the description or check up on the author. I thought I was getting a non-fiction book and it turned out I got a very shoddily written novel. I read the thing and was a little annoyed at the end. It wasn’t a total waste, since I was able to write a rather scathing review of the book on one of my other blogs. But it did remind me that I need to be more careful about random downloading.

    Here’s a little something I recently found while random downloading…