Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Talking Happy Talk
A long time ago, we outlined the top 10 sad songs of all time here on Ruffhousing. However, while we all enjoy opening our wrists up every now and then, life can also give us much to smile about. Imagine, for example, the faces of George Lamb's parents upon wandering into their back garden one blustery Spring morning to find their son's freshly slaughtered carcass being clumsily raped by a one-eyed fox. Now feel that big toothy grin pulling your cheeks apart! Listen to the laughter tumbling out! Unfortunately, however, moments like this are few, far between and – in this case – fictional. So, in an attempt to peel back misery's vast inky cloak and slap some joy onto his moany torso, we present to you the Ruffhousing top 10 happy songs of all time, in no particular order.
1. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Frownland
“My smile is stuck”, growls Beefheart, “I cannot go back to your Frownland”. And do you know what? I don't think he ever did.
2. Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Up Above My Head
Things would have to be pretty bad for this song not to make you feel like nothing could ever be that bad. Look at Sister Rosetta Tharpe: the fact that someone so brilliant once existed on this planet is surely the only sensible reason for believing there is or ever has been a God. You'd have thought the director of this video would have told the choir to cheer up a bit though, wouldn't you?
3. Funkadelic – I Got A Thing, You Got A Thing, Everybody's Got A Thing
If you possess a human soul, one listen to this song should send you pirouetting madly down a wild, gushing river of happy, while George and Bootsy fire technicolour joy bullets at you from their neon dinghy.
4. Shonen Knife – Cycling Is Fun
Shonen Knife are a bouncy little Japanese band. You might think that sounds patronising, and you'd be right. It does. However, you'd be hard pressed to describe 'Cycling Is Fun' as anything other than bouncy and little. It's childish and child-like and littered with bike bells. The original track is not available on YouTube, so we'll have to make do with this slightly odd video and slowed-down version of the song itself.
5. Marcia Griffiths – Feel Like Jumping
There is no better goodtimes song than this one.
6. Jonathan Richman – I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar
Richman featured in our Top 10 Sad Songs, but he's much more at home here among the sunshine and the chuckling. 'I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar' gets our vote here, but there are many others in his canon that could have made the cut: 'Springtime', 'The New Teller' and 'Lydia', being the most obvious.
7. Josephine Baker – Blue Skies
“Blue skies, smiling at me/Nothing but blue skies, do I see”. This song is what being in a cartoon must be like. A kids' cartoon from the 1950s; not American Dad or something.
8. Professor Longhair – Tipitina
If you've ever wondered where Tom Waits got his drunken, fragmented piano technique from (and let's face, you probably haven't), then wonder no longer. 'Tipitina' is so wonderful and carefree and the Professor sings like no-one's ever told him about diction or tune or how most people tend to use actual words in their lyrics. You really can't fuck with New Orleans.
9. Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band – We Were Wrong
If you can manage to remain stony-faced while listening to this, then you clearly consider yourself too cool to smile. What sort of person thinks they're "too cool" to smile? You, that's who.
10. Devo – Peek-A-Boo
Again, many, many Devo tracks could have featured here. However, for sheer blissful jump-up-and-down-and-make-a-fool-of-yourselfness, 'Peek-A-Boo' muscled the others right out.
1. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Frownland
“My smile is stuck”, growls Beefheart, “I cannot go back to your Frownland”. And do you know what? I don't think he ever did.
2. Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Up Above My Head
Things would have to be pretty bad for this song not to make you feel like nothing could ever be that bad. Look at Sister Rosetta Tharpe: the fact that someone so brilliant once existed on this planet is surely the only sensible reason for believing there is or ever has been a God. You'd have thought the director of this video would have told the choir to cheer up a bit though, wouldn't you?
3. Funkadelic – I Got A Thing, You Got A Thing, Everybody's Got A Thing
If you possess a human soul, one listen to this song should send you pirouetting madly down a wild, gushing river of happy, while George and Bootsy fire technicolour joy bullets at you from their neon dinghy.
4. Shonen Knife – Cycling Is Fun
Shonen Knife are a bouncy little Japanese band. You might think that sounds patronising, and you'd be right. It does. However, you'd be hard pressed to describe 'Cycling Is Fun' as anything other than bouncy and little. It's childish and child-like and littered with bike bells. The original track is not available on YouTube, so we'll have to make do with this slightly odd video and slowed-down version of the song itself.
5. Marcia Griffiths – Feel Like Jumping
There is no better goodtimes song than this one.
6. Jonathan Richman – I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar
Richman featured in our Top 10 Sad Songs, but he's much more at home here among the sunshine and the chuckling. 'I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar' gets our vote here, but there are many others in his canon that could have made the cut: 'Springtime', 'The New Teller' and 'Lydia', being the most obvious.
7. Josephine Baker – Blue Skies
“Blue skies, smiling at me/Nothing but blue skies, do I see”. This song is what being in a cartoon must be like. A kids' cartoon from the 1950s; not American Dad or something.
8. Professor Longhair – Tipitina
If you've ever wondered where Tom Waits got his drunken, fragmented piano technique from (and let's face, you probably haven't), then wonder no longer. 'Tipitina' is so wonderful and carefree and the Professor sings like no-one's ever told him about diction or tune or how most people tend to use actual words in their lyrics. You really can't fuck with New Orleans.
9. Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band – We Were Wrong
If you can manage to remain stony-faced while listening to this, then you clearly consider yourself too cool to smile. What sort of person thinks they're "too cool" to smile? You, that's who.
10. Devo – Peek-A-Boo
Again, many, many Devo tracks could have featured here. However, for sheer blissful jump-up-and-down-and-make-a-fool-of-yourselfness, 'Peek-A-Boo' muscled the others right out.
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