muckefuck | "Let's get happy!"

"Let's get happy!"

Question from

spookyfruit last night: What is the most cheerful song in the world?

My immediate response was "Walking on Sunshine". But, later in the conversation, he clarified that it had to be the most cheerful song in every context. Any song about the joys of being in love is not at all cheerful when your love life is in tatters. That wipes out about 99% of all carefree pop right there, doesn't it? I still made a good case for one-hit wonders, though. How can you be 100% cheerful listening to the Cocteau Twins' "Carolyn's Fingers" is you're inevitably reminded of "Blue Bell Knoll" or "Blood Bitch"? (When I say "you", I mean "me" of course.) You'd be better off with Aqua, which knows no nuance or variety.

After discarding dozens of possibilities, I finally settled on "Skokian"--not necessarily the Brave Combo version, though you can make a case for it being the best. As someone on the Web sez:

""Skokian" is a truly perfect song that has been done and redone by any number of bands. Although everyone has heard the song, not everyone remembers it. (It's popular in movie soundtracks and at weddings, but not on radio stations.)

According to another blurb, it's actually based on a Zulu song, which explains all the guff about "happy happy Africa".

Of course, if even mention of Africa makes you think of Rwanda, Congo, and Idi Amin, then this song isn't going to work either. So can I have some further nominees, please?

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"I Walk the Earth," Voice of the Beehive
"Mysterious Ways," U2
"Shine Like It Does," INXS
"Just Like Heaven," The Cure
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," The Police
"These Are Days," 10,000 Maniacs

I'd have to dump every single one of these on my "other associations" criteria. How can I hear VotB without thinking of "The Moon is Made of Dust"? Robert Smith without thinking of, well, any other song he's ever done (ignoring for a moment the fact that "Just Like Heaven" itself is a song about loss anyway)? Much as I love "Mysterious Ways", there's something creepy and threatening about it, and those sensations are the opposite of cheer.

Oh hey---I guess "Just Like Heaven" IS about loss, isn't it? I never think about that, because it makes me stand in one place and spin, and I get too dizzy to think about the words.

What's your other association with "These Are Days"?

Merchant's big hit song about child abuse, for a start!

Mysterious Ways is actually a bit creepy 'she moves in mysterious ways' I mean, it's sort of 'oh no how does she move, shit it is MYSTERIOUS' so context-driven issues are going to have to d-q it.

These are Days is sort of bittersweet.

Every little thing she does is

But really, I am looking at Just Like Heaven and I am aghast. I mean, good lord, that song is about suicide! I dunno, but CHEERY? I think NOT. The woman jumps in the ocean and ddddddrooooowwwwnnnnnsssssss.

"I opened up my eyes and found myself alone; alone above a raging sea that stole the only girl I loved, and drowned her deep inside of me."

-sf-

"Xanadu" by ELO featuring Olvia Newton-John. Really.

No, I totally see your point. As I've said above, disposable songs are the best: The lest baggage, the better.

From Xanadu I think 'I'm alive' is actually more upbeat and cheerful. Xanadu, again, bittersweet.

-sf-

Here's the list of happy songs I suggested to

voxel when he asked for recommendations because he'd won some free iTunes. You're right, mostly love songs. Oh well. A couple are not in English, maybe they're not depressing if you can't understand them?

Chunari Chunari, Abhijeet
My Cherie Amour, Stevie Wonder
Somewhere Beyond the Sea, Bobby Darin
L.O.V.E., Nat King Cole
Mayor of Simpleton, XTC
I Want Candy, Bow Wow Wow
La Bamba, Los Lobos
My Ever Changing Moods, Style Council
My Baby Just Cares For Me, Nina Simone
All The Kings Gardens, Joan Armatrading
Baby I Love You, Aretha Franklin
Rush, Big Audio Dynamite
Ask Me, The Smiths
Save It For Later, The English Beat
Dream a Little Dream of Me, Mama Cass

voxel rejected all of these, btw.

Clearly,

voxel wouldn't know good fun music if it invaded all his orifices like a Japanese anime monster.

In fairness to

voxel, he didn't ask for happy tunes specifically, I just thought he should have some.

"If it's not love, then it's the bomb that will bring us together."

"Don't run away and let me down. You let me down."

"Evil turns to statues and masses form a line."

I'm so cheery now I think I'll mutilate myself. Right now, your leading contenders are the ones without intelligible lyrics.

I'm thinking Deee-Lite's "Groove Is In The Heart." Don't tell Bob I said that; he lurrrrrves the video, whereas I've spent years dissing it.

I guess Zip A Dee Doo Dah is out due to racist overtones in Song of the South. And if there isn't plenty of sunshine.

Ah! I got it: the Happy Happy Joy Joy Song from Stimpy's Invention (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/GuidePageServlet/showid-3536/epid-56645)

Maybe if you didn't have a grandmother to teach to suck eggs, but really, it's nonsense, so who cares?

I bet [Da] is somewhere being sad. I will make him happy again!

Ooh, that'd good! Have you heard the thrash-pop cover by Wax?

Playing it right now. It isn't perfect true to the original lyrics and all, but at least it's legally purchasable (I got mine off that Saturday Morning Cartoons cover album thang.)

Ooh, you just reminded me of the Charlie Brown theme song. That may be the happiest tune in the world.

Is it cheating not to have lyrics?

Yeah, we decided to disallow instrumentals. And the tune doesn't work for me, since it reminds me of Mancini's other Peanuts music--including what has got to be the most depressing Christmas song this side of The Conventry Carol.

it reminds me of Mancini's other Peanuts music

Nitpick: Vince Guaraldi's Peanuts music. (It happens I was just listening to the CD recently, or I might not have remembered this.)

Really? It doesn't sound anything like his "Four Seasons"!

I nominate Louie Louie. Don't understand it, but everyone starts humming along and smiling.

-e

I thought about "Louie Louie" for just that reason, but then I remembered a quote from Kyle Baker: Listening to "it's like being told you're having fun." I think it may be too used and abused to make the cut.

How about

happyfunpaul's Happy Song Virus? (More info and lyrics here).

(deleted comment)

But the dance hall gets replaced by a parking lot! How can I be cheery about that?

I'm all over "Zombie Jamboree", but those who aren't as wild about zombies might not agree.

Re: "Skokiann" who doesn't like songs about beer?

How 'bout Madness "One Step Beyond"? It has lyrics (barely) and a very infectious beat.

Or just about anything by ABBA.

"Now my life is as good as an ABBA song. It's as good as 'Dancing Queen'."
- "Muriel's Wedding"

Believe it or not, there's something dark to "OSB". Maybe it's the sax? A sax never sounds uncomplicatedly happy to me.

Someone at dinner[*] last night suggested ABBA, but my favourite songs from them are the melancholy ones, like "Fernando" or "Mamma mia". Dancing Queen just irritates me.

[*] Reminds me: Your name was mentioned in a let's-get-our-heads-together context. We should try to arrange an Intoccarian summit.

It's "When the Saints Come Marching In," or some other Dixieland swing. If it made black people happy in the 1920s, it's industrial-strength cheerful; it's cheerful that grew up under Krypton's high gravity and red sun and is super-cheerful now.

And if you're an atheist, and therefore don't believe in the Saints or their inevitable Marching, then you're dead to Joy and should be listening to depressing emo music anyhow.

What if you're a very sinful Christian and you feel that the chances you'll be in that number are slim and none and Slim just walked out the door?

Assume that the Saints are the Latter-Day kind, so that there's a decent chance you'll be in that number via postmortem baptism?

A late offering, but Dire Straits' "Walk of Life."

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