Music to brighten up your day!

October 15, 2008 by Kim

There’s nothing like some great music to put that spring back into your step…

Getting laid off and being unemployed can get anybody down. Music, however, can lift you up again. To me, it’s indispensible. In the first installment of a soon-to-be-regular feature on happy tunes, here are five of my favorite songs and why they help me banish the blues.

Bonus: Click the handy links below each song to go straight to iTunes to preview and download this whole playlist or just your favorite songs!

“Have a Little Faith” by Rockapella (rockapella.com). Yeah, the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Guys. This ex-PBS kiddie show house band is still touring and recording, and they’ve only gotten better with age. I like “Have a Little Faith” because (a) I love good a cappella harmony, and I’m not ashamed to admit it and (b) the lyrics counsel taking your time, rolling with the punches, and having faith that things will work out they way they should. My favorite line in the lyrics is, “You ain’t really livin’ when you live life by the text / You ain’t makin’ music when you know what note is next.” Well, my life must be a veritable symphony, because I have no idea what note is next. And that’s OK.

“Kick in the Ass” by Moxy Fruvous (fruvous.com; the band, regrettably, is no more). Want a cheerful little ditty about delivering swift kicks to telemarketers, careless baggage handlers, and others deserving of a little jackboot justice? You got it. Moxy Fruvous delivers with typical tongue-in-cheek wit. And although they’re not an a cappella band (although rock ‘n roll rumor has it they’ve advised fellow Canadians Barenaked Ladies on singing harmony), this song happens to be 95% instrument-free. To me, that’s a bonus.

“We Built This City” by Starship. Oh, the shiny, shiny 80s! Crank this tune up and I’m 17 again, buzzed on Mountain Dew and rocking out with my friends. With college applications finished and graduation in sight, we had little on our minds besides weekend track meets and the senior prom. Those were the days. We didn’t really know what getting laid off meant—but we would have snickered at the “laid” part.

“Mayor of Simpleton” by XTC. I discovered British think-rockers XTC during college and haven’t gotten tired of them yet. This song extols the virtues of simplemindedness and remaining untroubled by life’s slings and arrows. Don’t I wish! Sounds like more fun than being the Queen of Grr. Plus, hearing XTC always reminds me of my first off-campus apartment, the one where the closet was in the bathroom, and I couldn’t run the fridge and the microwave at the same time without blowing a fuse. Yeah, simpler times.

“Climbing up the Mountain” by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound Quartet (erniehaase.musiccitynetworks.com). While SSQ is a gospel ensemble, adept at the harmonies I enjoy, “Climbing” is not a gospel song. This harmonica-happy countrified number talks about the determination it takes to haul your load up the mountain of life, and how leaning on your fellow travelers and keeping your eyes on the summit can make it a little easier. Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded that you’re not alone.