C'mon Get Happy

While I was looking through the songs I've posted so far, I realized that this blog is full of tunes that are seriously aching, plaintive, mellow, soul-searching, etc., and not many that are, y'know, upbeat. I dunno, I guess those are just the kinds of songs I've been attracted to lately - I can only wonder what my therapist would think. Anyway, since I have even more downers in the pipeline, I figured I'd mix it up a bit and try to stay! positive! today!.

Learnin' To Love - Ween
From La Cucaracha (2007)

I'm an unabashed Ween fan. Dangerous, I know - they're a band that seem to inspire either fanatic devotion or all-consuming loathing, depending on your tolerance of poop jokes and the effects of Scotchguard on the nervous system. I, for one, believe them to be technical wizards, unparalleled stylistic chameleons, and some of the foremost melodists of our generation. Plus, songs about squelching weasels are just hilarious.

This one is from their newest album, which for some reason just kinda came and went without anyone seeming to give a crap. One hundred and forty six seconds side-splitting smile-inducing silliness, and a hook that any Nashville native would kill for. Doo-ba-lep, doo-ba-lep, doo-ba-lep . . .

This Here Giraffe - The Flaming Lips
From Clouds Taste Metallic (1995)

I love the Lips, but here's the thing: I can almost never listen to just one song alone. Their albums are like little psychedelic ecosystems - all the parts support each other, building an entire experience for you. Listening to one of their songs out of context is, more often than not, a disorienting letdown. I need time to enter their universe.

This Here Giraffe is one of those happy exceptions to the rule above (along with She Don't Use Jelly, Buggin', and, of course, Do You Realize). I dare you not to smile while you listen to this song. That wonderful goofy bassline. That dancing guitar, playing hide and seek with you. And of course the chorus: "This here giraffe . . . laughed." That's the whole chorus. Man, if that don't put a grin on your face, it's time to renew your prescription.