I Love Pop Music, Sprinkle Sugar Through It, Philosophy That You Can Dance To

Right now I'm obsessed with four particular songs that don't really have too much in common. One of them kind of makes sense, but the others don't. None of them are current, but they are indeed on an iPod playlist, which repeats multiple times a day (for now) whenever I'm in the car. It's one of those "On The Go" playlists, which I just figured out how to make. Now I don't remember how to do it though and have accidentally added multiple copies of another song I don't want on the list.

• "Bad Day" by R.E.M. (2003)-this song has a great video!

• "Do What You Want" by OK Go (2006)-a great rock song to wake me up in the morning. Not surprisingly, there are several videos for this one tune.

• "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service (2003)-thank you Ren for introducing me to these guys oh so many years ago. Most new bands I discover are through Ren. I'm still not sure how to find these things out when radio sucks and I don't have the chance to listen to music on the internet very often.
  

• "Miss America" by David Byrne (1997)-upbeat song with cynical lyrics. You can dance to it.

I do have a few more playlists. One is Hippie Music, which has 70 songs from people like Mamas & The Papas, Procol Harum, and Electric Prunes. I made this from some compilation cds we have of songs from the 60's. It was the pre-show entertainment for a drive-in E was doing recently.

I made a couple of other playlists, on purpose. I'll share, just because I want to.

L.A. Songs: I made this for research when I was working on a few posts for an L.A. Metblogs series on songs about our city. The ones I ended up profiling have a link.

• "Ventura Highway" by America (1972)-while this is a great driving song, I decided it wasn't necessarily about L.A.
• "Electrolite" by R.E.M. (1997)
• "Can't Take This Town" by Colin Hay (1992)
• "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty (1989)-this is a pre-L.A. song for me. I still think it's fun when this comes on and I'm driving on Ventura Boulevard.
• "Valley Girl" by Frank and Moon Unit Zappa (1982)

If you want to see what I've included on Upbeat Fun, read on after the jump.

 In case you haven't noticed, I definitely prefer upbeat songs. Now, I don't mind a mellow one from time to time, but not while driving. So, here is what I call Upbeat Fun. Notice the lack of diversity.

• "After Hours" by The Bluetones (2002)-I have to thank Edgar Wright for introducing me to this great band back in 2007 when he curated a screening series at the New Beverly. He started out with Bugsy Malone-that 1976 musical starring Scott Baio and Jodie Foster and a bunch of other kids. It was only ever released on VHS in the US, but was very popular in the UK, where it frequently ran on tv and became well-loved by Mr. Wright. Anyway, he directed the song's video, which is a one-take tribute to Bugsy Malone starring kids from a local dance school. Loved the song and started listening to the band.

• "Sing" by Ben Lee (2009)-"...sing, it's your favoite song, when you're singing along, nothing is wrong..."

• "Cinnamon Park" by Jill Sobule (2004)-I love the Chicago influenced groove-"...Cinnamon Park in a cinnamon daze, we were so freaked out, but in a really good way..."

• "Are You Out There" (live version) by Dar Williams (2001) -"...it's the first time I stayed up all night, it's getting light I hear the birds, I'm driving home on empty streets, I think I put my shirt on backwards..."

• "In Between Days" by Ben Folds (2003)-loved The Cure's original version of this song in 1985, so it was fun to have one of my favorite artists cover it almost 20 years later. 

• "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service (2003)-so, it appears again. Maybe I should put the Ben Folds cover of this song on the list instead. 

• "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" (live-1982 at the Hammersmith Odeon) cover by Duran Duran-originally released in 1975 by Steve Harley and The Cockney Rebel. I'll never forget watching the 1982 concert on MTV (I assume) with my 8th grade best friend Shelby. This song blew us away and I am still often reduced to tears listening to it. Check out the video shot off of a tv. Watching it gives me chills. Still a 12-year old at heart.

• "I Love Pop Music" by Ben Lee (2009)-"...turn on your radio, sing along like you're all alone..."

• "Bruised" by The Bens (2003)-Ben Folds, Ben Kweller, and Ben Lee make up the band. I was going to call them a "supergroup" as a joke, but that's exactly what Wikipedia calls them. I saw Folds and Lee on tour together and hoped so badly they'd do this song, but they didn't. I've told Ben Lee I'd love to see a reunion with a US tour, since they only toured Australia. I prefer the EP version with Folds on piano, but could only find this video.

• "Myriad Harbour" by The New Pornographers (2007)-sung by "the weird guy." "...all the boys with their homemade microphones (have very interesting sounds)..."

• "Hollow Man" by R.E.M. (2008)-"...believe in me, believe in nothing, corner me and make me something..."

• "Best of Luck" by Nickel Creek (2005)-"...don't touch, don't look, don't think, best of luck..."

• "Mr. Malcontent" by Lloyd Cole and The Commotions (1989)-perhaps the most mellow of the bunch. When I hear this song, I am immediately transported back to my freshman year of college. "...a waste of space and alcohol, drinking rain and eating soil..."

• "Fiona Apple" by Life on Mars (late 90s?)-this was a local L.A. band that a friend of a friend was in. We went to see them at The Viper Room a couple of times and they were a fun group. I can't find a thing about them online. I have a copy of their 4-song EP, which I also can't find. "...she's beautiful, poetic, literate, and sympathetic..."

So, if you have the desire to hear the song about Fiona Apple, come for a ride in my car. That's pretty much the only place I listen to my iPod as we're not allowed to at work and well, I don't exercise that often (changing very soon, I swear).

Oh, and by the way, what are you listening to these days?