HELP with Music project plz

January 30, 2007 7:07 PM

#1) HAPPY MUSIC: What music do you use to cheer yourself up? A friend of mine has clinical depression. I am gathering recommendations of happy music so I can make a playlist of tunes to help uplift and revive downcast spirits. #2) AMBIENT SOUND: what music you listen at work to help create some good background music to help you concentrate on your tasks? #3) INSPIRATION: What do you listen to, to revive your energy and get you pumped up to work on that otherwise annoying project?
posted by earthwalker7 to Grab Bag (66 answers total)

I like jazz. Also DJ Drank's Greatest Malt Liquor Hits.
posted by box at 7:13 PM on January 30, 2007

I don't have a source, but I once read that listening to happy music when you are sad only bums you out more. Listening to sad music when you are sad was, supposedly, the key to cheering yourself up.
posted by hooves at 7:24 PM on January 30, 2007

#1 and #3: Dance music.
posted by IndigoRain at 7:26 PM on January 30, 2007

Unclear if it would be appropriate but Everybody Hurts is a great song by REM.

Shiny Happy People is great too (also by REM).
posted by jourman2 at 7:32 PM on January 30, 2007

http://www.jamshedpurlive.com/i/songs/slt010.html
posted by WaterSprite at 7:34 PM on January 30, 2007

sorry -
http://www.jamshedpurlive.com/i/songs/slt010.html
posted by WaterSprite at 7:36 PM on January 30, 2007

ech, why can't i make this a link? anyway, a great up song.
posted by WaterSprite at 7:37 PM on January 30, 2007

"Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles is the song that makes me the happiest, ever.
posted by brain cloud at 7:37 PM on January 30, 2007

Psssst. C'mere... I'll let you in on a little secret. Just don't tell anybody. Jazz is my personal comfort food, but if I'm really down I just CAN'T be sad when I hear Harry Belafonte's old upbeat calypso stuff. I have even used it as a soundtrack during photoshoots with children to inspire them to be happy and smile... some of his songs can work MAGIC. I swear.
posted by miss lynnster at 7:42 PM on January 30, 2007

This may be perverse, but listening to Radiohead always puts a big smile on my face.

Probably NOT the best music for someone who is clinicaly depressed though.
posted by gergtreble at 7:45 PM on January 30, 2007

As for ambient sounds.

Orbital, The Orb, Some of the KLF's work (especialy "chill out"), The Future Sound Of London (FSOL).

Also this thread is currently discussing a similar topic.
posted by gergtreble at 7:48 PM on January 30, 2007

Pet Sounds and Smile by the Beach Boys make me happy, make me want to sing.
posted by mds35 at 7:50 PM on January 30, 2007

kind of related, but this list is incredible. A list of a couple hundred songs about mental illness. Gotta love the wiki.

End derail
posted by jourman2 at 7:50 PM on January 30, 2007

Also Brian Eno, has produced loads of ambient works. Including Music For Airports and Discrete Music.
posted by gergtreble at 7:54 PM on January 30, 2007

If you're going to mention R.E.M., you can't skip End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).
posted by theiconoclast31 at 7:58 PM on January 30, 2007

Anything Motown (especially the classic 60s and 70s stuff) always perks me up.
posted by amyms at 8:00 PM on January 30, 2007

#2: I listen to minimal techno. It's very good because it's easily ignored, but when you listen to it, it can be quite good. Also, the sets are often 2-3 hours long, so you don't have to think about switching music and a sudden change doesn't distract you. It's also nice because endless hours of it can be obtained for free.

Good DJ's to check out are Michael Mayer and Ricardo Villalobos. Many of their sets are available here under the minimal sections (via a previous FFP). Richie Hawtin is also popular, but to be honest I wish the Hawtin of the 90's would come back.

#3: Vintage Wu-Tang, or Hip Hop instrumentals, many of which can be found here.
posted by milarepa at 8:03 PM on January 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

hooves must be right, because even though it reminds me of the most depressing period of my life, and makes me miss home more than any sane person born in Oklahoma should, mine is "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" by the Flaming Lips.
posted by Brittanie at 8:09 PM on January 30, 2007

"Today is the Day" or "Phoney Maroney" by Apollo Sunshine
posted by deansfurniture5 at 8:10 PM on January 30, 2007

1. I seriously doubt this will counteract clinical depression. However, I have a playlist named "Don't Worry, Be Happy" for when I get bummed out (i.e., not clinically depressed). A lot of these work mostly because I sing along and thereby get crazy psyched, so find out what your friend likes for hairbrush karaoke.

"Get Happy" -- Judy Garland
"I've Gotta Crow" from Rodgers & Hammerstein's Peter Pan
"Happy Talk" from South Pacific
"Copacabana" -- Barry Manilow
"Dragostea Din Tei" -- O-Zone
"Yatta" -- Happatai
"Bananaphone" -- Raffi
"I'm a Believer" -- the Monkees or Smash Mouth
"Peace Train" -- Cat Stevens
"Red Rubber Ball" -- the Cyrkle
"Whiskey in the Jar" -- basically any version
"Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" -- Queen
"Don't Stop Me Now" -- Queen
(...okay, like 75% of Queen's greatest hits compilation)
"La Bamba" -- Los Lobos
"Anything Goes" from Anything Goes (1987 BRC)
"I Get a Kick Out of You" -- ditto
"Blow, Gabriel, Blow" -- ditto
"Build Me Up, Buttercup" -- the Foundations
"Cottonfields" -- Beach Boys
"I Can Hear Music" -- Beach Boys
"Workin' My Way Back to You" -- Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons
"Leader of the Pack" -- the Shangri-Las
"Magic to Do" from Pippin
"Playing with the Boys" -- Kenny Loggins
"It's Raining Men" -- Weather Girls

And the happiest damn song anyone knows is "Walkin' on Sunshine" by Katrina & the Waves.

2. New Agey or technoish background noise. Enigma, Enya, Thorgal -- stuff that doesn't require a ton of attention. It all has to be stuff I'm already familiar with.

3. Old Beach Boys and some Beatles and...well, it depends on what the project is.
posted by booksandlibretti at 8:12 PM on January 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

#1) my brother swears, and I agree, that you cannot listen to "come on eileen" and be sad at the same time.
posted by sarahmelah at 8:13 PM on January 30, 2007

Squeeze and the Hives do it for me.

Smile and Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys are more likely to make me want to cry. I mean, come on, "You Still Believe in Me"?

Right now I'm listening to "You're Wanted by the Police and My Wife Thinks You're Dead" by Junior Brown; that works well too.
posted by ibmcginty at 8:49 PM on January 30, 2007

#1 - I like me some "crappy" pop music, because I find it hard to listen to fluffy nineties teenybopper stuff and not smile/sing along (think: Spice Girls, Britney Spears, S Club 7, Justin Timberlake). Oh! Also 80s music - I know the Cure doesn't immediately bring up images of sunshine and flowers, but I <3 friday i'm in love. and who isn't going to giggle at safety dance? there's also the avenue q soundtrack; although, if i were clinically depressed i doubt it'd be as much fun. br>
#2 - when it comes to ambient sound, I like Madeleine Peyroux, Feist's Let it Die CD, Rufus Wainwright, Aimee Mann, and Norah Jones. Once in a while, I'll pop in the soundtrack to Big Night. I am a dork.

#3 - I have a playlist with the following:
*Harder, Faster, Better, Stronger (Daft Punk)
*I am a Scientist (Dandy Warhols)
*Hung Up (Madonna)
*Suddenly I See (KT Tunstall)
*Summer Girl (Beck)
....etc...if it's upbeat, it wins for work music.
posted by universal_qlc at 8:52 PM on January 30, 2007

#2) At work I like to play Magnatune's new age or classical streams. I also have a few Steven Halpern CDs in my desk drawer for when I want truly low-impact ambient sound.
posted by butternut at 8:54 PM on January 30, 2007

"Planet" by the Sugarcubes always leaves me feeling happy and alive (I'm grinning just thinking about it).

I like working with big band, swing, or bossa nova playing in the background, while a mix of fairly upbeat 80s pop and alternative tunes is usually enough to reenergize me when needed.
posted by vespertine at 8:55 PM on January 30, 2007

(More #1): OK, here are some more artists I think of as upbeat, with fun songs that pop into my head:

Flaming Lips (Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Frogs, Everyone Wants to Live Forever), Beck (Debra, Sexx Laws), Ben Folds (One Angry Dwarf, Jackson Cannery, Kate, Julianne), Bill Withers (Ain't No Sunshine, Friend of Mine, Let Us Love), Little Richard, Stevie Wonder (Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing, Overjoyed), Lyle Lovett (You're Not from Texas, I've Been to Memphis), Pixies (Hey, Broken Face), Queen (Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon, Seaside Rendezvous, Bicycle Race).
posted by ibmcginty at 9:04 PM on January 30, 2007

Kelly Joe Phelps. Especially his newer stuff from Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind and Tunesmith Retrofit. Beautiful acoustic roots-based songwriting with jazz chops that only a man who played free in seattle could own.
posted by The White Hat at 9:17 PM on January 30, 2007

I'm sure you have the best intentions for your friend, but in this age of musical ubiquity, playlists and mix CD's tend to be more interesting and beneficial for the people who put them together than for those who receive them. I've received one recently and I couldn't have cared less about the actual music, however good it was, but I did appreciate the thought.

How are you going to give this "playlist" to your friend? If it's via CD-R, make the packaging as personal as possible and include a letter or a note. The music you choose won't matter, the thought and care you put into it will.
posted by jchgf at 9:24 PM on January 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

Aqua.
posted by Anonymous at 9:37 PM on January 30, 2007

Wow... I can't speak to nos. 2 and 3, but if I were someone's friend I think the last thing someone with clinical depression would want would be someone else's music - even if it is a bunch of well meaning MeFis. My god, someone giving those two REM songs are by far the worse in their entire catalogue - and I'm a huge fan, btw.

Music is incredibly personal - while the thought is nice, find out what they really like like - or buy a gift card for iTunes. Or try out something like Pandora or last.fm if all you know is they like a particular band.
posted by rmm at 9:41 PM on January 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

My current heavy rotation (all kinda chilled out electronic/ambient/instrumental hip hop/nu jazz stuff):

Dzihan & Kamien - Smile (from ? no idea)
Kid Koala & P Love - New Track (from Nuphonia Book Tour live set)
Bonobo - Between the Lines (from Days to Come)
The Cinematic Orchestra - Wheel Within A Wheel (from some Gilles Peterson compilation)
Radio Citizen - Hop (from Berlin Serengeti)
Tied & Tickled Trio - The Long Tomorrow (from Observing Systems ? not sure)
Arovane - Tides (from the album entitled Tides)

Smile is especially cheery. Wheel within a Wheel and Tides are good for working.

Bonus: if dreary works for you, Venetian Snares - Oengyilkos Vasarnap (from Rossz Csillag Alatt Született) is a great kinda Portishead-like track via Billie Holliday & Drill n Bass
posted by juv3nal at 9:45 PM on January 30, 2007

To aid concentration:

Steve Reich, Music for 18 Musicians
Bach, Well-Tempered Clavier or any of the partitas
Luscious Jackson, Fever In Fever Out
posted by sleevener at 9:49 PM on January 30, 2007

#1 - Almost anything by Scissor Sisters. They just make me stupid happy. Today in particular, I accidentally added Tracy Bonham, Veruca Salt and Suzanne Vega to my work playlist, and it made me quite happy (that may be the sadist in me - the songs were NOT happy songs ;)

I also have a deep, dark secret that I think I'm ready to share with the world. When I'm feeling down, I listen to Kelly Clarkson - Walk Away. It makes me so unbelievably happy that it even washes away my shame!

#2 - Coil - Any of the seasonals. Time Machines.
#3 - Lately, lots of Pig. And old Anthrax and Scatterbrain. Usually, Di.FM Goa Psytrance channel
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:52 PM on January 30, 2007

Honestly, as someone suggested above, when I'm depressed the last thing I want is happy music. I want sad or angry music that gets down to the level I'm at and communicates with me and pulls me out of myself. Radiohead is perfect.

If I were severely or clinically depressed and someone gave me a cd of happy music, as if to suggest that a few cheery songs might make everything okay, I think I might be a little hurt and stunned by how little they understood what I was going through. Your friend may not feel this way, and may appreciate what you're doing, but be careful.
posted by onlyconnect at 10:10 PM on January 30, 2007 [2 favorites]

Sujan Stevens'(s) Illinois: sad lyrics, beautiful but not exactly peppy music, and a great choice IMO.
posted by taliaferro at 10:17 PM on January 30, 2007

1) When I am feeling down, I reach for a bright pink album and channel Miss Shirley Ann Manson for a good dose of Garbage therapy. Sadness turns to anger, which turns to energy, and that leads me to be productive. Your friend needs to find their own power album, something that makes them feel unstoppable.

2) How can anyone concentrate when there is music playing?

3) Deftones
posted by idiotfactory at 10:22 PM on January 30, 2007

Art Tatum quietly and humanely reminds me I'm just another human being, when most I need that. You could do worse, in terms of inspiration.
posted by paulsc at 10:48 PM on January 30, 2007

Flood, by The Might Be Giants. Nobody can be sad with a blue canary in the birdhouse in their soul.

Also, reggae -- Alpha Blondy, the Wailers, and lately I've been listening to Shinehead (technically reggae *rap*), who is infectiously upbeat.
posted by hob at 11:01 PM on January 30, 2007

I nth the caution that music, especially cheerful music, will probably not make your friend better.

Also--and I say this as a huge REM fan--"Everybody Hurts" makes me whiny even when I start out happy, and "Shiny Happy People" just makes me want to start breaking windows. No. Dear sweet Jesus, no.

That said, I do suggest:

Traditional old blues and spirituals. This is music by people who faced things in their lives we can hardly imagination, and found strength to get through it. It can be very cathartic, and you could certainly put together a mix with a range of songs from downtrodden to stoic to badass to ecstatic.

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - I See a Darkness has several songs explicitly about deep depression but is nonetheless hopeful, and The Letting Go has some gentler, warm songs about being a bit happier now, without being corny at all. I find it very easy music to have in the background--it's like having a friend around who knows how you feel but doesn't interfere.
posted by hippugeek at 11:23 PM on January 30, 2007

#1. There is one song that never, ever fails to lift my spirits -- although, of course, be sure not to expect miracles; as others have said, clinical depression isn't the sort of thing that can have spirits lifted. The song that's first on my Feeling Down playlist is "Don't Shit Where You Eat" by Ween, off the album Chocolate and Cheese. Also toward the top of my list: "P.S. You Rock My World" and "Grace Kelly Blues" by the Eels, "Saba" by Mephiskapheles, "Panda" by Mike Keneally, "Walking on Sunshine" covered by Ghoti Hook, and "Doreen" by the Tractors. (Also, related to booksandlibretti's list, I think that "Stop" by the Kelptones off "A Night At The Hip-Hopera" is pretty awesome as well.)

#2. Episodes of TV shows I have seen before.

#3. The self-titled album by Mourning Widows, "Midnite Vultures" by Beck, "Everything Went Numb" by Streetlight Manifesto, "The Live Album" by the Dance Hall Crashers, "Rite of Spring" by Stravinsky, "Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy" by the Refreshments, and the last third of "Real Gone" by Tom Waits.
posted by headlessagnew at 12:33 AM on January 31, 2007

My wife swears on ABBA to lift up her mood.
posted by Glow Bucket at 1:22 AM on January 31, 2007

Bjork's album Vespertine coaxed me out of a depression even though prior to that, I hated Bjork.

The Hed Kandi Winter Chill albums always have beautiful songs on them that wrap you up if you're feeling sad. Ditto Ministry of Sound's Chillout Sessions (e.g, the 4th). Another thing is, they're quiet enough to have as background music while you work.

Cibo Matto makes you silly happy–e.g., 'Moonchild', 'Sugar Water', 'King of Silence'.

Zero 7 or Air for ambience. Boards of Canada too, but it's not for everyone. Also Massive Attack–speaking of whom, 'Teardrop' and 'Protection' are good for depression.

Fischerspooner revives my energy (Try 'Never Win' or 'Get Confused'.)

The song 'Halcyon' by Orbital is a cure-all for the soul.

I don't know what it is but Tool's album Lateralus tends to be my "ambient" music that helps me shut everything out and study hard.
posted by mjao at 1:27 AM on January 31, 2007

A few years ago I started listening to BossaNova and Lounge-Act type schmaltz. They always make me smile or chill me out.

Try: The Ultra Lounge Series
Walter Wanderly
Antonio Carlos Jobim
Martin Denny/ Les Baxter (great "background" music)


a fun favorite (you WILL laugh at many of these songs): Another Crazy Cocktail Party
posted by mrmarley at 1:28 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

My current happy song is Good Morning, Bubblegum by Melissa May, from the mefi compilation album. I'd still post it if it wasn't mefi related though, it's got really great energy. Not in your face energy either (overtly cheerful stuff might be too much for someone depressed), just uplifting and singalongish.

Most of the time I love listening to down or sad or angry music to cheer myself up. I've spent this evening with Pink Floyd's The Wall and am feeling very chipper as a result. Back when I actually was clinically depressed though I couldn't listen to this kind of music at all. It took me too much into myself, which is what I was trying to break free from. Anything overly emotional was too much really, part of the disease (for me at least) was inappropriate or extreme emotional reactions I had no control over. Easy bubblegum pop and the crap they play on commercial radio was good taht was the only time I ever listened to the radio regularly), stuff that was kind of shallow and cheerful and safe. Actual good stuff like Good Morning, Bubblegum would have been very welcome.
posted by shelleycat at 2:13 AM on January 31, 2007

The absolutely most important thing is that the music is good. The second most important thing is that the music is somehow "true" or relevant, that you feel it says something to you, or expresses something real.

Both of these are incredibly personal judgments. Someone else's happy music would probably piss me off if I were depressed. I often used to listen to The Wall to cheer myself up when I was depressed as a teenager, which is not exactly a cheerful album - but to me it was "good" and it was "true" and that brought up positive feelings. Pop music made me feel stranded in a stupid world I did not understand or respect.

I'm not quite that angsty anymore, but listening to music I don't like that other people love just makes me more aware of the ways I don't fit in blah blah blah, and listening to music I love makes me feel good regardless of the mood of the music (ie, whether it is upbeat or angry or mournful).

If you have similar music tastes to your friend, giving them a mixed CD is a lovely idea. But choose the music because you think it's awesome, not because you think it'll make them happy. I could tell you what I listen to when I'm more depressed, but your friend may have completely different sensibilities, and that is really the key.

In fact, it looks like my "overall top tracks" list includes a fair number of songs that may sound "depressing" (suicide is painless, ready to die, suicide, rage, lord can you hear me), but to me they do not make me feel sad; they make me feel connected. HAPPY HAPPY songs make me feel disconnected. I just wanna yell, "what the fuck do you mean, you're walking on sunshine? that doesn't even make sense, nitwit. and do you have to shove it my face? fuck off." which is not really the sort of reaction you want to bring about :). I guess when I'm depressed, I tolerate a further level of melodrama than usual - "please please please let me get what I want" or "everybody hurts" seem a little over the top sometimes, but if I'm in a pit, I can indulge.
posted by mdn at 6:21 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

Me First & the Gimme Gimmes is a punk rock cover band that does very peppy remixes of familiar songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. You get all of the comfort of knowing all the lyrics along with a bouncy, happy beat. I also like Save Ferris for the same reason.

That said, I definitely agree with everyone who suggested that attempting to cheer your friend up with cheerful music might not be taken in the spirit in which you intend it. Clinical depression is not a mood to be snapped out of. Unless your friend has specifically requested that you send her happy music, I wouldn't do so. Ask her what you can do to help and listen to her answer; unsolicited attempts to "cheer up" often have the opposite effect.
posted by decathecting at 6:23 AM on January 31, 2007

For some reason Jimmy Eat World's "sweetness" makes me so happy I could dance (and I do, even in the car... crazy me). To each their own I suppose.
posted by ForeverDcember at 6:33 AM on January 31, 2007

My brother gave me Sondre Lerche's album Duper Sessions for Xmas, and I swear it's the happiest damn thing I've heard in ages. As soon as the first track, "Everyone's Rooting for You," comes on people get a big smile on their face and say "What is this? I like it!" Don't know if it will help with clinical depression, but you fans of happy music should check it out.
posted by languagehat at 6:37 AM on January 31, 2007

(wow, didn't see shelleycat's comment there! yes, depressing-ish music is going to depend on what sort of depression the person is in, though for me, music was always a way to get out of my head, even music like The Wall, because it was the sort of music you could really just sit and listen to, not just have in the background. But I have a very one-track mind, in the sense that I find it difficult to walk & chew gum, as it were - it takes a lot of effort for me to work with music in the background, and when I do, I really don't hear the music anymore (it just blocks out other noise and must subconsciously have an effect, but I don't remember hearing any of the songs). When I listen to music, I really get lost in it, and often escape myself.)
posted by mdn at 6:43 AM on January 31, 2007

I just was writing about this yesterday:
These songs make my insides sing:

The Whitest Boy Alive: Burning
Télépopmusik: Breathe
Alana Davis 32 Flavors
posted by heartquake at 7:20 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

#1) HAPPY MUSIC: anything with a great melody -- Even seemingly "goth" bands like The Cure and Morrissey are too bouncy and perky to be downer music, IMO.

#2) AMBIENT SOUND: George Winston, Ozric Tentacles, Thievery Corporation, Tangerine Dream, Radiohead, classic 50s jazz, Red Sparowes -- basically stuff completely without, or with subdued, lyrics

#3) INSPIRATION: punk and more punk.
posted by parilous at 7:39 AM on January 31, 2007

They might be giants
Global Goon
Anything lounge, especially exotica.
posted by Monkey0nCrack at 8:20 AM on January 31, 2007

Oops, forgot for number 3: Kahvi
posted by Monkey0nCrack at 8:22 AM on January 31, 2007

For ambient sound, I listen to Vocal Chill Radio via shoutcast on Winamp.

They play a large selection of those artists listed above.
posted by stovenator at 9:00 AM on January 31, 2007

I second Telepopmusik's Breathe album (it's called Genetic World). Along similar lines, Hooverphonic's album New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular is great.

If you're looking for some great non-American albums, The Whitlams' Eternal Nightcap (Australian) and Rhombus' Bass Player (New Zealand) are excellent.
posted by media_itoku at 9:19 AM on January 31, 2007

Sondre Lerche reminds me of John Pizzarelli (try Meets the Beatles, especially When I'm 64), or to a lesser extent, Jonathan Richman (I'm a Little Dinosaur, Government Center). You can be fun and cheery despite, or because of, not having the best voice in the world.
posted by ibmcginty at 9:59 AM on January 31, 2007

For Inspiration: A friend introduced me to Jerry Reed's East Bound and Down:

East bound and down, loaded up and truckin',
We gonna do what they say can't be done.
We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there.

It's an excellent song to get the blood going again. Particularly around 3AM, when pulling an all-nighter.
posted by avoision at 10:08 AM on January 31, 2007

#1) The best happy songs of all time are:

a. The Zombies, "Care of Cell 44."
b. Jonathan Richman, "Ice Cream Man."
c. Rush, "The Spirit of Radio."
d. ABBA, "Dancing Queen."
e. Fats Waller, "Your Feet's Too Big."

#2) There are two fine, soul-cleansing, quiet, beautiful records on which I rely for great background music. They are:

a. Brian Eno, Discrete Music.
b. Neu!, Neu!

#3) Motivation can come in many very different forms. You should know within the first few chords whether my "motivational" record of choice, Motorhead's Overkill, is right for you.
posted by koeselitz at 11:05 AM on January 31, 2007

I have a CD in my alarm clock with "wake-up" songs, which I edit from time to time as my tastes change. I'll pick the one to run in the morning based on how I feel when I go to sleep. The song I play to pick up in the morning when I've gone to bed feeling down has never changed because it always works:

Take your working shoes off, turn your headlights on,
every move is right, no move is wrong.
Tune to this transmission, the hip trip on your dial,
Good day for feeling good, good day to smile.
Everything everywhere, rings like a bell,
turn off the moody clues, turn on the charm,
ride with the stars.

- Everything Everywhere, Channel Light Vessel

Pop-ish new agey, I know, but I use CLV's instrumental tracks as ambient background when I'm dealing with #2 and #3 on your list. It's just impossible (for me) not to get picked up by it, and I've played it to death.
posted by Pufferish at 11:18 AM on January 31, 2007

I cant help but singing "I LIKE LIFE" from the musical: Scrooge! when i am feeling down. But then again, i am biased because i love the movie.
posted by Wezzlee at 2:04 PM on January 31, 2007

For work, IMusic's BrainAmp or Vivaldi's Winter Largo; experts say they increase your concentration. Works for me
posted by DudeAsInCool at 6:38 PM on January 31, 2007

The happy stuff Sufjan Stevens does, makes me smile.
posted by magikker at 7:41 PM on January 31, 2007

My best answer to all three of your questions:

"Homage to Patagonia" by LemonJelly.

It is deliciously cheerful and very chill.
posted by ourobouros at 7:17 AM on February 1, 2007

@mjao

Wow.. I _completely_ relate to your comment about Tool's Lateralus. I can just loop Schism and work for like two hours.
posted by theiconoclast31 at 3:59 PM on February 2, 2007

1. Happy songs? I 2nd Antonio Carlos Jobim, Dragostea din tei, and the Cure's "Friday I'm In Love." The Beatles do it for me -- A Hard Day's Night or Beatles 1 for the upbeat stuff, and the White Album for that "yes! truth" element that mdn was describing.

"Pain Killer" by Turin Brakes. "Beautiful Life." "Out of My Head" by Fastball. "Island in the Sun" by Weezer. "Theologians" by WIlco. "Mr. Blue Sky" or "Blinded by the Light" by ELO. "Everybody Plays the Fool" by the Chosen Few. "Move Something," from the fitness campaign that my state's health dept. is running (link on lower left).

When I'm feeling down in a "life stinks, why me, PMS-ing, would you like to come to my pity party?" kind of way, I put on Julian Lennon's Photograph Smile album. It's sort of the indulgent chick flick of music. The songs aren't hugely upbeat, but they speak of hope after trials and separation. "Walls" and "Day After Day" are good.

The Kinks. "Picture Book" is the song from that HP commercial a few years back, and "When I Turn Off the Living Room Light" is quirky and funny (though it may not be right for some people).

Juanes. The Mi Sangre album is good. Uptempo, socially responsible.

And songs from Animaniacs always cheer me up. They're clever and cute and musically nice.

2. Radiohead, Coldplay, St. Matthew Passion (it's long!), soundtracks, bluegrass/folk guitar-type stuff. Peter, Paul & Mary are easy to ignore, but lovely when you tune in.

3. Cake's Pressure Chief album. Smash Mouth's Astro Lounge album. "Sex Bomb." The theme from Spiderman. N'Sync!
posted by ramenopres at 7:35 AM on February 3, 2007

Response by poster: Thank you everyone. This was a great success.
I found some great suggestions in the above.

I've put together a CD with many of these songs, and I think it's a great gift.

I also very much appreciate the words of warning - but as someone who had previously suffered from depression (gone now, thanks to Prozac) I think it is important that we understand the value of music to affect our mood and cheer us up.

In thanks to those who have contributed I have posted a complete list of the happy songs below:



Happy
1. jazz.
2. DJ Drank's Greatest Malt Liquor Hits.
3. Everybody Hurts, REM
4. Shiny Happy People, REM
5. Here Comes the Sun, Beatles
6. Harry Belafonte’s Calypso
7. Radiohead
8. Beachboys – pet sounds, smile
9. "Today is the Day" or "Phoney Maroney" by Apollo Sunshine
10. "Get Happy" -- Judy Garland
"I've Gotta Crow" from Rodgers & Hammerstein's Peter Pan
"Happy Talk" from South Pacific
"Copacabana" -- Barry Manilow
"Dragostea Din Tei" -- O-Zone
"Yatta" -- Happatai
"Bananaphone" -- Raffi
"I'm a Believer" -- the Monkees or Smash Mouth
"Peace Train" -- Cat Stevens
"Red Rubber Ball" -- the Cyrkle
"Whiskey in the Jar" -- basically any version
"Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" -- Queen
"Don't Stop Me Now" -- Queen
(...okay, like 75% of Queen's greatest hits compilation)
"La Bamba" -- Los Lobos
"Anything Goes" from Anything Goes (1987 BRC)
"I Get a Kick Out of You" -- ditto
"Blow, Gabriel, Blow" -- ditto
"Build Me Up, Buttercup" -- the Foundations
"Cottonfields" -- Beach Boys
"I Can Hear Music" -- Beach Boys
"Workin' My Way Back to You" -- Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons
"Leader of the Pack" -- the Shangri-Las
"Magic to Do" from Pippin
"Playing with the Boys" -- Kenny Loggins
"It's Raining Men" -- Weather Girls
11. come on eileen
12. Squeeze and the Hives
13. Spice Girls, Britney Spears, S Club 7, Justin Timberlake
14. Flood, by The Might Be Giants
15. "Planet" by the Sugarcubes
16. Flaming Lips (Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Frogs, Everyone Wants to Live Forever), Beck (Debra, Sexx Laws), Ben Folds (One Angry Dwarf, Jackson Cannery, Kate, Julianne), Bill Withers (Ain't No Sunshine, Friend of Mine, Let Us Love), Little Richard, Stevie Wonder (Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing, Overjoyed), Lyle Lovett (You're Not from Texas, I've Been to Memphis), Pixies (Hey, Broken Face), Queen (Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon, Seaside Rendezvous, Bicycle Race).
17. Dzihan & Kamien - Smile (from ? no idea)
Kid Koala & P Love - New Track (from Nuphonia Book Tour live set)
Bonobo - Between the Lines (from Days to Come)
The Cinematic Orchestra - Wheel Within A Wheel (from some Gilles Peterson compilation)
Radio Citizen - Hop (from Berlin Serengeti)
Tied & Tickled Trio - The Long Tomorrow (from Observing Systems ? not sure)
Arovane - Tides (from the album entitled Tides)
18.
posted by earthwalker7 at 12:23 AM on February 11, 2007