The lovely Sian at Mummytips has fixed her blog (thank God!) and tagged me with the Shiny Happy meme.
The rules of the meme are that I have to choose a picture and a song that encapsulate happiness for me – something I listen to or look at when I need an immediate injection of happy in my day.
Annoyingly, Sian’s nabbed my idea of using a Smiths track, although with hindsight, I’m not sure what it says about me that I can’t sing, “And if a double-decker bus, crashes into us…” without feeling just a little bit better about the world.
So, I thought a bit more. And I do have a song that I literally can’t listen to without smiling. I have it on my “HAPPY” iPod playlist, and if this song starts playing on the car CD, Flea instantly pipes up: “Remember the rule Mummy. Only three times then you have to play something else.” (I instigated this rule after spending a seven-hour drive to Devon listening to nothing but All American Rejects).
Anyway, before I share the song with you, here’s why I love it so much:
- The original version of this track reminds me of some spectacularly happy moments in my life. Jumping up and down like a fool as a 17-year-old at the Reading festival. Going to indie clubs with my friends from college. Driving a Greenpeace van in Toronto with the Pixies on the stereo, all of us singing along at the tops of our voices. Just perfect.
- The cover takes a song I already adored, and just turns it into 2 minutes 45 of musical joy. This version encourages – nay, demands – comedy dancing. This song is the best comedy dance song ever. Fact.
- I even love the video taken of this performance – Meaghan Smith and her Peeps are just having so much fun! Who wouldn’t want to stand on a rooftop in the LA hills and play bongo drums? (the bongo guy is my favourite thing about this video).
So here it is for you all to enjoy: Meaghan Smith and the Peeps covering the Pixie’s Here Comes Your Man. Genius.
(ps I know the picture above is not big OR clever. But for some reason, I’m physically unable to look at it and not laugh. Bad Sally.)
