Pick Me Up!

Ever get so annoyed at everything that you want to rant and then one petty whiny thought turns into a bunch of non-sensical run-on stupid thoughts? Yeah. That was me the other night. Silly, right? And they're not even real problems. Just me in a funk the past couple days is all, I guess. So, usually when I start to feel all cuh-razy like that I turn to one or more of the following things that are guaranteed to kick me back into a better mood.

1) Wayne's World
I watched this for the millionth time last night. There's nothing like some escapist fun and THIS MOVIE NEVER FAILS ME! It still cracks me up after all these years, and when I was a kid it exposed me to some of the best rock music around. My absolute fave was the scene-stealing bad-ass Alice Cooper schooling the boys on the history of Milwaukee (Does this guy know how to party or what?):

2.) "Jane Says" by Jane's Addiction
Let's be real. The lyrics are depressing. On some level I identify with the girl in the song (you know, minus the whole heroin thing). But when I was younger and I didn't know what the song was about, I loved it anyway. The tune was singable and so so so infectious. AND throwing steel drums on the track was such a brilliant move by Stephen Perkins; it lifted the song with such a unique groove that I don't think I could find in too many "alternative" songs that were released around the same time as Jane Says. That groove makes me feel good. Any time I see videos of the guys performing the song live it seems to always take on a joyous, celebratory tone. And why wouldn't it? 23 years after its release, it's still a classic, it's still perfect and it still makes me move. 

3.) "Nantes"- Beirut (live performance from La Blogotheque's Take Away Show)
This video's currently got about 5.7 million hits on YouTube and I'm pretty sure a million are from me alone. Okay I'm being hyperbolic, but you get the picture. I LOVE this and I NEVER get sick of it. I feel giddy when I see talented people who are passionate about what they do and Zach Condon is exactly that. I'm sort of in love with the idea of a bunch of musicians setting up in front of a random Parisian cafe and playing an impromptu session. Zach stands in the middle of the group, conducting his band as he sings, and the live session builds into a thrilling performance that totally surpasses the already wonderful studio version. Oh, P.S. how great is that percussionist? He's playing trash bins for crying out loud. SO. GOOD.