Up@dawn 2.0

Monday, December 11, 2017

Philosophy of Music, 2nd Installment

No use waiting any longer, time to finish out the Playlist of Happiness and boy howdy could we use some with the FCC days away from selling the internet to big-name ISPs. The normal first selection would not start us on the right foot if you ask me, so let's start with something more pleasant.


TRACK 13: DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY [BOBBY MCFERRIN]

Well out of place but more pleasant than track 7 is Bobby McFerrin's legendary Don't Worry be Happy. I dare say that this song is the platonic ideal of happy songs, what with the upbeat tune and charming voice encouraging you to be happy and not worry. It's not like this encouragement of happiness is assuming you're in a pleasant place, the situations described in the song are quite worrying. Late rent, being homeless, being broke and unfashionable and not having a love in your life are all things we probably have or might have to deal with. If nothing else, the song wants you to smile for everyone else so general happiness can be maintained.

Robin Williams being in this does give it a dark sting, but if you can forget that (by, say, not watching the video) then don't worry, be happy!

Alright, back to the proper order.

SECTION 3: FULFILLMENT SONGS

These are the songs that are basically about winning life. Maybe it's just a short-lived sense of satisfaction, maybe you've done all you've ever wanted. You might still have a long way to go, you might not have any more worlds to conquer. In any case, you're either finding happiness in success and fulfillment or failing at that.



TRACK 7: ICE CREAM PAINT JOB [DORROUGH MUSIC]

I'd prefer not to.

Seriously, I don't even have some sort of deeper analysis of the song, it's just here because it's the first song I thought of for shallow fulfillment. It might as well be a hedonism song, he's just bragging about his car. He seems to think he's fulfilled, but it's just a kinda swanky car.



TRACK 8: LOVE IT OR HATE IT [THE GAME, 50 CENT]

Much better.

Like Ice Cream Paint Job, this song features its fair share of bragging. Unlike that one, however, it illustrates where the rappers are now compared to where they used to be. They used to be underdogs, fighting to survive in an environment that's working against them and now they're MVPs, the top dogs. The song has a cold, dark atmosphere that highlights just how sucky a situation the rapper was in, which in turn creates a clear, triumphant contrast with the lines describing how good they have it now.



TRACK 9: WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD [LOUIS ARMSTRONG]

I hear soothing sounds...and a cool jazzy voice...and I think to myself...what a wonderful song...

But seriously, this is quite the wonderful song. Unlike Love it or Hate it, this song seems to be satisfied with life as it is. It's so hopeful and optimistic, with love and beauty and friendship and a positive outlook on the future. It's a great song to put on to relax, as well as a good reminder of the small stuff that we take for granted. How often do you see a crying child and think "that kid will probably know and do things that I probably won't"? Even being young enough that I'll be alive when they're freshly adults, my joints will probably hurt too much to do hyperspace super-basketball or mega-fidget-spinner combat discus or whatever's cool twenty years from now. We all could use a moment where we stop and look at all the things that make life worth living.

SECTION 4: SONGS THAT TELL YOU TO BE HAPPY

Exactly what it says on the tin. These are songs where the song is happy and tells you that you should be happy. It probably gives you some life advice for keeping your chin up over some upbeat music and probably repeats a central sentiment of being happy. That may sound annoying and aggressively positive, but I find that it is actually a good way to boost your mood.



TRACK 10: HAPPY [PHARELL WILLIAMS]

I used to really, REALLY like this song but I played it so much it eventually wore thin on myself. Full disclosure, this is the other prompt-mandated song but I would probably consider it for this playlist even if it wasn't. This is one of those songs that sounds better in 8-bit or MIDI for me since it tends to lack that chorus in the chorus that just goes "Happyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy" in a way that's really started to grate on my ears. Even so, it's a cheery song that's the perfect example of what I'm talking about. He wants you to climb along if you need happiness, understand happiness is the truth, already get what happiness or if you just want to.



TRACK 11: YOU'RE ONLY HUMAN (SECOND WIND) [BILLY JOEL]

Lyric video because it's cleaner than the music video.

Here it is, my go-to cheer up song. You screwed up? Well, you're only human so it's okay to make mistakes sometimes. Feel like a piece of crap? It happens, things will get better. Life sucks in general? Don't worry, there'll be a part of life that won't completely suck eggs. Don't give up, there's a second wind coming. The song itself is really cheery, and I think part of what cheers me up every time here is that this song helped me get through a rough time in my life. Unlike some other songs, this gives me good nostalgia and rejuvenates my will to keep trucking through life.



TRACK 12: JUMP [VAN HALEN]

Is it weird that this is a happiness song for me? It's not the happiest song here, but that synth feels like it's jumping through the clouds with leaps and bounds, not caring about what's going on. Okay, maybe this is a really bad song to show someone who is considering suicide since it keeps saying "might as well JUMP", but the lyrics besides that are motivational and inspiring, so it's probably not encouraging that.

You got to ro~o~oll with the punches!

And thus brings us to the end of our list. There's some highs and some lows, but I'd say it rarely provides an unpleasant experience, especially depending on your opinion of noisy music. Music's kinda magical, just put something on and it'll have a profound effect on how you're feeling. Even with all the crap going on from whatever nasty thing you heard today to the enslavement of the modern age's nervous system to out-and-out violations of basic human rights, take some notes from the songs here.

You need a love to keep you happy, You'd rather have a bottle in front'a ye than a full frontal lobotomy, There's beautiful things still in the world, You'll get that second wind sooner or later, and one so important we might want to sing it note for note: Don't worry, be happy.

4 comments:

  1. "Robin Williams being in this does give it a dark sting, but if you can forget that (by, say, not watching the video) then don't worry, be happy!" I think we definitely should NOT forget that Robin Williams had happier days, was in fact widely perceived to be a paradigm of happiness, and that while 'dwbh' sounds so simple, happiness is for most of us much of the time a great challenge. We mustn't take it for granted.

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    1. That's a very good point. I guess I was more thinking about the immediate, knee-jerk response as opposed to a more rational, reasonable review.

      I certainly know that happiness can be hard, but you certainly can't get happy by focusing on how unhappy you are. Unless it lets you put it in perspective or rationalize it into nonexistence. Either way, you have to desire happiness.

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  2. Good playlist, but I still struggle trying to picture Ice Cream Paint Job as a "happy" song. Definitely "Don't Worry (Be Happy)" should be in everyone's playlists, since its got a simple message: be happy! (always works when I listen to it) A few songs I'd recommend are "Swing Life Away" by Rise Against and "This Afternoon" by Nickelback (unless you hate Nickelback, in which case just the first song).

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  3. I forgot to add this and I don't have access anymore, so link to part 1: https://philoshap.blogspot.com/2017/11/philosophy-of-music-1st-installment.html

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