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Blondie, "(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear"
comment: So upbeat and nice-nice. I love when she says "levitating lovers" and "catching your r.e.m.'s" This song is a great comfort and such a gift it could be to a lover you want to show your love to.

Nico, "I'll Keep It With Me"
The most upbeat song on her first album. Written by Bob Dylan. I have not heard a Nico song that sounded as positive as this one. I smile when I hear this, I can't explain it.

Sinead O'Connor, "Just Call Me Joe"
I sometimes wish I could escape to another place in the world and just be called "Joe." The simplicity of it all is wonderful. Listening to this song reminds me of the Paul Newman movie Hud. A nice and small western town where I can run wild and just be called "Joe." So good!

T. Rex, "Rabbit Fighter"
Jesus Christ. This has to be one of my favorite lyrics ever:
"call me rabbit fighter
jo jo don't you know"
Ah, the ballad of it all! I have no clue who jo jo is or what the hell Bolan meant by "rabbit fighter," but I love it.

Richard McGraw, "Judas Disguise"
Ah, I could listen to his whole album any day. I enjoy his lyrics. His music. It has incredible wit to it. "Your body is trained for the things I lack." Damn. Damn. Damn. This is one album that is incredible.

Lou Reed, "Vanishing Act"
This is from Lou Reed's last studio album The Raven. This is song is as good as "Pale Blue Eyes" in my opinion. This is simplicity at its best. Listen to this song now and try not to smile.

Pearl Jam, "Nothingman"
This makes me feel good because I could identify with the "nothingman" in certain respects when I was depressed. This song definitely lifts my spirits and puts me into a state of grace.

Patti Smith, "Break It Up"
The power of this song and the build-up makes me want to love and be in love forever. Such a comfort this is and an energy boost. Again, I don't know why, who can explain such things?

The Smiths, "I Know It's Over"
The best break-up song ever written. It makes me smile because Morrissey's humor and wit of this song. The opening line is classic: "Oh mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head..." Ah, so nice...

The Pogues, "Fairytale of New York"
This is my Christmas song. I first heard this in the movie Basquiat, which you all should see of course. Man, Shane MacGowan is a fucking genius. His lyrics are beautiful. The story of this song of one giving up their dreams for the other is excellent. The woman (Kristy MacColl) calling the man (Shane MacGowan) a "bum and punk" and later "a cheap lousy faggot," then saying "happy christmas your ass," wow... Ah, I am in love with this song always.

Neil Young, "Change Your Mind"
This is an epic near 15 minute song. Written definitely in response to Kurt Cobain's suicide. This song is powerful. I label it a feel good song because you can tell that Neil Young really cares tremendously about the scene he was a pioneer of "grunge" music. Listening to this song reminds me that not all in the business of music are jerks and assholes. The only ones to love are the ones who care.

R.E.M., "The Wake-Up Bomb"
"practice my t.rex moves and make a scene"
'nuff said.

(there are so many more, but this is good for now)

What Are Yours?

-Sean
http://www.livejournal.com/users/passthrufire

Dress Rehearsal Rag, anyone?

these following tracks by the beatles usually make me smile or feel good. i often think about john or george when i listen to these songs, even if they wrote them or not:

"with a little help from my friends," "lovely rita," "here comes the sun," "she came in through the bathroom window," "the end," and their last 2 recordings as a band (without john), "free as a bird" and "real love."

i know these songs only come from essentially 2 of their albums (with the last 2 as the only exception), and don't get me wrong, i LOVE the beatles. i'm always happy to hear their music on the radio. i just remember smiling to these songs when i'd play them. these are my feel-good beatles songs.

almost anything by kiss and t. rex i feel great about. they usually make me laugh. i only play them usually when i'm in a good mood. i absolutely love kiss and t. rex. while they each have a few sad songs, the bulk of their music is made for having fun, in my opinion. and they fucking rock!!!

also the who's "you better you bet,"

metallica's black sabbath cover of "sabbra cadabra," because it's this upbeat, rockin' love song about a guy who's just so excited to be with his woman that he could destroy the universe for her. hahaha.

david bowie's "heroes" is one of those great songs about love and overcoming disappointing times. it gives me a wonderful feeling to listen to it. another song like that is bruce springsteen's "born to run," which is one of my favorite songs ever because of the pure energy of the music and the desperation in his voice, but it's a bit darker than "heroes," and shows a bit more gloom than hope.

also, um, and i know this is REALLY lame, but hulk hogan's old theme song, "real american," by rick springfield. i've been a professional wrestling fan since the age of two, and hulk hogan has always been a childhood idol for me. that music signified some of my happiest moments because i'd see him on tv coming down the aisle, hearing the fans screaming, and he'd be smiling, pointing to the crowd, putting his hand to his ear so he could hear them all screaming, and he'd pose his "24-inch pythons," and then rip off his hulkamania shirt. i am always happy to see him perform on tv, even though he does not anymore. and that song always gets me going.

i listened to billy joel as a kid, too, and when i hear his older songs on the radio i get excited and sing along to them. i lip-synched "it's still rock and roll to me" in front of a bunch of other kids when i was in grade school at an afterschool program we had. it was for a performance competition, and i won. haha.

also, anything blatantly sexual by prince gets me going. kind of like the way i feel listening to kiss and t. rex.

that's about all i can think of right now. oh, but i can't forget cohen's "death of a ladie's man." brilliance!

My ultimate feel-good song is 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy) by Simon & Garfunkel. It's a bit embarrassing, and very difficult to explain, because I don't particularly like the song (it's certainly not one of their best) but I can't help responding to it no matter how down I am.

LOL ~ ~ I know just what you mean about responding to it, Linmag. I do the same thing! It takes me back to Ann Arbor and hippie days, which adds even more colour to my feelings .

Welcome home from your travels ~ and I sure hope you did get included on the stamp !

Love,
Elizabeth