Play That Funky Music

We all need some time off every now and then, so I Am Fabulous is up for a little light relief this week. Since returning from Ibiza, the soundtrack in chez Fabulous has been rather chillout-inspired and I’m feeling I may have overdosed on Buddha Bar and Café del Mar. Even my iPod looks like a hippie’s been in charge of the playlists and, much as I love it, hours of downloaded spiritual talk shows from Hay House Radio can be a tad earnest. In an effort to redress the balance in favour of something a little juicier, I decided to scour my ridiculously huge collection of newspaper giveaway compilation CDs to see if they held any of the gems that I long suspected were hidden within their cheap cardboard jackets. (Note to self: must get out more). The ratio of quality to quantity is about 1:10, rather like shopping in TK Maxx, but all that ferreting around paid off with a fine collection of upbeat, funky numbers that cannot fail to bring a smile to your face.

The power of music to lift mood is well-known and, as Forbes magazine recently noted, “As a therapeutic tool, music has been shown to impart numerous emotional and physical benefits. Treatments can be designed to relieve stress, reduce pain, ease depression, alleviate nausea and improve sleep, for example”. Perhaps the most famous exponent of music therapy was Tracey Ullman’s eccentric psychiatrist character in Ally McBeal, who advised Ally to deal with stress and boost confidence by getting a theme song, “something with bounce”.

Well, the treasures I found lurking in the crappy CD collection definitely have bounce, so your luck is in (or out – depending on how you choose to look at it) and I’m going to share them with you. They may not be the best songs in the world, but you cannot fail to crack a smile and feel uplifted when you hear them. Plus, you’ve probably not heard them for years, so the nostalgia factor will kick in too. In no particular order, they are:

· Come Up & See Me (Make Me Smile) by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel. Steve Harley’s mannered vocals and the Spanish guitar in the bridge make it a curate’s egg of a song, but a pure delight.
· It’s Raining Men by the Weather Girls. If you thought the insipid Geri Spice version was tolerable, wait till you hear this! These bootylicious big girls sing the song with such gusto and a clear willingness to get down and dirty that you almost feel sorry for the men.
· (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding. It’s a well-needed homage to simply goofing about. Any song with lyrics that go “I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away, just sittin’ on the dock of the bay, wastin’ time” is fine by me.
· Love Is A Beautiful Thing by Al Green. If James Brown is the godfather of soul, then the Rev Al Green is its holy man. His sweet vocal style is so effortlessly charming that he makes Luther Vandross look like a rank amateur. I had a tough time choosing this one over Let’s Stay Together or Tired of Being Alone.
· Shout To The Top by The Style Council. The opening riff is so upbeat and catchy it’s like woodworm for the brain – you’ll be singing this for days.
· Stuck In The Middle With You by Stealer’s Wheel. Here’s an infectious bass-line and hypnotic handclap underpinning a really stylish song that’s perfect for bad days in the office – “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right”.
· Itchycoo Park by The Small Faces. Again, a mannered vocal delivery with a mad bridge – this time psychedelic Hammond organ – that makes it a classic. It’s all too beautiful! The Small Faces have to get an honourable mention for Lazy Sunday Afternoon too, for the admirable sentiment of “got no mind to worry”, as well as managing to work the word ‘lumbago’ into a song lyric and successfully rhyming it with ‘rainbow’.
· (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher by Jackie Wilson. Pretty much any version of this song will lift your spirits, but I particularly like this one and the one by Rita Coolidge. He also did the fabulous I Get The Sweetest Feeling.
· Celebration by Kool & The Gang. Yes, it’s a disco cheese-fest where people actually chant “Yahoo”, but this is so bad it’s gone full cycle and become good. Plus, it’ll make you want to dance. Even David Brent from The Office could muster up a bit of rhythm to accompany this track.
· Mercedes Benz by Janis Joplin. How could you not love a song that kicks off with “Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz, my friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends”?

This week your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write your own list of favourite or forgotten songs that always lift your spirits and make you smile. It’s time to lighten up a little, enjoy the sunshine and remember what makes you happy. You cannot possibly be depressed when cheesy disco numbers are blasting out of your CD player. Be brave, excavate the vaults and pick the songs you love, no matter how embarrassing they are. How bad could it be? I’ve just admitted to liking Celebration, so how much worse could it get?

Make a ‘bad day at the office’ playlist and upload it to your iPod, for a quick blast of positivity in your lunchbreak or on the way to work. Swap deeply embarrassing details of guilty pleasures from your teenage years (Rick Astley, anyone?) with your friends and see who can win the worse taste award. Above all, have fun. This is your week off from the habit of taking life too seriously.

Coach Fabulous is updated every Thursday at http://coachfabulous.blogspot.com. You can also use the link in the Favourite Sites section on the right. For alert emails on new postings, send a blank email to IAmFabulousCo@aol.com with 'Subscribe' in the title field. All material © 2006 Alison Porter. No article may be reproduced in full or in part without the express permission of the author. (Originally posted 19 Jun 06)