Eff You, January Gloom
Tracks to pick me up. What are yours?
With the deccies coming down today/tomorrow, some of you will be relieved it's all over for another year.
But if you're like me, the start of a new year is a bit depressing. January is just a slightly shit month. Payday always seems a long way away. Back to work. Everyone is on a diet. The anticlimax after Christmas doesn't help. Winter darkness is no longer punctuated and warmed by twinkling fairy lights. Most of the food gone, and here I am, feeling heavy and dull and slow and grey. It's a month of drizzle and concrete and blahhh.
But there is a remedy.
Music is good medicine
... and I've got your prescription.
Here are the tracks I’ve been listening to that never fail to lift my mood. It's not exhaustive (that would be impossible).
It could be the melody or the rhythm is too cheery to resist, or it could be the “eff it” or “cheer the eff up” message in the lyrics. Could be that they remind of sunnier times, or are just funny.
Get your wanky airpods in or whatever, and crank up the volume until your device warns you that continued high volume could damage your hearing. It also helps to MOVE. Wear your fluffiest slippers and make a dick of yourself in your kitchen.
---TAKE ONCE A DAY (MINIMUM) OR AS NEEDED---
In no particular order:
Sunset Rendezvous - Queen
No matter where you go, who you are, or what you listen to... soon or late you come back to Queen, like coming back to Mother. This is a much underrated track of theirs. I love how bouncy it is. It's impossible to be down while listening to it - go on, I dare you to try. A die-hard logophile, I also love the word Rendezvous. It's got a Z and a V in it. How fancy.
~
I’ve No More Fucks To Give - Benjamin Wild Esq
Spectacular!
I've no more fucks to give , My fucks have gone insane , They've come back round and passed me while they're fucking off again!
~
Cup of Brown Joy - Professor Elemental
I do love a cuppa, what what! ,
Keep your sodding coffee in a proper copper coffee pot , And spot me lobbing teapots at your poncy rotten coffee shop , Coffee clots, nodding off--lost the plot, sodding off , Need some caffeine, tannin, and a Battenberg to top it off
~
Some People Have it Worse Than I - Tim Minchin
Well, I wake up in the morning at 11:47 , And I can't believe I have to face the horror of another fucking day , And the magnificent magnitude of my morning erection , Merely mocks me like the sun in its optimistic greeting of the day
Belt that out with the window open and try feeling depressed.
~
The Bad Touch - The Bloodhound Gang
Yes, it's juvenile and smutty and silly and rude. That's why we love it.
And then we'll do it doggy style , So we can both watch X-Files
~
Got Your Number - Serena Ryder
This is the perfect blend of "upbeat" and "fuck you" to chase away the January grey.
~
Sweet Virginia - Rolling Stones
This has got that singalong pub feel that puts a smile on my face.
Anthony R on YouTube says this is the best version. I dunno, what do you think?
~
In the Middle - Jimmy Eat World
If I could sum this up in one word it would be perky.
~
Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles
I should have put this one at the top, shouldn't I? See also Penny Lane and Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da
~
Alright - Supergrass
This is a 90's summer distilled into 3 minutes.
~
Damage Case - Motörhead
Shut up I just love it.
~
Girl From Mars - Ash
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ELO - Twilight
I could easily have picked three ELO tracks as well. Or five. Or ten. I picked this one over Calling America Mr Blue Sky and All Over The World
~
Baby Fratelli - The Fratellis
It was this or Chelsea Dagger.
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My Life - Billy Joel
A timeless and cheery fuck you, pipped You May Be Right to be here 😁
~
A Quick Death in Texas - Clutch
You gotta shout CHOOOON when this one starts. It's the law. Carry on.
~
Friday I'm in Love - The Cure
Enjoy!
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No Rain - Blind Melon
Still feeling January-ish?
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Call Me - In This Moment
I'm not usually a fan of covers, but I do like this one.
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Money For Nothing - Dire Straits
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Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters
Smiling yet?
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Night Moves - Bob Seger
Plinky plink, have some summer in your ears
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Teenagers - My Chemical Romance
Oh come on, who doesn't love this chorus?
~
Payday might be a long way off, and summer even longer. But have some summer in your ears, and grit in your belly.
+++++++
Thank you for stopping by!
Did you love any of these?
Help me grow my playlist! What's your number one "always lifts me up" track?
Comments (16)
This is a great list! And it is definitely helpful got like ten inches of snow over night lol
Ahhh, what can I say? You have such good musical tastes. It's not cold nor gloomy where I'm sitting - in fact, it's 37(degrees cel), and I'm laying low out of the heat enjoying your playlist! It's suitable for all weather conditions.
I'm with Hannah here. I need my own F u month music. Every month kinda feel like the January blues these days. But...i feel better now,,,for company.
Oh thank God for My Chemical Romance! They're the only ones that I know from your playlist, lol!
I am not a fan of January. I also have a copper French press. Lol Pick me up song: Burritos by Sublime (it’s a great Cheery Fuck You song) Completely different genre Sun Children by Nickodemus
Music is definitely a great way to get through the month! Currently I got hooked on Fiction by Beast, which is KPop which I've never really been into. Also, Two Moons by BoyWithUke. Two very different tunes for a never-predictable-yet-overbreaing month.
I’ve No More Fucks To Give is an absolute delight!
This corner of the world sure seems to corner the market on environmental gloom at this time of year, so your writing is on point. With all the rain, flooding and accidents, it took me two hours to drive to work today. The greyness and gloom almost won. What a fun story to read when I got home. Thank you!
Ooh, I need to make myself a similar me list. Weird, I know, but I am the one and only always lifts my mood. A little bit of Snuff perhaps. Or some ac/DC. I mean, I'm not looking for class here, I'm looking for energy and strut.
Some really great music in there. In the middle is a song I love though I always have to remind myself it is Jimmy Eat World and not Blink 182 😁
Awesome list of songs, LC! I'll have to give them a try :) after the high of a wonderful New Year's, life has come screaming into kick me back down into the dirt, so I think I could use a lovely pick me up. One of my feel better songs is Juke Box Hero by Foreigner. No idea why but it does make me happy sometimes
A whole lot of fun & more than a few memories here. But I have to admit, one of my favorites was your second by Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq. Yeah, I'm a pastor. What's it to ya, lol? For me it's virtually anything musical-oriented. From old school with The Music Man, Oklahoma, Gypsy, My Fair Lady, Oliver, Fiddler on the Roof, Big River, etc. to more contemporary with Rent, Wicked, Evan Hansen & Hamilton: An American Musical--make me laugh, smile, cry, it's all good.
L.C., this came at a perfect time for me on a cold, dreary, rainy day in January. I just got back from a grand jury summons and was the first one of 200 to be randomly selected to serve. And then we were put in a room to start our first case. BAMM! Your opening, "But if you're like me, the start of a new year is a bit depressing. January is just a slightly shit month. Payday always seems a long way away. Back to work. Everyone is on a diet. The anticlimax after Christmas doesn't help. Winter darkness is no longer punctuated and warmed by twinkling fairy lights. Most of the food gone, and here I am, feeling heavy and dull and slow and grey. It's a month of drizzle and concrete and blahhh." was PERFECT. I loved the black & white video (with or without the music) of Queen's Seaside Rendezvous...definitely cheered me up! You also included some of my favs: Here Comes the Sun, Money for Nothing, & Night Moves. Thank you for brightening my day :)
Yes, music is important, as I listen to my original Klipsch Chorus speakers, wishing the amp went to "11." Might I suggest to be added, if I may be so bold, Let's Dance (Chris Rhea) Happiness Runs (Donovan) Twisted (Joni Mitchell) TrV 176, Das Tanslied, from Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 (R Strauss) and some purely brain candy that blew my mind this Christmas when I came upon it, Sleigh Ride by Jewel.
The sun here doesn't rise until 8:00 a.m. and sets at 4:30 p.m. Thanks for the bit of brightness - your song selections made me smile.
Wow another music lover. Loved your story