What is the most upbeat album you own?

[Al Tha Funkee Homosapien]

What's the one album or albums that when put on can't fail to make you feel happy and alright with the world?


For me at the moment it has to be The Presidents of the United States of America's debut album. Now to a lot of people they are probably thought of as a novelty one-hit wonder type act mainly because of the songs Lump and Peaches (a song about, well, peaches). But whenever I stick on this album I just song along to the short catchy songs and silly lyrics and can't help but feel happy.

[Tom Pynchon's Photo]

[chand]

Never fails to cheer me up, that.

[surreal]

at the moment its "Tamla Motown Gold" 3CD set which is on pretty much constantly - stopped me going postal on Friday when I was stuck in the snow in Birmingham for 4 hours anyway....

[wheatgod]

The Return of The Aquabats. Silly ska at its finest, and most upbeat.

[Brutus Beefcake]

HEY HO LET'S GO!



Can't beat it.

[Maximash]

[GetTheeBehindMeStan]

All four albums in a row, straight through without stopping. Happiness guaranteed.

[Paranormalhandy]

Frug like a young 'un.

[Captain Crunch]

Doo The Moog - Sustenance Culture



If by 'upbeat' you mean 'farting about around a bonfire in a woolly top getting wasted on White Lightening' then it's unbeatable.

[Goldentony]

HEY HO LET'S GO!

(picture)

Can't beat it.

Aye i'd agree with that, or -



This, the first Andrew WK album. Incredible!

Notable mentions to the first Electric Six LP and The Go Team.

[Ciarán2]

Pizzicato Five "Playboy & Playgirl" (1999)

It's ridiculously upbeat and chirpy, at least musically it is anyway. Quite headache inducing and so completely stonkingly gleefully poptastic that it makes Sonia sound like Thom Yorke. "La Regle Du Jeu" is the most upbeat moment of all. It's positively manic.

[aaaaaaaaaargh!]

Heh, I love the fact that this thread and the miserable one were started at the same time, yet as at this moment, this thread has half as many posts.

[Neil]

Doo The Moog - Sustenance Culture

(picture)

If by 'upbeat' you mean 'farting about around a bonfire in a woolly top getting wasted on White Lightening' then it's unbeatable.

Heh, I chat with the fiddler sometimes on last.fm, he's a good bloke.  Got in touch with him after trying to hunt down their stuff for AY, and now I get recommended their tracks every week, I think they're all free on last.fm.  This is him, has a link to what he's upto now.

As for the question in the first post, I guess it'd have to be some form of twee-pop really, that stuff just makes me want to spin around the room.  Specifically I'd have to choose Dressy Bessy or something (ANYTHING!) by Heavenly, I love Heavenly more than is healthy.  Other than that, the first solo Syd or Big Star records, or loads of Yo La Tengo, particularly I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, which is flawless.

[Anon]

Heh, I love the fact that this thread and the miserable one were started at the same time, yet as at this moment, this thread has half as many posts.

Obviously the power the blue is having on us all...

Personally, I find The Life Pursuit by Belle & Sebastian pretty uplifting.  Even the slower tracks like Dress Up In You and Act of the Apostles sound more bittersweet than anything, and the songs are just so sweetly melodic and sing-alongable they end up making me feel really upbeat anyways.  Same with The La's album, now I think of it.

[Neil]

I MEAN SUGARCUBE, for instance, how can you not feel like you could chin the world after that?

[Famous Mortimer]

The Mooney Suzuki â€" “Alive and Amplified”
Leap about like something not right music.


Jane’s Addiction â€" “Ritual de lo Habitual”
Not massively upbeat in content, but another album it’s loads of fun to dance to, drunk.

My mate bought me Pizzicato Five’s Greatest Hits when he was in Japan a while back, and that’s some good fun pop music too. It’s pretty damn difficult to be downbeat when that’s playing (unless you were already in a crappy mood, of course).

[trotsky assortment]

That Jane's album is still my favourite album in the world.  Incredible.  

I saw Andrew WK at Reading during that period where he was famous for five seconds.  Fucking meathead.

[trotsky assortment]

Thinking about it, I just couldn't narrow this down to one album, but this one hardly ever fails to cheer me up:

[daisy11]

George McCrae's 'Rock you baby'.
For some silly fun - Lemon Jelly's 'Lemon Jelly.ky', or King Hammond's 'Blow your Mind' as the lyrics are sexually outrageous.

[Anon]

I MEAN SUGARCUBE, for instance, how can you not feel like you could chin the world after that?

Oh God yes.  I don't think Yo La Tengo have ever come up with the truly brilliant album they're capable of, but I Can Hear The Hearts Beating As One came pretty damn close...in fact, I've got the end of We're An American Band in my head now!

[The Plunger]

Super Furry Animals - Fuzzy Logic

[Brutus Beefcake]

Aye i'd agree with that, or -

(picture)

This, the first Andrew WK album. Incredible!

Good call!  Can't believe I forgot.

I MEAN SUGARCUBE, for instance, how can you not feel like you could chin the world after that?

Mr Show!

[jonno]

[boki]

Global Goon - Family Glue



Somewhere between Bonobo and Lemon Jelly, I reckon.  Here's a link to a bunch of short samples from it.

[Marvin]

At the moment, of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins or Satanic Panic in the Attic are perfect upbeat pop for my cheerful moods.

[TC Raymond]

Anything by the Macc Lads!

[difbrook]

Far and away the most upbeat album I own...



Harrison, Lynne, Petty, Orbison, Dylan, every song a belter. Every song guaranteed to make me grin like a loon - even Orbison's "Not Alone Anymore", which is achingly sad in that uniquely Orbison manner. But it's so dam' lovely that it somehow makes me smile.

Apart from that, there's a Petty shaggy dog story about a one-night stand ("Last Night"), "Dirty World" - a cavalcade of filth from Dylan; "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" - a Dylan story-song which for reasons known only to himself namechecks what seems to be dozens of Springsteen song titles in the lyrics... and best of all, "Heading For the Light" - a Harrisong which remains the one tune that leaves me feeling like all is well with the world.

The production's dated somewhat - big electronic drums and fake-sounding horn section - but my god - Harrison's never sung better, the melody is beautiful, there are backing vocals which go "aaaaaaaah" in a way that only Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty can, and Orbison comes in for the last 45 seconds or so with a perfectly judged countermelody that causes my heart to sing.

Yes, I love this album. The version on my mp3 player tags on "She's My Baby" from "Volume 3" - a ramshackle, raggedy-arsed riff monster that is considerably less polished than anything on the first album, but which is equally splendid. Just in a very different, rumpled way.

Five of my favourite people in music, mucking about and having fun. Upbeat? Oh, yes.

Have a listen to "Heading For the Light".

http://www.sendspace.com/file/1o1d3b

[hoverdonkey]

Funeral - Arcade Fire. I jest.



The Go! Team spring to mind. Always shakes me out of a slumber. Their name is pretty apt.