This song made the rounds a few years ago now, but that’s ok: stuff that’s good and popular at some point in history has that status in perpetuity. I mean, the Macarena is just as amazing now as it was back- oh darn.

Thankfully, Pack Up has retained it’s indelible goodness, what with its pleasing joyfulness and charm. It’s a toe-tapping, head-nodding, body-shaking good time, that’s for darn sure.

Even if you live in the middle of a bubbling cesspit of grime and filth, putting on some classic blues will make the joint feel like the classiest lounge in the world. It really is the best way to kick back after a hard day on the job, whatever that job may be. Guaranteed to put you at ease! You know, unless you hate blues. BEGONE.

Anyway, allow me to welcome back the queen (well, one of them) of blues: Julie London. She’s featured on here before, where I made a note to buy an EP or two. Well, I’ve done just that, and it was totally worth it: I’m having trouble typing this post on account of how gosh darned chilled out I am.

I do love happy coincidences. A friend of mine recommended this track to me, and being the credible music journalist that I totally am, I did some research on Mr. Laurance only to discover that he is a member of the New York-based jazz collection, Snarky Puppy, of whom we’ve posted about before. Does… does this mean we’re cool and on the pulse of what’s hip and in? I’m going to assume yes!

This is some very slick jazz indeed, mixing in some synth pop and downtempo for added bite and flavour. This is, perhaps, a little more spicy than what Snarky Puppy output, in case you need a rubbish comparison of some kind, though the piano kind of reminds me of Robert Miles’ Children.

Today, we lost one of the finest talents the world has ever seen. I will remember him for so many different things, but the first thing that sprang to mind when I was thinking of something music related was his manic turn as the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin. His exuberance and wit was front and center in this film, and you can just tell that so much of what ended up in the animation of the Genie came about as a result of his creativity and spark.

So in honour of Mr. Williams, I present Friend Like Me from the aforementioned film. A stunning and vivacious introduction to the character of the Genie, yes, but also a beautiful snapshot of his unbridled talent and enthusiasm.

You will be missed, Robin.

Oh, how I do love when music punctuates a mood better than words can. Not that I need an assassin right now or anything – possibly a timely example of how sucky words can be, sometimes!

Anyway, this is some more Junip, and we all know what that means: heavenly sounding alternative folk, the kind that might bring a tear of joy or sadness to your eye. It is a wide-open choice! And since I’m in charge of my eyes, I’m going to go with a combination of both.

Being a pasty, nerdy white guy, I obviously know everything about rap. All the things. Yep, I know it all. Totally.

Anyway, if our scant count of 22 rap/hip-hop posts (well, 23 now) isn’t enough of an indication, I am not particularly well-versed in the genre, or even that fond of it. But every now and then, something pops out of the blue for me to enjoy, and enjoy it I do! It sounds vaguely Eminem-esque, but without the mostly rubbish lyrics. So yeah. Get down. And stuff.

Sometimes, you just need a little bit of sweetness in your life. Something that makes you smile and maybe tear up a little bit because it’s also a little bit sad. If that’s the case, then say hello to Big Star with their probably quite well-known tune, Thirteen! Now, like me, you probably heard Elliott Smith’s cover of the song before you heard the original, and with good cause: this came out in the 70s. Gosh dangit, the 70s were great for music.

Anyway, this really is just an achingly beautiful song that I just want to listen to over and over again. So excuse me while I go do that!