By DJ Bear
Positivity Pop!
One of my favourite things about coming into a bar like this is the different voices that speak out. I’ve done sets of positivity pop MANY times. But as expansive and varied as my tastes are it’s always my own voice and my own slant that puts the spin. And so strutting in my finest suit through your back alleys, nature trails, dive bars, uptown dance clubs, and streets paved with glitter I discover so much stuff new to me that is just cracking. Also I get surprised by classics I forgot that rear their funky heads reminding me how I used to throw down. With this embarrassment of riches it was a pleasure to get everybody’s take on taking it to the next level.
Ultimately my short list had 80+ tracks on it!!! C and D lists could’ve easily been made but I had to cut it down (sigh). And that was not easy so there are what I lovingly call “bonus beats” for your A and B lists. And even this meant culling down to what I felt were meatiest tracks with a variety of ingredients and flavours. A sort of one-stop pop shop for all your power of positive thinking needs tracks. Obviously go with what you like, but sometimes I go with what YOU like. It may not be my absolute jam but I get why it’s may be somebody else’s power to the people trip and we’re trying to compose a level up playlist for all kinds of people 2020, here! So again, thanks to your great choices my job was both easier and harder because of it.
Now, Muddy Waters once sang, “I got my mojo working but it just won’t work on you…”. Well in this case these songs that power lyrically and sonically in some way, PUMPED me up! And these songs definitely have some mojo working; from 80s pop classics, northern soul to disco, to hard rock these songs try to cover all the angles, “you do you”, “do what you want to do”, “we’ll make it better together”, “get to livin’ in the moment”, “I’ve got the power”, “the power of letting go”, and “an attitude of gratitude”. One of the greatest joys of music is how it takes us out of our doomsday clouded headline world and makes us come alive, be it to the dancefloor with a feather boa or to the streets with a fist in the air. Any great motivational music is one that interrupts us and make us stand at attention or to borrow a line from Godfather James Brown helps us, “Get on the good foot!”
There is much work to be done in 2020, and looking at what is right around you in your neighbourhood that needs a little polishing is the place to start! And music is just the fuse to light the fire under societies’ asses! Who doesn’t like music and dancing to it?! But before we can change the world, before we can help our fellow man, we must get our own individual houses in order and so we start with a trio of tracks focused on self-empowerment. First is a musical prayer by our pop elder Carole King before Peter Gabriel helps us find our own path with a 7/4 boom boom boom, and then we hit the switch on Frankie Miller’s stompin’ 70’s groove, “Be Good To Yourself” and we’re off...
Positive Attitude A-List Playlist
1. Carole King – Beautiful (amylee)
2. Peter Gabriel – Solsbury Hill (happyclapper
3. Frankie Miller – Be Good To Yourself (ShivSidecar)
4. Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers – Bustin’ Loose (magicman)
5. McFadden & Whitehead – Ain’t No Stopping Us Now (attwilightlarks)
6. Irene Cara – Flashdance (amylee)
7. Matthew Wilder – Break My Stride (florian7)
8. The B-52’s – Roam (amylee)
9. Vienna Teng – Level Up (Jenny)
10. Sonic Boom Six – Sunny Side Of The Street (TatankaYotanka)
11. Nils Lofgren – Flip Ya Flip (Jamesowen475)
12. Oysterband – When I’m Up I Can’t Get Down (treefrogdemon)
13. Karine Polwart – I'm Gonna Do It All (Suzi)
14. Hot Lips Page – Feelin’ High And Happy (Nicko)
15. Sammy Davis Jr. - I Just Gotta Be Me (florian7)
The B-list was no less easy to compose and cull. Lots of great zedded tracks, “Stayin’ Alive”, “It’s Your Thang”, “Move On Up” but I decided to stick with mostly with nominations directly on this post.
The Be Best B-List Playlist:
1. Koko Taylor – 63 Year Old Mama (Ravi)
2. Mitsura feat. Lloyd Michaels – The Flasher (phillipphillip99)
3. The Pointer Sisters – Yes We Can (Zedded)
4. The Staple Singers – Respect Yourself (magicman/megadom)
5. Julia and Company – Breakin’ Down (7” Version) (magicman)
6. Johnny Kemp – Just Got Paid (Nicko)
7. Public Enemy – Harder Than You Think (happyclapper)
8. A Tribe Called Quest – Can I Kick It? (Uncleben)
9. Soul II Soul – Get A Life
10. Gabby Young & Other Animals – I’ve Improved
11. Boo Radleys – Wake Up Boo (ParaMhor)
12. The Proclaimers – I’m On My Way (Suzi)
13. Twisted Sister – We’re Not Gonna Take It (EnglishOutlaw)
14. Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger (Suzi)
15. Katy Perry – Roar (outoftheblue)
16. Fleetwood Mac – Don’t Stop (MussoliniHeadkick)
17. John Lennon – Instant Karma (MussoliniHeadkick)
18. The Exciters – Reaching For The Best (attwilightlarks)
19. Beverly – Where The Good Times Are (ParaMhor)
20. The Isley Brothers – Harvest For The World (magicman)
21. The Zombies – This Will Be Our Year (magicman)
Guru’s Wildcard Picks:
FIVE bonus betas because… WHY NOT?! Let’s get this year rolling out right! There were a number of songs I expected to pop up that did not or maybe I missed them; Let’s Work Together (Wilbert Harrison/Roxy Music), Gonna Fly Now (Bill Conti), We Can Work It Out (The Beatles/Stevie Wonder), Takin’ Care of Business (BTO)… All great potential guru picks. And while Journey was nominated I chose to dodge that played out classic for a different angle on the theme. But at the end of the day I was saved by the dance clubs in the 90s and let me tell you we had some super charged anthems on the 80s and 90s to uplift you. It was THE decade of dance divas. And since my life was saved by clubs I picked a few that “saved me”. And lastly as I like to often do we close with a nice mellow prayer for all, this one from Brasil and from two female icons of 60s Tropicalia, Gal Costa and Maria Bethania. Sonho Meu translates to “My Dream” and the song is basically a blessing to all. So here’s to 2020 being the best ever!
T. Rex – Bang A Gong Get It On
Journey – Be Good To Yourself
Swing Out Sister – Breakout
Abigail – Let The Joy Rise (Thuderpuss Club Mix)
Gal Costa & Maria Bethânia – Sonho Meu
Mixcloud Radio version:
If you don’t have time to watch videos, and would like to hear all of the above with DJ Bear’s own introduction and more:
DJ Bear, posting as PopOff! at Song Bar, has more themed radio shows here.
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Get on up: songs about or inspiring motivation. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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