Musical Mood Enhancers

I realized something over the past month – whenever I feel like a total depressor, I tend to pump up the pity jams and wallow in it. At the end of my playlist, I am usually emotionally tear-stained and wondering if I should have sent out invitations for my self-produced pityfest. For example, when I moved to Sweden in 2005, and was missing the ex I had left back in the states, I used to listen to Melissa Ferrick’s Heartbreak Valentine on repeat; in retrospect, I can hardly believe that these leztunes (what my roommate so lovingly and appropriately labeled the music), in combination with the darkness and cold, did not kill me. Nowadays, my pity party jams usually include at least one Mirah song, a dash of Cat Power, a hefty sprinkling of strategically picked ELO, and maybe some Dolly as the cherry on top. I know - it’s a total laugh-out-loud pitylist; that is, of course, unless you’re actually committed to supporting the anguished misery they express, in which case, it’s totally devoid of all LOLs.

Miraculously, on one recent walk home, it dawned on me (even though I’ve secretly known the truth for a long time) – stop listening to shitastic depressing songs and maybe you won’t feel so shitty. Like a drunkard admitting it's time to suck it up and stumble out of the party, I turned off the sad songs, and made a playlist of tunes that only the truest victim of depression could wallow in. Given how much I believe this simple musical tweak can turn a pathetic life moment around, I’d like to share some of my upper-favorites and see what songs other people listen to when they need to make a mood-180 (which will surely be more indie-sophisticated than my choices). Please comment with your own personal musical mood enhancer.

Lil Kim – She Don’t Love You; This song has the best intro, and I double-dog-dare someone to try to cry while listening to it; it’s a good one to start with, as it really wipes the pity slate clean.

Destiny’s Child – Bootylicious. Depreso, can you handle this? I don’t think yr ready for this jelly.

Busta Rhymes – Touch It. Good song, and Busta is always so in yo face that he shouts the tears right off yr face.

Snoop – Lodi Dodi. “Doggy, Doggy, Doggy, can’t you see, somehow your words just hypnotize me.”

Eve – Tambourine. The beginning of the song announces, “You gotta shake yo ass,” and it tells no lies. I had a young crush on E-V-E.

Jermaine Dupri – Welcome to Atlanta. “Oink, oink – do away with the pork.”

Nelly – Air Force Ones. The most ridiculous song ever made by a true sneaker enthusiast. Almost all Midwest mainstream hip-hop makes me happy.

Oh, and any song that starts with, “This is a Missy Elliott exclusive.”

Basically, a good rule of thumb is that if you can C-walk to it, lean back to it, or Harlem Shake to it, then you can’t wallow in it.