Music to Make You Dance Around the House

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="219" caption="Cover of What's New Pussycat"][/caption]

Sometimes I get down.  Really down.  And I think that I just want quiet and to be left alone.  Time and again I am proven wrong, showing an appalling lack of self-knowledge.  The very best thing for me is to put on some music, turn it up, and I can’t help it—I start dancing.  If the kids are home I try to bust my moves perhaps slightly less enthusiastically than I would if home alone.  Some of these songs are newish, some are really old.  Now, you don’t have to buy the whole albums (although I do like owning hard copies of my music), you can just download them off of iTunes or Amazon.com (I prefer Amazon).  So here are some songs that make excellent dance-around-the-house music (I have lots more, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you).

1.        Start off with “Always Loved a Film” by Underworld.  How can you not love a song that has the line “the rhythm of an engine, deep and throaty”?  You will feel like you are 17 and beautiful again (not that you could pay me enough to actually be 17 again, however), with every possibility in the world in front of you.  Put this on. Turn it up.  Trust me.

2.       Next go with “Beautiful Day without You” by Royksopp.  One of my most favorite songs ever.  A little mellower than “Always Loved a Film,” but it’s a good time for it, since you’ll be all out of breath from dancing so vigorously to “Always Loved a Film.” Well, I’ll be all out of breath.  I guess I can’t speak for you.

3.       Now put on “Feel It in My Bones” by Tiesto (featuring Tegan and Sara).  Just fun.

4.       Okay, “She Will Always Be a Broken Girl” by She Wants Revenge.  It starts off a bit slowish, but then it picks up.  This is a song I would have loved as a teenager, sitting on the floor by the stereo in the living room, singing along, reading the words off the inner sleeve of the record album.  Yes, a record.  I am old.

5.       “Too Young” by Phoenix.  You will not be able to resist this song.  It’s so happy, it just gets you going.

6.       “Empire Ants” by Gorillaz (featuring Little Dragon).  Be patient. Again, use the time to rest. Well, I’ll use the time to rest. About 2 minutes in, you won’t be able to hold still.  Fantastic.  Turn it up louder.

7.       “My Little Red Book” by Manfred Mann. This is the song in the nightclub scene in the 1965 movie “What’s New Pussycat?”with Peter O’Toole and Peter Sellers,  and it makes you want to go to a nightclub back in the early sixties, when everyone dressed up and drank things like scotch and water.

8.       “Tombstone” by Midnight Juggernauts.  Again, give it a minute.

9.       “Hong Kong Garden” by Siouxsie and the Banshees.  This is in the Sofia Copolla movie “Marie Antoinette,” when Marie Antoinette and her friends sneak out to go to a masked ball. This is the music they are minuetting or gavotting (or whatever dance it is) to.  Sooo good.  Quite the toe tapper.

10.   Finally, something a little mellower again, “Rise” by Samantha James.  A little more grownup than Siouxsie Sue.  This is the kind of music I listen to most of the time.  I love it. It’s upbeat, sexy, sunny.

Music is so important to me. It can change your entire outlook on life, even if just for a day, and sometimes that's all you need. If you don’t feel like dancing around the house, put it on the car stereo and turn it up.  Try not to drive too fast—it has that effect.  And on top of it all you got two movie recommendations (“What’s New Pussycat?” and “Marie Antoinette.”)  It’s one-stop shopping!