The sun came out today!

...And that's a big deal around here. It was even over 70F, lovely. About damn time. In honor of that, sunny catchy dancy videos/songs!

There's a lot of praise out there right now for Janelle Monáe, and well deservedly. A nod goes to my sister for pointing her out to me a while back. Such a great video - delightful song, fun dancing, the vintage vibe, everything just works.
"Tightrope" - Janelle Monáe


And what she calls "classy brass"? Love it. Horns can be extremely effective in making a song somber or joyous.


"Maybe" - Emma Bunton: Baby Spice on her own, and I have to admit - I love this song. Always have. It's cheery and the '60s theme really makes the video. This skirts "ridiculous" and it could have been a disaster, but I think they knew that and just went for it.



"Our Love is Heavenly" - Heavenly: the video is low-fi, but one can't deny the pervading poppy cheeriness. The whole twee indie '90s thing, where did that go? Definitely a lot less romantic/earnestness in the indie-pop world now. IDK. Now I am rambling...



If you can't bear straight cheer, (and really, who can for very long, it starts to grate) - then "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" - of Montreal is the song for you. An entertaining video, with some sparkle. "Come on, chemicals!" has never sounded so desperate and yet still strangely upbeat...



A fairly straightforward video - but the yellow filter (digression time: I love an occasional use of the yellow filter, it puts me in mind of summer afternoons/memories where everything is that hazy gold), the group dancing, the lighthearted brass, the goofy grin on the singer's face, the rollickin' piano solo, all of these combine to very happy effect. "Sly" - The Cat Empire:




And last, but not the least (by far) - The Polyphonic Spree cover of "Lithium" - which takes a (lovely gloomy) Nirvana song and turns it into an effervescent, buoyant, rapturous thing. Just. Awesome. (It's not a full on video, per se, but they are always wearing robes/uniforms/costumes of some sort and are big on spectacle/energy so it's close enough.) Overshare of the week: if I were a) magically getting married and b) magically well-connected/able - this is the band I would have play at my wedding reception. They are not even a band I listen to all that much, but they are so infectiously joyous that I think it would be amazing. Feel free to overshare in the comments with your own picks.