Mind Coffee: Finding music that makes you feel good when you don't

Shawn Ryan

Spent the past few days in a state of near-delirium, hopped up on cold/flu meds that didn't prevent my fever from spiking to 103 degrees.

The combination of chemicals and heat created a heroic blast of confusion that, even a few days later, finds me staring blankly into space and not sure how long I've been doing it. (Hallucinogenics are illegal, but you can buy mind-altering cold/flu medications over the counter?)

In my few moments of lucidity, however, I thought a lot about trying to feel better, which led to the idea of how music, in some cases, raises your spirits even if you're feeling at your worst. It won't cure the common cold, of course, but it may help you forget that you have one, if only for three and a half minutes.

So I went in search of songs that always cheer me up, even if I'm in a sulky mood.

» "C'mon" by Blue Rodeo. Bouncy and jaunty from the get-go, it's a message to someone who rose to the top and forgot about her roots on the way up, but wants to keep using them as a sign of being "real."

» "Honeysuckle Blue" by Drivin'n'Cryin'. A song for all Southerners.

» "Nitty Gritty" by Southern Culture on the Skids. Hot, smoky club. Sweaty, cinder-block walls. Beer-slicked concrete floor. Dancing feet.

» "Tennessee Plates" by John Hiatt. A joyous tale of a cross-country car-stealing run that ends at Graceland and its selection of "pretty, pretty Cadillacs with Tennessee plates."

» "Alright Guy" by Todd Snider. Don't we all feel this way sometimes when life is beating us about the head and shoulders? As Snider sings: "It ain't like I got a bunch of bodies in my trunk."

» "Don't Do It" by Little Charlie and the Nightcats. Words to live by: "If it's too much fun, then that should clue you son, that you're probably doin' something that's wrong." You're going to do it anyway, aren't you?

» "There's One Born Every Minute (I'm a Sucker for You)" by Jonathan Butler. Being cheated on in real life never has this much life. You may be feel awful, but why not dance anyway?

» "Ray's Rockhouse" or "Operator" by Manhattan Transfer. The sheer joy this quartet has twisting and weaving their voices into beautiful harmonies is a wondrous thing to hear.

» "Mama's Broken Heart" by Miranda Lambert. The unrepentant menace in Lambert's response is deliciously evil when her mother tells her to "hide your crazy and start acting like a lady" after a bad breakup.

» "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley. Because sometimes you just gotta.

Contact Shawn Ryan at mshawnryan@gmail.com.