Plinky.com asked me what music cheers me up when I'm feeling down.
I have to admit that if I'm feeling down, I don't tend to use music to change my mood, but instead to enhance and refine it so that I can fully experience myself.
So, it's hard to name a cheer-me-up piece of music.
I do have music that lifts a 'pretty-good' feeling into an 'over-the-moon' feeling, and other music that will tip my 'slightly-melancholy' into 'I-really-need-to-contemplate-the-universe' philosophy.
And, as ever, there is the blues to make that 'heart-screaming-in-my-chest' feeling register for what it is.
But as the question asks me for an answer, today I'll choose a record that never fails to lift my spirits or provide comfort to my questioning restlessness.
That record is 'Pontiac' by Lyle Lovett.
From the delight of 'If I had a boat' to the dark desperation of the title track, the ode to stale marriage that is 'She ain't no lady…' to the pure heart and soul of 'Simple Song' – all of emotion is on this record somewhere and it never fails to meet me where I need it.
"I said… This girl was sooo ugly… Well, you ugly too!"
Perfection.
