DANCE!
No, that is not a piece of passive-aggressive instruction giving; rather, it’s a joyful injunction to step away from the day-to-day, switch on some great upbeat music that speaks to your soul and just let loose.
But which music to choose? What will bring about this soul-restorative escapist state of mind?
Why these five songs which come armed with insightful lyrics on the human condition, and music so insistently danceable that you’ll have no choice but to, you know …
“Never Gonna Not Dance Again” by P!NK
P!NK aka Alicia Beth Moore Hart, is one of those artists who feels like the real deal.
Of course we can’t ever be sure because who can ever really know a celebrity, but as far as we can tell, P!NK radiates an authenticity in her personhood and art that is so rich and heightened that you are drawn to her and every single thing she says and song she sings.
Take her new track, “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” which, double negatives aside, is the absolute epitome of the singer-songwriter’s musical creativity, a song full of optimism and joy but also a sage understanding of the dark forces arrayed us that can make the expression of that upbeat outlook more than a little challenging at times.
Drawn from her upcoming album, Trustfall, due February 2023, “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” comes complete with a brilliantly clever, fun and emotive clip which captures not only the spirit and lyrical intent of the song but also a good deal of what P!NK such a compelling artist to listen to and watch.
If you need an optimism injection or a reminder that even in the face of the worst of things we need to hold fast and defend the very best of things, like dancing and rollerskating, then this song is your ticket to some much-needed existential joy, no matter the colour of your day.
The promo for the song by the way is off-the-scales wonderful, reflecting the cheekiness of an artist who gleefully makes envelope pushing an act of adorably cheeky defiance.
“Keep Up” by Kinder
Do you ever hear a song and know immediately, within nanoseconds of the opening bars, that this will be one to accompany you for the duration?
That not only will you hit repeat over and over and over again but that you will come back every time you need to be reminded just how amazing pop music can be and how it can transform your mood on the dark days and add extra sparkling zest to the good ones.
Such a song is “Keep Up”, from DJ duo Kinder, composed of Australian sisters Briony and Savannah, which starts up with a relatively joyously insistent beat before exploding into a highly danceable that all but insists you get up and dance.
So, maybe don’t play it on public transport if you have any issue with looking like a dancefloor fiend because you will dance and it will be glorious as the duo embolden you to grab that good vibe and dance yourself somewhere absolutely wonderful.
“Into My Body” by UPSAHL
American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Taylor Camerson Upsahl, better known to fans as the highly-capitalised UPSAHL, is someone who knows her way well and truly around edgy, gripping pop.
Take “Into My Body” which the artist wrote when a lot of intense external influences disappeared and she was left alone with her own thoughts.
I wrote the song after almost six months of touring. For the first time in a while, I wasn’t surrounded by chaos, so I was kind of left to me and my own thoughts. I got stuck in my head and was completely disconnected from reality. I wanted to write a song about how I was having an out-of-body experience, but it became a song about getting back into my body.” (Beats Per Minute)
It’s one of those brilliant pieces of musically-rich, thoughtfully lyricised pop that doesn’t just get your feet moving but your mind and hear whirring too, the perfect of thought and instinct that makes the very best pop so compelling.
“All I Need” by Forester
We all need people who are there for us no matter what’s going on; forget those pointless “fairweather friends”, what we want and need are those people who won’t leave our sides, regardless of how good or bad the outlook is.
These superlative human beings now have a joyfully thankful soundtrack all their own thanks to Los Angeles-based indie electronic duo Forester (Xander Carlson and David Parris who share writing, production and vocal duties) and the song, “All I Need”, is thing of praiseworthy wonder.
’All I Need’ is an ode to those that stay close through thick and thin. Life on the road has been filled with highs and lows for us, making the role of the people we love and trust in our lives even more important. Everyone has those people, and in making this song we wanted to show them a little appreciation. We also noticed while performing live on the road that we formed an incredible connection with people when playing some of our more upbeat songs. We wanted to take this energy from the live setting and recapture it in the studio. It’s already become a favourite for those who have heard it live and we’re excited to share this with all of our fans.” (Forester via Acid Stag)
It is such an infectiously upbeat track that you will want to dance around your room, or again public transport if you’re brave enough, excitingly celebrating those people that make the world in general, and your small slice of it, all the better and happier.
“All I Wanna Do” (feat. Saweetie) by John Legend
Talk about wanting to get up and dance, all while, maybe – who are we kicking, you are totally GOING TO -throwing some sensuality and heady abandon into the mix.
“All She Wanna Do” from John Legend, with some evocatively playful vocal styling by in-demand artist Saweetie, is a slice of luscious R&B pop, drawn from the artist’s relatively recently-released eighth studio album, LEGEND.
Filled to the exuberantly dancefloor occupying limit with emotive disco and a romantically desperate need to get close to someone you know is going to mean a LOT to you, “All She Wanna Do” is luxuriously alive pop that fills your soul with yearning and your feet with the need to get up and yes, dance.
There’s a lot of that going on at the moment, likely the result of life sort of kind of recovering from the traumatic of the very worst of the ongoing COVID pandemic, which calls, nay begs, for songs that make their presence felt with happiness, joy and the delectable sense that good things are in the offing.
EUROVISION 2023 UPDATE
Is there stuff happening at Eurovision? Yes indeed there is, and chief among them are the changes to voting for the two Semi-Finals which returns the power to the people, in the form of the voting public, excising the juries who will now only weigh in on the determination of the Grand Final results. Excitingly, viewers from non-participating countries will now be able to vote too!
The official podcast is back too and the Netherlands has confirmed Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper as their act for Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool, making them the third country to confirm its representative overall.|
Watch the video (above) for all the information you need about next year’s exciting event!