For days when your pillows seem extra soft and your bed is a little bit harder to leave, alarm clocks just don’t cut it anymore. What you need is a morning theme song to give you a boost of energy that will surely get your ass off your mattress and up on your feet. Here are some of my suggestions that are more on the “oldies but goodies” mode, in case you’ve forgotten about these musical gems. In my opinion, if you don’t already have them, get a hold of these timeless tunes to diversify and liven up your music collection.
1. You Give Love a Bad Name – Bon Jovi Who doesn’t know Bon Jovi? Even though this band made its claim to fame back when most of us were still in our nappies, we grew up listening to most of their songs. Heck, he even guest judged in the recently concluded American Idol, proof that his rockstardom has not even slightly diminished. A great song to fake air-guitar to in front of your bathroom mirror.
2. Eye of the Tiger – Survivor Come on. Do you really think I’d forget to put this on the list? This is Rocky’s anthem, cliché in all its glory but memorable and effective nonetheless. You don’t even need the lyrics to know what this song is–the opening bars are enough to wake up the fighter within.
3. Black or White – Michael Jackson Though this song starts mildly with a bit of dialogue (it’s Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin, in case you didn’t already know), it deserves a place in great music history, including its singer the King of Pop himself (forget about his pedophiliac tendencies–he still rocks despite that). In my opinion, no MP3 player would ever be complete without at least one track by MJ.
4. Eat the Rich – Aerosmith Some of you may not know this song (believe me, they have other great songs that aren’t Crazy or Cryin’ or I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing), but it’s on Aerosmith’s Big Ones album, making it more than worth the mention. A good song to make an alarm ringtone out of–listen to it and you’ll know what I mean.
5. New Age Girl – Dead Eye Dick All together now: “Mary Mooooooon, she’s a vegetarian (Mary Moon, Mary Moon, Mary Moon)…” Never mind who exactly Mary Moon is—at this point in time when songs from the nineties are already referred to as “oldies”, it’s considered a forgotten classic. I bet you forgot this song even existed, unless you’re like me who has this on her ITunes favorites. If so, it’s definitely a must-download. It never fails to cheer one up, and its upbeat tempo will surely wake up your tired senses.
6. Two Princes – Spin Doctors This is another classic essential to any song collection. Easy to memorize and fun to sing along to, this Spin Doctors anthem is what made the group part of the rock charts in the early nineties. I’m telling you, do yourself a favor and get re-acquainted with this song. You won’t be sorry.
7. Semi Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind Everyone likes Semi Charmed Life…if you don’t, I think there’s something seriously wrong with you. One of Third Eye Blind’s better, more upbeat songs, Semi Charmed Life would probably be the first track on my life’s OST. Seriously. A good song to play while getting ready to go to school in the morning.
8. Wake Me Up Before You Go Go – Wham Before George Michael and his run-ins with the law, Before Careless Whisper, there was Wham. Clad in colorful outfits and armed with a sunny disposition, this tandem is memorable for this song first and foremost. The music video is in itself a representation of the era when tight fitting pants were acceptable on men and dancing flamboyantly wasn’t frowned upon.
9. Play That Funky Music – Wild Cherry Classic with a capital C. Can’t really have a dance floor disco playlist without this gem from the seventies, can you? Like what its title claims, this is considered an iconic funk song, though it was the band’s only hit. Anyway, play that funky music, white boy!
10. Tubthumping – Chumbawamba “I get knocked down! But I get up again; you’re never gonna keep me down…” The English band with the weird name which has been around since the eighties made a hit out of this track in both the UK and the US. Dance Dance Revolution enthusiasts will recognize this easily as one of the favorites to dance to in the 2nd mix. A good song to have on a compilation CD.
More Up And At ‘Em
Yeah yeah, so sue me for going over ten songs. This is in case you want more on your list. Or maybe I just can’t make up my mind on the best ten. Either way, it doesn’t hurt to have more songs to listen to, right? Enjoy!
1. Song 2 – Blur
2. Are You Gonna Go My Way – Lenny Kravitz
3. Welcome to the Jungle – Guns N Roses
4. Maneater – Nelly Furtado
5. Small Things – Blink 182
(Published in The Benildean, the official college paper of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde)