As a hyperactive child and often unfocused adult I am still working on my ability to express myself with words, but feelings are something that I’m intimately familiar with. There are just a handful of songs that when I listen to them I get that excited feeling that I just want to make things happen. What stuff? Just about anything! If I’m about to drop into a hard snowboard run it will get my feet moving in just the right way so I don’t end up in pieces on the bottom of the hill. If I’m thinking of an Art project it will get the creative juices flowing. Or if I have nothing in particular to do then it will just get me bouncing around like an idiot. They’re dangerous really, they should be controlled substances. I’m am not a good dancer either but there are some magical moments when a good beat and a couple of catchy lyrics will move my feet.
The list and audio after the break
Top 9 ‘Get Up’ songs
Stevie Wonder – Superstition – [W:Talking Book]
Made in an era before videos and effects had taken over music, this song makes me think of a dance floor full of people just jamming along with the band. It’s beat is devilishly simple, just a few twangy guitar chords punctuated with a bright funky horn section. This song gets people to their feet and is the perfect song to start this list with.
Recommended Uses : Dancing your ass off, pre-anything physical, Loving Life
Outkast – Bombs over Baghdad – [W:Stankonia]
War machine, they could play this some on Army recruitment videos and I would think about joining up.
Recommended Uses : Playing over war footage from Iraq, pre-snowboard psych-up
Outkast – Gasoline Dreams – [W:Stankonia]
When ever things go wrong or right in this country I play this song. It’s so angry and defiant, just makes you want to march on something. If you’re protesting or celebrating the freedom in this county to not give a shit, this is your soundtrack.
Recommended Uses : Pretending I’m marching on DC, pre-snowboard psych-up, Not giving a shit.
Guns N’ Roses – Nighttrain – [W:Appetite for Destruction]
I didn’t go with the predictable “Welcome to the Jungle” I think because it’s been so over played in cheesy movies that it’s lost it’s fire. Nighttrain has a better chorus anyway.
- Loaded like a freight train, Flyin like an aeroplane, feelin like a space brain… one more time tonight, IM ON A NIGHT TRAIN!
There’s something about this song that I’ve always liked, classic guitar riffs. Axl’s screeching… This song moves.
Recommended Uses : Starting a party in 1992, mid-snowboard run playlist, Not giving a shit.
This probably the least known of these songs. It just has this constant menacing beat that keeps pounding in your ears while the lyrics come at you with staccato percussion. I think I found them through Last.fm a great source of new music.
Recommended Uses : Riding the Metro, pre-snowboard psych-up
Notorious B.I.G. – Juicy – [W:Ready To Die]
I WAS ALL A DREAM! This may be the greatest song of the 1990’s and that’s coming from someone who listened to a lot of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Its one of the only songs that came out while I was in high school that I can still listen to. Plus its all about telling off everyone that didn’t think you could make it. SUPER NINTENDO SEGA GENESIS, WHEN I WAS BROKE I COULDN’T PICTURE THIS. I listen to this song every time I go snowboarding.
Recommended Uses : As soon as you see the NYC skyline on a roadtrip, cruising on a slow snowboard run, Feeling Awesome.
Girl Talk – [W:The Night Ripper] – 2006
This is a little bit of a cheat because it’s a whole album, but I cannot name one song on this album. I would vote for it as record of the year(2006), it’s just infinitely listenable. Songs meld into one another, on top of each other, they just fight each other. I heard Brittney Spears punch Alice n’ Chains in the face.
Recommended Uses : When you don’t know what to play at a party, All day snowboard mix, getting ready to go out
DJ Topcat – More than On Point – [W:Best of Bootie 2007]
[audio:http://www.thoughts.swalrus.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/19-DJ-Topcat-More-Than-On-Point.mp3|titles=19 – DJ Topcat – More Than On Point]
When it’s time to rock a funky joint This song is on point. There’s just something about combining Journey with House of Pain that I really like. The best part about classic rock is the singable choruses the best part about rap is the rapid fire lyrics. This song is like peanut butter and chocolate. Like ice cream and donuts. Like sex and sex!
Recommended Uses : Walking, Jammin, Feeling good about yourself.
Public Enemy and Anthrax – Bring the Noise – [W:Attack of the Killer B’s]
BASS how low can you go! Take the signature PE anthem and speed it up about 150% then add face shredding guitar playing thus making the whole thing better by a million percent.
Recommended Uses : Attempting to jump off things, Giving a shit (Just not about the shit the MAN wants you to).
Mindless Self Indulgence – Bitches
This one may be wearing a little thin over time. But when I hear it I still think back to freshman year of college when I first heard this on a video called ‘Otaku Vengance‘. MSI is completely juvenile and horrible. But something about their anger and attitude is contagious in that was that Punk Rock was to me when I was 16.
Recommended Uses : Pretending I’m not getting old, being pissed, Slapping Picachu.