In the words of Dr. Stephen Strange, in the Marvel movie Dr. Strange, Chuck Mangione "charted a top 10 hit with a flugelhorn."
This is an undeniably uplifting instrumental by a Rochester, NY native - the same place where I am writing this blog right now. As I write this, it is cold and there is snow on the ground - but the most famous song for flugelhorn ever written is warming it up in here today.
The weird part about that? The song is from 2016. It took three years and a performance at the MTV Video Music Award to make it a big hit.
That unexpected 2nd life for this great song meant that a new video was in order..... given that the first one was a movie tie-in for a movie that didn't enjoy the same resurgence.
The YouTube comments on this song say everything you need to know:
"Top 10 Crossovers Nobody Expected: Canadian folk music and the Wiggles."
Yes. That's Emma from The Wiggles. And she visualizes a song about recognizing the light in someone else that they might not see in themselves well. Not that the lyrics needed the help.
If you aren't Canadian, chances are you haven't heard of The East Pointers, a delightful folk group from Prince Edward Island. Juno Award winners in 2017, if you know anything about Canadian geography, you'll understand their name. Even if you aren't, you can't help but smile when you hear this song.... can you?
(Update: 26 January 2021): I don't often update posts this quickly, but 1) this song is so amazing I wanted to post a 2nd version of it and 2) I wanted to answer one question I've gotten more than once from our mostly American audience. Emma is using AUSLAN, which is Australian sign language, and not ASL, or American sign. That's why you don't recognize all the signs.
Have you ever had a day that was going just terribly and then someone says something that turns it around?
That very feeling is why this song was such a big hit. That, and the fact that Eminem sampled it.
The song itself starts out with a string of bummers - and then makes a super positive left turn. Dido's light and airy, yet powerful voice makes you appreciate the positive message even more.
By the way, Dido didn't go anywhere. She's still around. And still performs what is inarguably her biggest hit song.
This song makes me smile literally every time I hear it. It's a minute and half of pure joy. Really, it's 45 seconds of joy repeated twice. Lyrically, it's somewhat beautiful - about quick, pure and true love. It is as hyper and energetic as the actual emotions. Truly, this song is a short masterpiece.
And if you aren't smiling at a LEGO-mation video, then I don't know if I can help you.
....and given my recent self-covers week over on Totally Covered, you'd think I'd put this THERE.
This is Adam Young doing his big hit song without Carly Rae Jepson.... and it takes on a different meaning - one of equal optimism, sure, but more reflective optimism. The first version of the song was rapidly released in the wake of "Call Me Maybe". In my post about that song, I said the following:
"Owl City has put together a song that benefits from Carly's presence, but doesn't require it."
Thank you, Adam Young, for proving me right.
By the way, even though this song is billed as acoustic, it isn't. There's a fair bit of electronic enhancement. THIS VERSION, on the other hand, is ACTUALLY acoustic, and a gem.
Who would have thought that a slow jam could be so uplifting?
The song might seem gloomy, and the title ends with the words "It's Over". However, there's no comma in the title. It's not a command to stop dreaming, because it's over. It's a request to not dream THAT it's over - there's a long road ahead.
Let's not even talk about how this is arguably the greatest song ever composed by a New Zealander - it is most certainly the biggest international hit by someone from that county. Just soak in Neil Finn's lyrics.
