GEMMA BURGESS: On.... a good mood playlist for you

These are Good Mood songs that I have been listening to forever. I get sick of them, and ignore them for a few years, and then I remember them and go, oh, fuck me, I love that goddamn song. Anyway, turn the volume up to twelve* and go nuts, my darlings.
*Eleven is so passé.

Angel Eyes – Roxy Music

I would do anything to go back in time to 1983 and see Roxy Music live. Well, not anything. But it would be kinda cool, non?

La Breeze – Simian

This song plays in my head every time I walk / strut out of a good work meeting.

Seether – Veruca Salt

I danced angrily to this as a teenager a lot. I didn’t actually have a lot of anger, but I faked it.

Detachable Penis – King Missile

No one else loves this. I do. I really do.

Bug Powder Dust – The Prodigy

I love this song so much. I think the opening lines are from some movie about licking toads. But I can't remember and I am too lazy to Google it.

Pink –Aerosmith

Pretty sure this song is about virginity. Which is fucking lame. But funny.

Freeze-Frame – J. Geils Band

I have a whole dance routine worked out for the first 15 seconds of this song. The rest I just improvise.

Don’t Trust Me – 3OH!3

Mostly for the line ‘tell your boyfriend, if he says he’s got beef, that I’m a vegetarian and I’m not fucking scared of him’.

Nancy Boy – Placebo

Just a really good angry-getting-ready-to-go-out-and-kick-ass-song.

Another Saturday Night - Cat Stevens

At university I woke up and played this extra loud, every single morning, usually with my stereo propped on the windowsill, so everyone around the quadrangle-shaped building where I was living could enjoy it too. Sorry about that, guys.

Love Child – Diana Ross

In this song, Diana is trying to convince a suitor that they shouldn’t bang because of the shame of creating a love child which she knows well because – TWIST! – she TOO is a love child! Ridiculous. And majestic.

SOS – Rihanna

I once lipsynced AND poledanced to this at my then-ad agency’s summer party on a boat. Yes. I am that person. (I knew I was gonna quit about three days later, so I was like, fuck it.)

Undone (The Sweater Song) by Weezer

Such a good goddamn song. I like a bit of angry guitar, in case you didn't guess by now.

Ruby - Cake

I wish that Cake would cover ever single Kenny Rogers song there ever was. Listen for the adlibs at the end. I shout them out when I'm listening to it, which makes for some awkward workouts.

Here It Goes Again – OK GO

I have the horn for OK GO so badly. I’ve seen them live like, six times in New York and London. I put them in every book I write, just as a little wink. I don’t think they’ve read my books, strangely enough. I’m not sure they’d smoke the ganja I roll. If that makes any sense. (It doesn’t. Let’s move on.)

Got To Give It Up – Marvin Gaye