All the animals together, break it down!

Dear friends,

Sometimes all you want is that dance around your apartment song. Nothing fancy or smart. Just a little Land of a Thousand Dances, Dance This Mess Around, a touch of Pump It Up or Red Alert. Energetic and fun. This type of tune is especially useful right about now. It's finally warming up over here in the Northeast and people have to move and/or Spring clean. This means brooms and ugly ensembles consisting of sweats, musty t-shirts and homemade headbands. This also means private dance break once your work is done! Aaaw, yeah! The only possible witness to the horror is your roommate or pet or nosy neighbor and I'm sure they're used to it. So give in.

The first song kicking off this particular playlist of mine is a little ditty called Chicken Payback by a British band called The Bees.

The tune has a deceptively 60's sound to it and when I say deceptive, I'm saying it's impressively Nuggets sounding complete with analog warmth, slightly fuzzed vocals and echoing break-it-down. There is an excellent little chicken scratch guitar line that wiggles down the middle of this song and I am completely incapable of not responding to it. In fact, it makes me do a full-on mashed potato. A fierce one. Finally, the cherry on top to all this excellence is that the lyrics are stupid in the best way possible. Among the highlights are the closing shouts of "Pay back the chicken!", "Pay back the monkey!" with a responding "Pay them aaaall baaack" coming from what sounds like an army of eunuchs swaying in fringe. I don't know what they're blathering about and I don't care. Pass me the broom 'cause I need a mic!

Love, D

ps I just saw the video for chicken payback on their website. contributor kirsten, maybe you can explain what's going on here?

Song to seek: Chicken Payback/The Bees