While I am normally drawn to music with great, well-thought-out, meaningful lyrics, there are many songs that I enjoy simply because they are fun, light and make me happy.
One song that is an instant mood changer for me is David Lee Roth's Just Like Paradise from the 1988 album Skyscraper.
Through powerful, yet pointless lyrics, Diamond Dave is able to epitomize the indulgent decade that was the 1980s. As the weather begins to turn to warmer days and longer nights, I look to songs like this to set the mood for backyard barbecues, after-dinner ice cream runs and the occasional slushy drink on the deck.
One of the great things about music is that we do not always have to understand why it makes us feel the way it does. We are all touched by different songs for different reasons. Perhaps the appeal of songs like Just Like Paradise is the lack of meaningful lyrics. Maybe it's the ability to interpret our own meaning from the song that makes it far more personal than simply being told someone else's story. Maybe sometimes all we really want is for music to provide the soundtrack to the story we are all already writing. See the video here: http://youtu.be/DMQttqas_WA
