Two Nerd Birds with One Stone

Maybe it’s the direly downward dollar or all this pirate talk. It could also be that it’s officially a month into spring and the grass is pigment-less and the flowering trees have been thwarted by our once-a-winter snow. It might even be the realization that Denver is now stuck with once-a-winter snow. Needless to say, we all could use some happy music. But since searching for happy music often ends in the discovery of sad and angry music—such a tricky process—I suggest to you this practice. To find the quintessence of musical happy, that which sinks the pirates, fills the grass with green, and restores Colorado water levels all at once, you must first test the album while you clean. It’s the whistle-while-you-work phenomenon: happy music channels motion and productivity, it changes our mood, and it actually makes us cheery to the point that we’d do something as undesirable as scrubbing toilets. It seems the degree to which and the speed with which we clean is directly proportional to the level of musical happy. Yes, that’s it. Kate Nash, Bishop Allen, and Ben Kweller go with rubber gloves while Fleet Foxes, Stars, and MGMT do not. It’s sensible though unproven. Nevertheless, you’re sure to enjoy both a clean apartment and smiley music.