# Pharell Williams- HAPPY-



## Christof (May 26, 2014)

I love this song, I adore this song, its one of the best songs I have listened for a long time.

My thought:
What makes this song so unique?
I mean there is a worldwide HAPPY community posting themselves dancing and singing to this song...even my 12 year old son plays it on the piano (quite cool I must say)
I guess soon it may have the same popularity as Beat It or Hey Jude, I mean everyone seems to love this song, and the more you play it the more you may like it, you can't kill or overuse it.

What makes this song so special?

Your thoughts?

Christof


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## EastWest Lurker (May 26, 2014)

Well to answer that I would have to accept your premise that " everyone seems to love this song, and the more you play it the more you may like it, you can't kill or overuse it." 

I am already sick to death of it.


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## R.Cato (May 26, 2014)

https://scontent-b-fra.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/t1.0-9/10259761_10152227283513347_1587230532227543451_n.jpg


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## G.E. (May 26, 2014)

Sometimes I have the feeling that I hear music very differently than everyone else.I know everyone feels music in different ways but I'm talking extremely different.All of my friends and acquaintances love that song and all I can hear is mediocrity at its finest.I'm not saying I can do better though..
I never understood how some songs (most actually) are so popular.It makes me think that the way in which a song is marketed is very important for the impact it has on the listener.Though I'm sure that's no revelation for most of you.


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## Vin (May 26, 2014)

R.Cato @ 26/5/2014 said:


> https://scontent-b-fra.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/t1.0-9/10259761_10152227283513347_1587230532227543451_n.jpg



lol, this. _Get Lucky_ as well.


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## David Story (May 26, 2014)

Happy is a terrific song and will be playing for decades to come. When something resonates with the public by referencing tradition, it keeps coming back.

It's a 60s update, funky blues harmonized with 7ths, a rock'n beat processed with contemporary filters, just like the vocals. Even has a hummable tune with hooks. Sounds like the filmmakers gave him Stevie Wonder as a reference. Right down to the rhodes and female backup. Well crafted. And Pharrell's experience producing helps it sound clean, tight and modern. 

What makes this special is it sounds like a hit song from an earlier era, with higher standards for certain elements. It can sound goofy criticizing songwriters for making hits based on the same old formulas. That is the gig 





And of course, the vibe is happy.


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## Rob (May 26, 2014)

fwiw I don't like this song... and I don't find it happy, not at all... the use of those minor seventh chords put me in a weak/sad/nothingtodo state of mind. Personal opinion of course. The fact that it's heard everywhere doesn't help. And Stevie Wonder is a completely different territory to me


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## chillbot (May 26, 2014)

Interesting the response to this song. I really liked it at first... for the exact reasons mentioned above.... 60s update, funky blues, etc. It almost irritated me that everyone else was like "hey what a great song" when I was thinking yeah but it's been around for 50 years.

I can't stand it any more, it wins the "call me maybe" award for most overplayed of the year. I really wish it would go away. If I had to bet I would bet it doesn't last for decades but that's just my opinion.


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## Hannes_F (May 26, 2014)

I'm with David Story here.

And it _has _groove _and _drive. Look at it from a dancer's perspective.


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## Guy Rowland (May 26, 2014)

Yeah, fine song. There was an article about the production in last month's sound on sound. Doesn't really explain anything as such, but interesting to hear the mixer say a) he works in the box and b) he starts with the vocals FIRST. That could be mildly significant I think. So much of modern pop production is heavily reliant on the vocals.


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## AlexandreSafi (May 26, 2014)

It's THE song of 2013!
Whether you like it or not, I think it's the kind of popular song which for once can be said as objectively good, it conveys a different and refreshing message. It brought people and the world together for a while. Pharrell is unique and of course presents his music uniquely and yes it actually encourages real street dance moves with dancing itself back as a popular artform through music...

To quote Jerry Goldsmith: _"If our music survives, which I have no doubt it will, then it will because it is good."_

"Happy" will survive, i think..


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## EastWest Lurker (May 26, 2014)

AlexandreSafi @ Mon May 26 said:


> To quote Jerry Goldsmith: _"If our music survives, which I have no doubt it will, then it will because it is good."_
> 
> "Happy" will survive, i think..



Not necessarily true. Burt Bacharackh was asked, and I paraphrase, , "What is your best song and what will be around the longest?"

He replied, and again I paraphrase, "That is two different questions. My best songs are those like "Alfie."The songs that will survive are not necessarily my best but are the ones that any band can play in a club or at a wedding. "


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## Jimbo 88 (May 26, 2014)

My son doing a cover of "Happy" with a "jazz" second verse. My son is the one who speaks at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGOZVMni7qY


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## re-peat (May 26, 2014)

Christof @ Mon May 26 said:


> (...) I mean everyone seems to love this song (...)


Count me out. There's a whole lot worse, sure, but there's a whole lot _a lot_ better as well. And happier too. I do like the production though.
(Believe it or not, but today, May 26th 2014, is the very first time that I actually heard this song, after reading this thread and then clicking a YouTube link. I have heard people talking about it, and I knew about the 'Happy' community and all that, but obstinate recluse that I am, thusfar the song itself somehow never managed to find its way into my home. Happy or what?

_


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## givemenoughrope (May 26, 2014)

^Ha! I love it.

Honestly, this song/production does nothing for me. I'm getting most of my 'happy' from Harry Nilsson these days. Someone telling me to be happy or to party usually has the opposite effect.


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## MichaelL (May 26, 2014)

You guys do know that pop music isn't written for the high-brow artsy-fartsy crowd?


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## EastWest Lurker (May 26, 2014)

MichaelL @ Mon May 26 said:


> You guys do know that pop music isn't written for the high-brow artsy-fartsy crowd?



Not all pop music is equal in ambition. There is a rather large difference between the work of Tori Amos and Miley Ciyrus.


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## EastWest Lurker (May 26, 2014)

MichaelL @ Mon May 26 said:


> You guys do know that pop music isn't written for the high-brow artsy-fartsy crowd?



Not all pop music is equal in ambition. There is a large difference between Tori Amos and Miley Cyrus


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## givemenoughrope (May 26, 2014)

You put the lime in the coconut?

You're right. What was I thinking? I like it now.


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## EastWest Lurker (May 26, 2014)

givemenoughrope @ Mon May 26 said:


> You put the lime in the coconut?
> 
> You're right. What was I thinking? I like it now.


]

We like what we like. Hell, I liked Barry Manilow's records in the '70's. You can imagine how much I got ridiculed for that by my "hip" music friends.

I liked "Happy" the first dozen or so times I heard it, but it does not wear well for me. I prefer "Happy Together" by The Turtles


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## givemenoughrope (May 26, 2014)

I agree. 

I also think the song is kind of creepy and plays to the perceived zeitgeist. It's called 'Happy' but feels complacent. 

Hmm...maybe I'll try writing a song.


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## Stephen Rees (May 26, 2014)

EastWest Lurker @ Mon May 26 said:


> We like what we like. Hell, I liked Barry Manilow's records in the '70's. You can imagine how much I got ridiculed for that by my "hip" music friends.



I just can't smile without him....let alone be happy.


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## MichaelL (May 26, 2014)

EastWest Lurker @ Mon May 26 said:


> MichaelL @ Mon May 26 said:
> 
> 
> > You guys do know that pop music isn't written for the high-brow artsy-fartsy crowd?
> ...



Agreed. I've never seen Tori twerk.  :shock:


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## Ozymandias (May 26, 2014)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YF5NTHkkHs&t=0m18s (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YF5NTHkkHs&amp;t=0m18s)


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## StephenForsyth (May 26, 2014)

Don't listen to G I R L though that album is a travesty in comparison. 

Pharrel can't seem to hack a decent solo album out because he seems to only make them when he's creatively bankrupt. 

one of the GOAT producers though holy shit I love 99% of the stuff in the neptunes back catalogue


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## StephenForsyth (May 26, 2014)

Oh, also a similar chord progression appears on objects in the mirror by mac miller also produced by the neptunes. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRfDGDo-Ecg


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## Rctec (May 26, 2014)

...I didn't read most of the comments. But when Pharrell first played it for me, I knew it would transcend the movie it was written for, transcend the boundaries exactly because it felt as if it had been with us all our lives. ...And it actually took quite a while before it became a hit, but it was fun to see it's trajectory. It's a perfect song. The directness of the idea, the happy lyrics framed by the contrasting moody chords. It didn't just come out of nowhere. This was the 9th song he'd written for that scene. Even though it seems so simple, a lot of work had gone into getting him to that place of making it seem so easy and simple.


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## David Story (May 26, 2014)

May the Magnificent 6 ride again.


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## dinerdog (May 26, 2014)

LOVE the song. I've actually watched almost the entire 24hours of the video too. Brilliant piece of POP.


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## re-peat (May 26, 2014)

Rctec @ Tue May 27 said:


> (...) It's a perfect song.(...)


Perfect? Mmm. I don’t know about that. Perfect songs, to me anyway, are something else entirely: they take root, they last and they never outstay their welcome, not this year, not next year, not twenty or fifty years from now.
This “Happy” thing, on the other hand, is what I would call an expertly crafted charming little ditty, something like a summer hit that flits by, pleasantly enough, and enjoys its few months in the artificially alighted spotlights, well-deserved, during which time it sort of manages to mesmerize and enchant, and maybe even make the world seem not all that bad a place to live in to some people. So yes, certainly not without merit. A few summers ago, Bob Sinclar’s “Love Generation” did a similar thing, although on a smaller scale. There’s hundreds of songs like that (and fellow member BachRules has, or so he claims, millions more sitting on his computer). Me, I’ve always had a soft spot for Marty Wilde’s quite irresistible http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzs8mSnSZ2A (“Abergavenny”) even though it happened way before my time.

But once its season has passed, and it will be in a few weeks time (if it hasn’t already), “Happy” is looking at oblivion. It’s not good enough to be looking at anything else, I’m afraid. It is doomed to eek out the rest of its very lucrative life on “Do you remember”-type compilations and “Best of's". And next year, the next “Happy" will have come along, and no one will care much any longer for the one we’re talking about now.
Let’s maybe revisit this thread in two years time and see what has become of “Happy”. I very much doubt it will still be on many people’s list of “perfect songs”.

I’m not suggesting they’re easy to write, these things, anything but — hitting upon a musical idea that has the power to strike a chord globally, even if only for a couple of months, is something very special indeed — but catalogueing this particular song in the category ‘perfection’ seems just a bit overly generous to me nonetheless, if I may say so.

The only sense in which this song is perfect — in my tiny and insignificant opinion, that is — is that it perfectly fits its time and the current need for hyped-up-but-ultimately-easily-dispensable nothingness. The soapy bubbly type of stuff that all too many people confuse with substance of lasting quality these days. But being perfect like that is sort of an achievement as well of course.

_


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## Christof (May 26, 2014)

Well it's hard to define perfection, I think it depends on the taste and mood of the listener.
For me Michael Jacksons "Man in the mirror" is a prime example of a perfect song, "Happy" as well.
John Dowlands "Come again" has the same impact for me.


> The only sense in which this song is perfect — in my tiny and insignificant opinion, that is — is that it perfectly fits its time and the current need for hyped-up-and-but-ultimately-easily-dispensable nothingness.



I don't think you should reduce your opinion to the terms tiny and insignificant, you have a very strong opinion and you just don't like that song.


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## Guy Rowland (May 26, 2014)

I can see another thread inexorably headed towards the vi control vortex named The Subjectivity Or Orherwise Of Art.

Thanks rc for the insight - always fascinating to hear that the seemingly effortless was a product of many blind alleys.


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## lucky909091 (May 27, 2014)

Christof @ Mon 26 May said:


> Well it's hard to define perfection, I think it depends on the taste and mood of the listener.
> For me Michael Jacksons "Man in the mirror" is a prime example of a perfect song, "Happy" as well.
> John Dowlands "Come again" has the same impact for me.
> 
> ...



I totally agree to re-peat's opinion.


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## givemenoughrope (May 27, 2014)

Cheap Trick's "Surrender" is pop perfection front to back. The cabbie that just dropped me off had it on full blast, flew around corners and blew half a dozen stop signs before getting me home by the last chorus. A perfect cab ride (except for massive ticket the cop probably gave him). No one makes songs like that anymore; memorable and anthemic yet with an insight and truth equally as universal as it is difficult to express. Today's pop doesn't seem to have any of that. It doesn't stay with me year to year as much more than a silly catch phrase.


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## StephenForsyth (May 27, 2014)

Christof @ Tue May 27 said:


> For me Michael Jacksons "Man in the mirror" is a prime example of a perfect song.



Come on man! It's not even the best song on bad! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crbFmpezO4A 

hoo! 



> No one makes songs like that anymore; memorable and anthemic yet with an insight and truth equally as universal as it is difficult to express. Today's pop doesn't seem to have any of that. It doesn't stay with me year to year as much more than a silly catch phrase.





> Today's pop doesn't seem to have any of that.



Nah, that's silly, whether or not you're in tune to it or not this stuff is coming out. 

Keep in mind 2011 was the year an australian recording himself in a home studio in a barn took the entire western world's #1's for a ride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZXLyeatI0s

2012 was the year an unsigned independent song became the #1 of the entire year. 

2013 was the year a 16 year old singer/songwriter from fucking new zealand became a #1 with an anti commercial anthem. 

and those are just the #1's, Imagine the pool we have to choose from if we take your #62 as example. 

I know you're probably not into it anymore but don't mistake that for it not being around.


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## Jimbo 88 (May 27, 2014)

It's almost comical to read/listen what musicians have to say about music. 

It reminds me of the Dizzy Gillespie quote, "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture."


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## Rob Elliott (May 27, 2014)

Tough crowd. Wonderful song. Elevates scene it is used in (the most important nod). Actually hear a Maurice White (and Earth, Wind and Fire) influence. Song deserves to transcend the film.


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## Arksun (May 27, 2014)

I can understand why some might get sick of it just from being exposed to it constantly on radio or shop speakers etc depending on their lifestyle, but I would have to agree that this track is a masterpiece imho.

It's got everything going for it, very catchy, fun groove that nods to the past but cutting with an up to date modern fresh sound, in the timing of the way he sings the words in the chorus and above all attention to detail in its production and mixing. Super clean well defined sound that cuts through any sound system superbly well. Ultimately I would still pick musicality over engineering for a track, but this one definitely has both in spades.


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## Jetzer (May 27, 2014)

I first realized Happy was Happy a couple of days ago. I probably heard it already a couple of times on the radio, but I still have trouble remembering anything of it. Unlike other hits Pharrell was involved with, like Get Lucky & Blurred Lines, I still instantly remember those. 

Happy doesn't really do it, for me.


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## vicontrolu (May 27, 2014)

Its a very good pop tune. You know it when you first listen to it. 

If you hate it cause its already been played to death..thats another story.


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## mr (May 27, 2014)

I bought the song last year right after it came out because I loved it and was instantly hooked. Then I followed its path on the charts (I though it was going to be a hit) but was surprised how long it took to get #1.

I think it is the perfect song - the lyrics, melody, chords, arrangement and production fit together perfectly. The way it opens up at the beginning of the chorus with a new chord makes me happy every time I listen to it :D 

Maybe "Happy" sounds like a simple song, but in my experience the stuff that just seems to make sense in a good and simple way is the hardest to do. 

In another forum I read that "Happy" was Pharrells 9th attempt, the eight other songs he had written for the movie had been rejected by the producers/people in charge.


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## EastWest Lurker (May 27, 2014)

I guess if superficial and sing-songish are elements of a perfect song, then it fits the bill 

Look, it is a catchy tune that worked REALLY well with the film, no doubt, but no more so than e.g Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head".

A "perfect"song is very rare and for me meets the following:
1. Is memorable fairly quickly, not necessarily instantly however.
2. Touches people maybe not on a deep level but not on a superficial level either.
3. Wears well on repeated listenings.
4. Lends itself to multiple arrangements in multiple styles.
5. Is not so trendy that 10 years later it souds hopelessly dated.

I would say a song like "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is that kind of song, not "Happy" but it is subjective.


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## StephenForsyth (May 27, 2014)

JH @ Wed May 28 said:


> Unlike other hits Pharrell was involved with, like Get Lucky & Blurred Lines


-and Shake ya ass and She wants to move and Senorita and Like I love you and Rockstar and Maybe and Lap dance and good kid and IFHY and drop it like it's hot and work it out and frontin' and hollaback girl and Milkshake and slave 4 u and hella good and you get the point.


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## rgames (May 27, 2014)

EastWest Lurker @ Tue May 27 said:


> A "perfect"song is very rare and for me meets the following:
> 1. Is memorable fairly quickly, not necessarily instantly however.
> 2. Touches people maybe not on a deep level but not on a superficial level either.
> 3. Wears well on repeated listenings.
> ...


Ives' "The Cage" popped up on my playlist this morning. The combination of quartal chords in the piano, whole-tone lines in the voice and deep philosophical implications in the text meet all of your criteria.

And yet nobody listens to it.

It is, as you say, subjective, so trying to prescribe what makes a good song is, in my (subjective!) opinion, pointless. You either like it or you don't. That's about all you can say.

Objectivity is the realm of science, not art. Art is much less enjoyable when you try to apply objective criteria to it and, in reality, there's no meaningful way to do that. So why bother? 

Just enjoy the mystery 

rgames


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## EastWest Lurker (May 27, 2014)

Agreed it is subjective, but the fact that it is not quantifiable or measurable does not make it unworthy of discussion.

Richard is a living example of the cognitive dissonance that occurs when one tries to be both a scientist and an artist


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## givemenoughrope (May 27, 2014)

The Gotye tune, as horribly catchy as it is, is just basically two people lamenting their difficult relationship and that they no longer run in the same social circles. That's it unless I missed something. Pretty one-dimensional and on the nose. Leaves little interpretation. When I hear it in the coming years I won't make some new connection as they've gone and done that for me. Compare that to the Cheap Trick song which touches on everything from identity subversion and generational politics to walking in on your parents. The imagery and narrator's conflict with reality is what makes the song compelling. (It doesn't hurt that verse is as catchy as the chorus.)


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## StephenForsyth (May 27, 2014)

givemenoughrope @ Wed May 28 said:


> The Gotye tune, as horribly catchy as it is, is just basically two people lamenting their difficult relationship and that they no longer run in the same social circles. That's it unless I missed something. Pretty one-dimensional and on the nose. Leaves little interpretation. When I hear it in the coming years I won't make some new connection as they've gone and done that for me. Compare that to the Cheap Trick song which touches on everything from identity subversion and generational politics to walking in on your parents. The imagery and narrator's conflict with reality is what makes the song compelling. (It doesn't hurt that verse is as catchy as the chorus.)



Gotye song was just to show the popular music sphere recently has been interesting using only songs that got to #1! 

If you wanted imagery, double meanings, what not. 







"Thinkin' bout you" got to 32 on the billboard, well above our #62 benchmark from cheap trick. 

Both that and "bad religion" off the album have absolutely fucking killer double meanings that hit like a brick once you understand the context behind them. I mean both songs legitimately have _completely different_ interpretations based on the context you view it from and this was a properly successful album.


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## R. Soul (May 27, 2014)

I hadn't heard 'happy' before, but I quite like it.

It sounds quite similar to something Gnarls Barkley would come up with - 'going on' for example. 
But certainly better than 90% of the Pop on the charts.


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## lux (May 27, 2014)

Not sure if it's 2013 (guess so) but to me Unhortodox Jukebox is definitely the pop album of the year. When i first had a listen to it in my car could not believe how many good songs in a row it had. Stellar production, songwriting and singing.


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## R. Soul (May 27, 2014)

givemenoughrope @ Tue May 27 said:


> The Gotye tune, as horribly catchy as it is, is just basically two people lamenting their difficult relationship and that they no longer run in the same social circles. That's it unless I missed something. Pretty one-dimensional and on the nose. Leaves little interpretation. When I hear it in the coming years I won't make some new connection as they've gone and done that for me. Compare that to the Cheap Trick song which touches on everything from identity subversion and generational politics to walking in on your parents. The imagery and narrator's conflict with reality is what makes the song compelling. (It doesn't hurt that verse is as catchy as the chorus.)


Yeah, but can the whole arrangement be played on one guitar - by 5 people. :D 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9NF2edxy-M


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## H.R. (May 27, 2014)

Friends of friend of mine were arrested for making a video for Happy in Iran. Ironically I was reading George Orwell's 1984 at the mean time...Damn! 

Therefore Instead of listening to Happy, I'll rather listen to "Born in Darkness" by Zimmer, It has much more realistic reflection here. (It's funny how different feelings towards a music can be!)


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## Guy Rowland (May 27, 2014)

Huh - this morning, UK folks can see an interview with Pharell about this song (he claims there were 10 versions, Hans) on that great music show, BBC Breakfast.


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## KEnK (May 30, 2014)

tekkentool @ Tue May 27 said:


> > Today's pop doesn't seem to have any of that.
> 
> 
> Nah, that's silly, whether or not you're in tune to it or not this stuff is coming out.
> ...


Threads like this one are fascinating to me.
I stopped listening to Pop or paying attention to mainstream culture aeons ago.

So I am truly like a alien visitor coming to the Pop planet for the 1st time.
I think I must be doing something right because until I clicked the above link,
I've never even heard of a band that has half a billion hits! (on one tune!)

One thing I do notice (as an alien visitor) 
is that much of the pop that does get through to me 
is far more referential than pop music used to be.
(This is especially true of what EDM has become)
Seems like there's a "retro chic" thing going on.

But the thing is- those cute 60's throwback cliches were fresh and new ideas then.
There has always been some form of nostalgia for each decade-
But there has also always been a new evolving sound- 
even in the most commercial crap.

I don't really hear that now when I take a peek into the pop world.
As someone so far removed from it, 
I'd think I would notice a "new sound" if there was one.

k


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## AC986 (May 30, 2014)

Arksun @ Tue May 27 said:


> I can understand why some might get sick of it just from being exposed to it constantly on radio



I did actually vomit all over the radio. But that was nothing to do with the song, just an acute IBS attack.


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## Diffusor (Jun 4, 2014)

MichaelL @ Mon May 26 said:


> EastWest Lurker @ Mon May 26 said:
> 
> 
> > MichaelL @ Mon May 26 said:
> ...




I've certainly seen her grind on the piano bench though.


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