Dean Tommy's Happy Playlist
Music can have a very relaxing effect on your mind and body. It can also put you in a good mood when times seem gloom. Consider making a playlist made up of a few songs that takes you back to a place that makes you smile and laugh. As you drive or walk to the exam site, listen those tracks. (Just remember not to bring prohibited devices into the exam room!)
Here’s my playlist on iTunes and a few quick notes below on what those tracks mean to me:
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/dean-tommys-happy-mix/pl.u-38zECA09ab
Happy (From "Despicable Me 2")
Pharrell Williams
When Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law received provisional ABA accreditation in December 2014, my oldest son ran and danced around the room to this song. He was only three at the time and likely didn’t know the significance of the news. But he say how happy I was upon hearing the news, and he immediately shared in the excitement.
Shut Up and Dance
WALK THE MOON
When my kids were younger, we sometimes would precede bedtime with a little dance party. It was a good way for the boys to expend some energy, which they always seemed to have at the end of the day.
Whatever It Takes
Imagine Dragons
First, let’s get this out of the way: Imagine Dragons > Nickelback. I like Imagine Dragons. I hate Nickelback. I see "Whatever It Takes" as a particularly inspiring song about wanting to accomplish something without giving up until it’s done it.
Don't Stop Believin'
Journey
It’s one of the most contagious songs ever written because you can be in the worst mood ever, but when you hear the song, you just want to start moving with it. This signature song from Journey always makes me think of the final episode of The Sopranos, which ran for six seasons on HBO beginning in 2007. In the final episode, A.J. reminds his father of his advice to “remember the good times.”
Further On
Bronze Radio Return
This is the only song I know from Bronze Radio Return. The PGA TOUR used "Further On" as the soundtrack for its national ad campaign showing how Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley, and Phil Mickelson got their start in the game of golf.
Raspberry Beret
Prince & The Revolution
When I think back to my nearly 10 years in the Twin Cities, I think of law school, ridiculously cold weather, and Prince. I could include any Prince song here: Let’s Go Crazy, Kiss, Little Red Corvette, U Got the Look, Cream, When Doves Cry … the list goes on. In the summer of 2001, I was fortunate enough to go to a Prince in concert at St. Paul’s Excel Energy Center. One. Of. The. Best. Concerts. EVER. And it didn’t even matter that about 14,000 ticket holders, including myself, weren’t even allowed to enter the arena until 20 minutes after the 8 p.m. scheduled show time because Prince was a giving a private sound check for members of his fan club. He’s Prince. And he can do that.
Stayin' Alive (Teddybears Remix)
Bee Gees
I love remixes that I can run or spin to, and this a good version of the Saturday Night Fever anthem. The song deals with struggle and aspiration—making your way in the world even after you’ve been kicked around.
Jeremy (Linsanity)
Jimmy Fallon
Only Jimmy Fallon can make a song about an Asian basketball player from Harvard. This parody of Pearl Jam’s Insanity recalls the meteoric rise of former New York Knicks Jeremy Lin in 2012. In case you’re wondering, after Lin’s breakout season in 2012 with the Knicks, he’s been with five other teams. He won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in June, becoming the first Asian-American player to take home a ring in the league’s history. He played only one minute during the NBA Finals.
Everything Is Awesome (with Eban Schletter) [Tween Dream Remix]
Garfunkel and Oates
This is an updated version of the original theme song from The LEGO Movie that appeared in The Second Part. Is everything really awesome? No. But this insanely catchy song is fun nonetheless. “Everything is awesome, and everything is cool when you’re part of a team” is a general message of this song. Don’t mind the underlying ode to conformity.
Semi-Charmed Life
Third Eye Blind
In 2000, a friend and I went to a Vertical Horizon and Third Eye Blind concert at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. After the concert, and after being separated from my friend, I somehow made it backstage and eventually had drinks around a beer-filled cooler filled with Stephan Jenkins (the lead singer from Third Eye Blind), Charlize Theron (the future academy-award winner who was dating Stephan at the time), and, for reasons I can’t recall, one of the members of The Rembrandts (probably best known for writing the theme song to the Friends sitcom). Hey, Twitterverse – please find that picture of us and send it me!
Here Comes the Sun
The Beatles
When my first born was a baby, my wife and I would play this song when he cried. Here Comes the Sun was a vital tool to calm our child. When the second child was born, we attempted to do the same with him, but the results were vastly different. Playing the same song only made him cry louder. Since then, everything has been different between the two boys.
Don't Stop
Fleetwood Mac
This song was the theme music for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in 1992. This was the first presidential election in which I could vote. There’s always something special about casting a vote and making your voice heard.
My Shot
Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton
There’s a lot of double meanings in this song from the Broadway hit Hamilton, and it’s fun to dissect them all. The lyrics, “I am not throwing away my shot,” can discuss Hamilton’s deliberately firing to miss in his fatal duel with Aaron Burr. But I primarily interpret the statement as not missing an opportunity to achieve personal success. To watch Lin-Manuel Miranda’s parody of “My Shot” on SNL, click here: https://youtu.be/AsupmN90wBk.
Seasons of Love
Original Broadway Cast of Rent
Five-hundred, twenty-five-thousand, six-hundred minutes. This song means that life is not measured in time, but in the moments you spend and who you spend it with—family and friends.
Summer Of '69 (MTV Unplugged Version)
Bryan Adams
I graduated from Bryan Adams High School in Dallas, Texas. So, obviously, a Bryan Adams song makes the list. For you millennials, that’s not a typo—it’s Bryan Adams, not Ryan Adams. Although the high school was not named after that Bryan Adams, Bryan Adams songs were popularly played at different school activities.
The Throne Room and End Title
John Williams & London Symphony Orchestra
This iconic score by John Williams from the final scene in Star Wars: A New Hope represents triumph and victory, and that’s the reason why I’ve placed this song last in this playlist. When I run races, I try to place this track in the playlist so that it comes on as I near or cross the finish line. Hearing this track represents a sense of achievement and gives me an opportunity to reflect on the accomplishment.
