The Jayhawks
Rainy Day Music (2003)

Review by: Brandon Copple
Date: 7/11/03

Sometimes you need to cheer up. They make drugs for this, of course, but unless you're a medical doctor or a movie star they can be hard to come by. The rest of us will just have to make do with what's available. Why not listen to some cheery music? Because most of it sucks. Usually, music designed to raise your spirits turns out to be a steaming pile of squishy sentiment and stinky emotion.

Thank god for the Jayhawks. Their latest record, 'Rainy Day Music,' is exactly that – songs for a gloomy day when all you can think about is what a piece of shit you are. On that day you need some positivity, maybe some good old Prairie Optimism – the kind that comes from life on the plains, where the wind never stops blowing, the sun ruins your upholstery and the cold kills all your goddamn livestock. It's a bitch, but there's nothing you can do about it except move to California. Much better to relax, smile, put on some good pop music.

Any of the Jayhawks records would qualify, but 'Rainy Day Music' is the one most likely to help you screw the blues. Listen to Louris describing a friend who, like you, can't stop feeling sorry for herself:

'Pretty little hairdo
Don't do what it used to
Can't disguise the livin'
All the miles that you been thru'

It ain't so bad, he goes on to tell her, save your moping for when something really bad happens. It's the title track, one of many bouncy pop numbers filled with high harmonies and pitch-perfect guitars.

You'll be encouraged by songs about girls named Angeline and Sarah Jane – 'In the eyes of Sarah Jane, I see the happy times again' – that will make you forget the bitch who broke your heart and remember the girl from back home who used to make you happy just by smiling at you on the sidewalk.

If that doesn't cheer you up, try the drugs.