Win Nick’s Golden Voucher [Extended]

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Thank Flahavan it’s Friday.

To celebrate a glorious summer weekend, would you be partial to another music competition?

This week the theme comes courtesy of our highly esteemed columnist Slightly Bemused who suggests your favourite song that puts a smile on your face.

Here’s mine.

Reply below to be in with a chance of bagging yourself a €50 Golden Discs voucher redeemable in any Golden Discs store.

The winner will be chosen by my next door neighbour’s Yorkshire Terrier.

Lines MUST close on Saturday at 1pm.

Last week’s winner here.

Nick says: Good luck!

Meanwhile…

….Bodger writes:

Further to queries last week, I am attending to the important backlog of winners who have yet to receive a voucher. You will be contacted over the weekend. I am very sorry for the delay.

Golden Discs

Sponsored Link

112 thoughts on “Win Nick’s Golden Voucher [Extended]

  1. Andy Pipkin

    A brilliant suggestion by SB

    I’m going to have to restrain my amount of entries this week!
    Or it could be short lived!!

    So, my first has to be an unlikely Pipkin pick, (and it’s not going to go down well in some quarters, and I’ll probably get gate or minimum a yellow card from Nick!)
    but from the first opening notes I can’t but help smile.
    Knowing that it’s only 197 days till youknowhat!! And it means I get to watch my all time favourite movie ever,
    It’s A Wonderful Life and hopefully this year see family for Christmas dinner, after what was a s*#t storm ( thanks Mille for the word!) of a year!!!
    We were robbed of Christmas last year!

    The cheese factory that is Miss Carey,
    All I Want ……
    It’s 27 years old and still manages to put a smile of my face, for a song that allegedly only took fifteen minutes too write!.

    https://youtu.be/aAkMkVFwAoo

    Enjoy!
    And happy ……….. Friday!

    If I get away with this I’ll be back later, but I’m less confident about some of my other picks??.

    1. millie bobby brownie

      All time favourite song. Impossible not to watch that iconic scene from Almost Famous with Tiny Dancer playing and smile.

  2. Seamus

    https://youtu.be/VoVNeUvCDY4

    Waterford’s own Gilbert O’Sullivan. Matrimony.

    Particularly this video of it. The get up of Gilbert, the jumper with the G on it, the white shoes, the “dance”, the bewildered looking oul wans and a song written to put a smile on your face and from a simpler time.

  3. millie bobby brownie

    My vote goes to Kooks by David Bowie.

    This song was (apparently) written after the birth of his son and is wonderfully upbeat and happy, echoing the joyous mood which comes after the arrival of a baby. I truly love this song, it always makes me smile and even now evokes some lovely memories of dancing in the kitchen with my dearest little lady.

    https://youtu.be/jCaMwqtwJTc

    1. Fergalito

      Lol … I was singing this to my 6-year old daughter in the car when we were heading off on a little errand yesterday. She was strangely mesmerised and rather pertinently, slightly bemused.

      “And if the homework brings you down, we’ll throw it on the fire and take the car downtown”

  4. Fergalito

    Some damned fine shouts in there already – I’d pick Electric 6 but it’s so hard to top “Danger! High Voltage”

    So many to choose from, so many !

    All that said and with the aural lick of the aforementioned tune having left its sting (I just had to listen to it when Micko’s selection prompted it). the choice i’ll make is from now defunct Aussie band The Lucksmiths. Puts a smile on my face in a rest-the-chin-on-the-fist-staring-dopily-out-the-window sort of way.

    Tune in question is “Young and Dumb” –

    https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=70dXe9smsnA&list=RDAMVM70dXe9smsnA

    “But hold on, the best things happen
    When you don’t know what’s going on
    Slow down and don’t say nothing
    Just remember that we’re still young
    And kinda dumb…”

  5. Friscondo

    Harvey Danger, Flagpole Sitta. Tongue in cheek song about paranoia and much else. You’re instantly swept along by its pure infectiousness. A great antidote to some of the more “serious” 90’s rock acts.
    “Been around the world and found
    That only stupid people are breeding”

    1. ian-oG

      First noticed this as the theme to Peep Show, really summed up David Mitchells unbelievably neurotic character.

      Also, SuperHans…..excellent comedy, not sure how much of it you would get away with these days even though its only about 10 years old?

      1. Fergalito

        I always think of the “this crack is very more-ish” line at the mere mention of SuperHans.

    1. Slightly Bemused

      Just finished my Thai takeaway dinner with my friend to celebrate her birthday. She was having fish – cooked it herself, and she is an amazing chef! I sent her this link as I do every week. She likes to listen to all kinds of music, and without doubt that happens on every one of Nick’s competitions :-)

      Anyway, she laughed when she read your post here, Janet, and said I would not be having any of that. I am not a fish eater, and she reminded me of the time when I was working there we went to a very nice restaurant right on the shore of the Aegean Sea – she is in Montenegro, in Tivat, though this restaurant is in Budva. Famously, she and her boyfriend (who happened to be my boss) got a whole big serving of ‘shells’. No idea other than they were shellfish of some kind, but amusing as his name is Kjell, he is Norwegian, and it is pronounced very close to ‘shell’. They followed this up with large platters of sizzling fish.

      When ordering, they put in theirs, and the waiter turned to me, who ordered a steak and a dish they do of fried potatoes and onions, similar to bratkartoffleln. The poor lad looked offended, but the steak was great, and the two smug demons opposite me ate their shells and fish with every appearance of enjoyment!

      So the Thai was good this evening (green curry as the main), the lady enjoyed her fish, and we had a great trip down memory lane. Then her husband called (not Kjell, he has moved on) and as normal our call ended.

      1. Janet, dreams of an alternate universe

        :)
        you have put an awful goo on me now for thai,
        as I know you’re not a million miles away have you tried Kin Khao in Maynooth ? His wife’s thai, it’s pretty authentic …yum

        1. Slightly Bemused

          Ooh, no. I must try them. My brother lives in Maynooth, so I may cadge a bed and treat them as part of my bribing… I mean as fair exchange for the bed :-)

          1. Janet, dreams of an alternate universe

            more than fair price, check out the beef cheek red curry

          2. Rosette of Sirius

            It’s pretty amazing that dish! Best addition to Maynooth since Nic and Cyril opened Chocolate Bar…

  6. fez

    Matt Berry – Take My Hand

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdqu-HObUbo

    You may know Matt Berry better for his acting, or his speaking voice which is legendary, but he’s quite the songwriter too.

    My wife walked down the aisle to this gem of a song and it always puts a smile on my face, sometimes it even makes me cry (happy tears of course, just in case she’s reading).

    1. eamonn

      Talented fellow Matt, anything I have heard by him has gone down very well indeed. only heard him recently.
      Take a Bow

  7. joe cool

    has to be men at work…land down under. I met a man in Brussels..6ft 4 and full of muscles

    1. Slightly Bemused

      Great song. On one of my overseas trips the Australian army had a detachment with the UN forces. They decided to have a barbie on one of their national days – might have been ANZAC Day as they did an impassioned version of The Band Played Waltzing Mathilda.

      Followed by a rousing version of Land Down Under to bring spirits back up.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfR9iY5y94s

    1. Slightly Bemused

      That is a wonderful version. I always thought that George was not able to show his true genius as one of the Beatles, but he made up for it afterwards.

      And I have forgotten the amount of times that I had Homeward Bound on full volume, either on the stereo or in my head, when things were not going great.

      Should this be ‘Here Comes The Sun Silently For Me’? :-)

  8. Rosette of Sirius

    ‘Let it happen bassplayer…..’

    Time flies by – Half Man Half Biscuit

    https://youtu.be/bpx7uM-5Y3Q

    Rare live version too – https://youtu.be/XIje_d6eWnE

    I LOVED Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley for that matter as a kid and when I first heard Back in the DHSS and Time Flies By, I thought it was one of the best and funniest things ever.

    Anyways, the only time it ever pops up for me nowadays in on my Spotify Daily Mix list. And when it does I smile. A lot!

  9. nicorigo

    The Sultan of Ping FC – Where is my jumper? –

    Brings back so many memories of wild parties and lost properties . Also the lyrics are very funny (my dog will be so so angry, put it to the testo and so on). A cracking tune guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-dl9KTYAVk

    1. Ben Madigan

      100%
      And when I put it on now the 3 year old goes around saying “where’s my jumper gone?” which really puts a smile on your face :)

  10. CapernosityandFunction

    That Petrol Emotion – Sensitize

    https://youtu.be/oMXbXDUURSM

    This track just bounces along and always makes me feel good. I remember the old Olympic Ballroom on Pleasant Street heaving when these guys played and everyone was bouncing along. This band should have had so much more success.

  11. stephen moran

    Kneejerk reaction was to nominate a camp classic guilty pleasure like “Life is a Rollercoaster” by our Ronan (too kitsch) or The Fountains of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mum” (but I mowed “Mrs Robinson’s” lawn earlier) . And I’m glad no one recommended “C’est La Vie” or “Shiny Happy People” as the taste police are busy cleaning the Coors off their riot shields in D2 (OMC “How Bizarre” you might say). So I’ll humbly suggest Jens Lekman’s quirky romantic & very tender as it turns out A&E tale of a chap slicing off his finger while cutting an avocado after his girlfriend crept up behind him in her brand new silent sneakers & threw her arms around him. It always manages to bring a tear to my eye & a smile to my face simultaneously
    Jens Lekman with “Your Arms Around Me”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axmMxWBPSTc

    1. Slightly Bemused

      My mother bought for all of us the soundtrack to The Jungle Book on a Little Long Playing Record – a single-sized record played at 33 rpm. I always loved this, and the Elephant’s March

      1. scottser

        The elephant march..
        My kids still demand that they stand on my feet and I walk them round the gaff singing ‘the aim of our patrol, is a question rather droll..’

    1. Slightly Bemused

      I hear that he conducted the most rapid dairy product conveyance in the Occident!

  12. Andy Pipkin

    Okay, so I seem to have got away relatively unscathed from my first pick.
    So I’ll try another, this time from the movie The Greatest Showman, the song is brilliant and uplifting but the reason it still puts a smile on my face is remembering watching my seven year old niece and her classmates singing it at their Christmas performance !!
    Smiling and tears at the same time,

    This Is Me

    https://youtu.be/CjxugyZCfuw

    Enjoy!

  13. stephen moran

    On the beast with two backs album that is “69 Love Songs” , Stephin Merritt who is something of a cunning linguist penned this hilariously evocative ballad with a twist that turns even my semi permanent rictus into a smirk when I listen to him croon

    “Papa was a rodeo, Mama was a rock’n’roll band
    I could play guitar and rope a steer before I learned to stand
    Home was anywhere with diesel gas, Love was a trucker’s hand
    Never stuck around long enough for a one night stand
    Before you kiss me you should know
    Papa was a rodeo”

    Had the distinct pleasure of seeing this neglected gem performed live at the Olympia in another lifetime aeons ago.

    The Magnetic Fields “Papa Was a Rodeo”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fllQTBPDalk

  14. Slightly Bemused

    One that always makes me smile is Atomic Kitten and Whole Again. Nothing inappropriate, but it always makes me think of Little Slightly, and anything that makes me think of her makes me smile.

    I was present when she joined the world, and carried her in my arms to the nursery, as they had brought her mother to her room in the wrong type of gurney (no baby basket attached. While when had been mewling in her mother’s arms, she fell asleep in mine. Did not even blink as I was accosted by a nurse making sure I was not running off with a baby. I had gotten too far ahead of my escorting nurse, who arrived to set things right. Nonetheless wrist, and in the little ones case, ankle bracelets were still checked. I have them both upstairs.

    Anyway, I could not overnight, so I got in the car with Little’s Grandmama and set off for the family home. I turned on the radio, and Whole Again was playing. A few days later I had to return to my job posting on another continent, and did not see my Little Slightly for another 8 weeks. But Whole Again had made the local charts, and was a regular on the airwaves.

    So every time I hear this song, I thing of my little daughter, and the fact that I do feel more whole when I am with her. And just thinking of this makes me smile, and I have not yet played the song :-)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V0xQkk9kbc

    1. millie bobby brownie

      That’s adorable.
      I remember younger millie learning every word of that song and setting it to (some truly awful) juvenile dance steps. This and the Tragedy cover by Steps (remember them?) were enough to convince me I wasn’t cut out to be in a girl band.

      1. Slightly Bemused

        Heh! I had a twelve year old put me in no doubt that boy bands would not be in my future. Kids are wonderful!

        I enjoyed Steps’ version of Tragedy, but I was in the land of Turbofolk when it came out…

  15. CapernosityandFunction

    Divine Comedy – Tonight We Fly

    https://youtu.be/ypeegdF7GyM

    This song to me represents pure exhilaration and joy. Imagine being able to fly above the world and observe life down below. What could be more wonderful? The music pulses and races you along as if you are careering through the clouds. As ever the lyrics from Neil Hannon shine through

  16. Otis Blue

    In a stellar career Bob Dorough collaborated with Miles Davis, Allen Ginsberg and Lenny Bruce amongst others. Yeah, whatever…

    His coolest achievement though was as writer and director of Schoolhouse Rock, an animated educational series where where he put the multiplication tables to music, part of which was later sampled by De La Soul.

    Bob Dorough – Three Is A Magic Number

    https://youtu.be/eVwnmVTjnoI

  17. JDJDanon

    Say what you will about the Rose of Tralee, but as an early-90s participant, this song was top of the charts at the time. I know I’m not the only ‘Rose’ of that time who belts out this song, to this day, reveling in the friendships made over sneaky cigs and maybe a bit too much booze!
    https://youtu.be/6NXnxTNIWkc

  18. scottser

    https://youtu.be/TSGuaVAufV0
    Most of my favourite happy tunes have been turned into ads for washing powder, meusli or trainers.
    I have one left that I pray to fuk gets left alone – Wilson Pickett, 6345789.
    Like all things that bring happiness, there is always a part of you that is scared it will be taken away from you so you tend to appreciate it more while you have it..

    1. Janet, dreams of an alternate universe

      or backing music to cat videos…don’t watch Kitty love on Netflix

  19. millie bobby brownie

    One more for the road, seeing as this just popped up on my Spotify and I couldn’t have stopped the smile on my face even for a second. It’s infectious, cliché, cheesy but in the very best of ways and everyone knows the words.

    https://youtu.be/-C_3eYj-pOM
    Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gate & Tammi Terrell

  20. Klaus Schulze

    For me it’s the great Holger Czukay “Photo Song” …
    https://youtu.be/ZZ3oeboZ7ts
    Holger’s a little less serious here. Still it always brings a smile to my face with the simplest of lyrics:
    “Fun is the key to your health
    Turning pictures to your heart
    Facing the locality
    Images melting into one
    And there are you
    A mirror reflection
    And I don’t know
    I’m smiling”
    Video is just perfect. Done in 1984 when there was still a West Germany, it reminds you how there was always a place in all that Cold War European grey drabness for pure silliness and artistic anarchy.
    Remember heading to school for Inter Cert exams, a bunch of us commenting on all those serious Protest Rock power videos on MTV. I mentioned seeing Holger’s “Photo Song” video (you can imagine how little air play it would have got). Everyone stopped, turned around and smiled. “Pure genius that was boy” they all said. World needs a few more Holgers these days…
    Ps that’s Jaki Liebezeit playing bass in the vid …

  21. I get it now.

    This is the kinda thing that makes me smile.
    Asian Dub Foundation ft Stuart Lee. ‘Comin’ Over Here’.
    https://youtu.be/_kkOHtniTts

    Techno-Punky politics, delivered by the the 39th Best Comedian Ever and a band I presume is from Birmingham, England.

    (Other remixes are available.)

  22. Slightly Bemused

    The bulk of posting is done, and I cannot ruin anyone’s day.

    Janet: DO NOT click the link. Perhaps don’t read either as it does involve a certain band.

    Okay, should be safe to share this now.

    A song that always makes me smile, sometimes gloat, is Fernando by ABBA. I used love singing it and knew all the words. I was 9 or ten, and my aunt, uncle and cousins would come down to visit regularly. My uncle used love to get me to sing the song, and as those of you who have read any of my comments around Little Slightly, you may be aware that she does not have a great impression of my singing ability..
    It was not any better then. So my uncle would have me sing it, and get great big belly laughs from the performance. I did not care, I enjoyed singing it, and he gave me 50p, which was more than I got for pocket money – well worth it.
    Why I smile? As he gave me a hug, he would say that he loved watching my love of singing come out, and wanted to encourage me not to heed the begrudgers.
    Why I gloat: my brothers used enjoy telling me that he only did it for the laugh, and I could say ‘yes, but he also gave me 50p!’. You could clearly hear the drums as their hearts sped up in anger.

    ABBA, and Fernando

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQsjAbZDx-4

        1. Slightly Bemused

          I hope that you heeded the warning and had a wonderful, peaceful evening :-)

      1. Papi

        All their stuff is slightly mad but really moreish. I’d love to see them live. Must be nuts.

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