What’s a song that always puts you in a good mood?

I’m a Boomer, so expect my choice in songs to be old, before your time. The song that came to mind, the one that always puts me in a good mood, is “Lola” by the Kinks. That garage band jangle, the winking lyrics, the feel of perpetual summer.

I understand it’s a controversial song these days, for a different reason than the original one. Originally, the controversy was singing about a trans person at all. Nowadays, it is about whether the song fetishizes being trans. I don’t think it does. It’s a playful nod to the twists and turns of sexuality. It tells us life is not always what we expected.

When I hear that opening riff, I am back riding shotgun in an automobile, endless summer ahead of me, reveling in being alive.