Shiny Happy People

Let's have a Psychology lesson, shall we?  We are talking about humanism in my AP Psych class, which is the belief that we, as humans, have unlimited potential, unlike other beliefs by Freud saying we use defense mechanisms to cope with anxieties we have or that we simply just don't go after our potential due to past experiences.

There is a quote my teacher brought up by John Lennon - which is why I'm talking about it because it was said by a singer!!  Lennon said, “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.' They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life.”

That quote is the perfect example of humanism.  John Lennon wanted to be happy, and was told that was ridiculous.  Humanist Carl Rogers would completely disagree with that.  If a kid says he wants to fly, you don't tell him it's impossible, you tell him it is possible if he puts forth the effort to achieve it.  Your passion is possible if you learn to get past the barriers.

So many bands and singers sing about happiness:

• "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
• "Brighter Than The Sun" - Colbie Caillat
• "Celebration" - Kool & the Gang
• "Happy Days" - Pratt & McClain
• "Shiny Happy People" - R.E.M.
• "Walking On Sunshine" - Katrina & the Waves

I Get A Kick Out of You

I got this book fro Christmas from my aunt, uncle, and cousins called The Greatest Album Covers Of All Time.  The book features more than 250 of the best album covers and is arranged by decade and musical genre.

It was published in 2005 by Collins & Barnes and was written by Barry Miles, Grant Scott, and Johnny Morgan.  There are six different chapters:  1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.  I'll go over just a few of those.

In the 1950s chapter, there are four subchapters:

1. Pop - Frank Sinatra's Come Fly with Me and Peggy Lee's Black Coffee are two of the albums included.
2. Exotica - Robert Frost's Robert Frost Reads His Poetry is one of the records in this subchapter.
3. Jazz - Ella Fitzgerald's Ella Fitzgerald Sings Gershwin Vol 2 and Quincy Jones's This Is How I Feel About Jazz are just two of the several albums.
4. Rock 'n' Roll - Elvis Presley's Elvis Presley, Little Richard's Here's Little Richard, and Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps' Gene Vincent Rocks!  And the Blue Caps Roll.

In the 1980s chapter, there are seven subchapters:

1. Factory - New Order's Low-Life, Power Corruption and Lies, and Movement.
2. Pop - Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., Adam and the Ants' Kings of the Wild Frontier, Madonna's True Blue, and R.E.M.'s Murmur are just a few.
3. Rock - Tom Waits's Rain Dogs, Talking Heads' The Name of this Band Is Talking Heads and Remain in Light
4. Agit Rock - Killing Joke's Killing Joke and The Fall's Hex Enduction Hour.
5. Metal - AC/DC's Back in Black, Van Halen's MCMLXXXIV, Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast, and ZZ Top's Eliminator.
6. Rap - Beastie Boys' Licensed of Ill and L.L. Cool J's Radio.
7. Soul - George Benson's Give Me the Night and Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel.

I don't want to give the whole book away, so if you would like to know the other chapters, you will have to buy it for yourself!!