A teenaged DJ Urban Kobbb only wanted one gal to sing Happy Birthday to him: Clare Grogan (playing now). Click the  button anytime to hear another favorite from Cracker. Click the again for a little Grandmaster Flash. |
I like birthdays, but nothing is more excruciatingly painful than having Happy Birthday sung to me. Well, one thing is worse: having it sung to me in a bastardized version by the highly flared wait-staff in a mall restaurant. It’s not so much the song itself, but why rehash the same old tune when it has been improved upon so thoroughly? In honor of my birthday, the following is a list of my three most-preferred alternative birthday anthems.
3. Cracker’s 1992 debut self-titled album is absolutely among the best debut albums of that decade. It includes traditional, in-your-face rock and the No. 3 birthday song on my list. Happy Birthday follows Cracker’s usual style of self-effacing lyrics over a three-chord harmony. Cracker’s style is smooth, and reminds me of a mixture of Better Than Ezra, Soul Asylum and Wilco.
2. In 1981, Altered Images rode in on the MTV wave with my No. 2 favorite, Happy Birthday. This video-friendly group featured lead vocals by waif-ish Clare Grogan. I was 17 when Altered Images debuted, and nothing is more appealing to a hormone-infused teen than having Grogan sing to you on your special day. To this day, my 41-year-old brother and I email the song to each other on our respective birthdays.
1. What could possibly be cooler than having Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five wish you a Happy Birthday? Their 1980 Sugar Hill release Birthday Party tops my personal list of birthday songs with typical Grandmaster Flash fashion — a kicking beat and great rhymes. Flash practically invented the modern version of DJing and almost single-handedly brought rap music to mainstream prominence. Run DMC, The Beastie Boys and anyone who cuts and scratches — they all owe their careers to Flash. I think that qualifies him to sing me a rather trite birthday song.
There you have it — the iList PlayList birthday list. It’s not comprehensive, but these are the only birthday songs I’ll have performed for me today. Are you reading this, Clare?
