The 333 Best Pop Songs of the 2000s: #144

#144: "Put Your Records On" (2007) - Corinne Bailey Rae

After leaving the claustrophobic basement atmosphere in Soho and the dense weave of Robert Smith's hair in Crawley, England, we travel north to upscale Leeds to take a breather for the weekend, and we sip some tea in a bar by the roadside, and we let our hair down while we can, and we hear Bob Marley’s three little birds telling us to put Corinne Bailey Rae’s record on, the one with the pop/soul musical atmosphere (complete with horns and acoustic guitar) that’s as pleasant and airy and refreshing and sweet as the cinnamon in the air, and it’s the unadorned joy in Rae’s voice (and the cute little details, as minute and apt and accurate as those found in country music lyrics) that lifts us above the doldrums and reminds us that music need not be cynical and morose to be honest and true.