the MARZONYEAH shuffle - "Makes Me Happy" by Drake Bell
It’s crazy how music can trigger memories, old feelings, and dormant, everlasting emotions. I recently (manually / painstakingly) ported over my “MarzonYEAH!” playlist, basically my master playlist made up of songs that I loved over the years and still love, from my local iTunes library to my Spotify account, and shuffling this playlist brought me back to those moments in my life that I discovered them, or memories of listening to them. For this series, I plan to write a little about a song, chosen by pressing Shuffle on the playlist. Each post would be about my experience with the songs and a little analysis with a cover to accompany the post. I’m not going to talk too much about lyrics, since, weirdly, that isn’t what I listen for in a song. I’m into chord progressions, melodies, basically whatever the musicians are doing that makes me conjure up some sort of emotion. Lyrics don’t always do that, but I will be sure to talk about it if they do. (You can find lyrical analysis on the Genius pages, so I’ll defer to those.) I’ll try to break down these little features into sections as best I can! I highly encourage you to listen to the song on repeat while reading this!
MarzonYEAH playlist on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3bmmlB4
Lyrics: https://genius.com/Drake-bell-makes-me-happy-lyrics
CHORD PROGRESSIONS
Key of C Major
Verses: C - F [I - IV]
Chorus: F#/D - F [II - IV]
Bridge: Am - F - Am - F - Dm - F [iv - IV - iv - IV - ii - IV]
MY LISTENING EXPERIENCE(S)
I was a huge fan of Drake & Josh on Nickelodeon when it was airing from 2004-2007, and that was prime time for me since I was just beginning to write my own music then. I wanted to be as cool and confident as Drake, but felt more on the Josh wavelength socially. (And physically, to be quite honest; I still have residual best self body image issues.) So there I was writing music in 7th grade writing music similar to Drake Bell’s, whose “Found A Way” theme song to the show is my definition of a great theme song.
Me circa a few months after the album came out!
I remember scouring different CD stores (i.e. Best Buy and Target), and finally found his first album, Telegraph, in the Virgin Record Store in Ontario Mills. That album got a lot of play and made me a fan of Drake’s music for life. Which led to my excitement for his second album, It’s Only Time, which came out in the fall of 2006. I distinctly recall stopping by Target in Chino Hills to pick up the album on the way to being dropped off at my Manoy (older cousin) Naithan’s house.
It’s Only Time is one of those albums that I don’t skip through any songs and has some absolute bangers and beautifully written songs (see: Up Periscope and Fool The World). “Makes Me Happy” can definitely be included in those categories. It’s a short, sweet and innocent song that makes you and everyone who listens to it joyous.
THE SONG
I love the two-chord bouncing simplicity of the verses, countered with a driving riff played by the electric lead guitar and bass guitar. The progression bounces from C-F jauntily until it settles into the F chord for a few measures. Vocally, Bell sings in a C7 scale, lending a very blues vibe to the pop-forward progression, emphasized by the cheeriness of the lyrics. The choruses change up the scale a bit, going into the Major II chord to make your ears perk up a bit.
The structure of the 2 and a half minute song is very 50s/60s pop, with simple chord progressions that repeat and melodies that can easily get stuck in your head. When he gets to the bridge, it’s a welcome shift from what we expected. The whole song is so short and sweet, making it an easy breeze of a listen.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Simple, singable songs are important in an artist’s repertoire, and I love this song a lot. It’s an interesting change from the rest of the album, since It’s Only Time sounds very Sgt. Pepper’s-era Beatles-inspired.
I remember watching Drake & Josh’s Really Big Shrimp special and him performing this song. He was so freakin’ cool and got all the ladies and I wanted to emulate that vibe. A lot of my old songs had tinges of Drake Bell’s music, and I still listen to his albums to this day.