I've suddenly noticed that the Monday Tunes of late have been rather melancholy (fado, murder ballads, myths of the West country, brooding songs of northern Europe) -- so here are songs & videos intended to start the week more cheerfully. The connecting theme between them is simply that they all make me happy...and I hope you enjoy them too.

Above: "Rock, Paper, Sissors" by the Norwegian band Katzenjammer, four musicians (friends from their art school days) who blend a passion for traditional instruments and world folk music with a love of cartoons and popular culture. The band's name is taken from an early American comic strip, The Katzenjammer Kids.

Below: sublime silliness from Beirut in the video for "Elephant Gun." Zach Cordon, the talented young multi-instrumentalist at the heart of Beirut, was raised in New Mexico (hence the echo of Mexican Mariachi music running through his work); he's also spent a lot of time in Europe, and is now based in New York.

Above, more silliness: "La Gallina" by the fabulous Ozomatli, out of Los Angeles. Oh, how I love these guys! If you ever have the chance to see them live, don't miss them.

Below: "Tangled Up" by Dutch singer Caro Emerald, queen of "new swing." It's from her second CD, The Shocking Miss Emerald (2013), which I was dancing around the kitchen to just this morning...to Tilly's great amusement (or perhaps bemusement).

And last, a lovely song to end on:

"Don't Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down" by the great bluesman Eric Bibb, recorded in the UK for the BBC's TransAtlantic Sessions. Bibb grew up in a musical family in New York City, and now lives in Helsinki, Finland.