a Smelly Cat joined the Cats and Dogs, triggering Cats Vs. Dogs because Everybody Wants To Be A Cat!

Hello, my favorite Monday peeps! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! Ours was pretty low-key, which was perfectly fine with me. I tackled the ever-exciting adventure of grocery shopping (try not to be jealous! 😂), took it easy, and enjoyed not having a whole lot on the agenda.

Last week’s workweek was surprisingly mellow, too, which should have been my first clue that something was up! As it turns out, that was simply the calm before the storm. 😆 All of my clients seem to have decided it’s time to get busy at once, so it looks like I’ll be ridiculously busy for the foreseeable future.

Good thing Monday’s Music Moves Me gives me an excuse to step away from the craziness and have a little fun! And this week’s theme should definitely provide plenty of that because September is National Happy Cat Month. 🐈 

So we’re celebrating those adorable, independent, occasionally mischievous four-legged creatures with a playlist involving one rather smelly feline, a few cats and dogs, a little interspecies rivalry, and a whole lot of jazzy kitty confidence. 😹 Let’s get this cat party started!

If you were a Friends fan, you probably remember a certain hilariously unfortunate feline who couldn’t seem to escape his odor problem. 😂 The quirky little tune first appeared during the show’s second season and went on to become one of Phoebe Buffay’s most memorable musical moments.

Lisa Kudrow even helped shape the song: longtime Friends writer Adam Chase has explained that the writers originally came up with a different animal, but Kudrow felt a cat would be funnier. I’d say she made the right call!

Fast-forward more than 25 years to the 2021 Friends reunion, when Kudrow picked up her guitar at Central Perk and suddenly had some superstar competition. Lady Gaga walked in—appropriately dressed in a very Phoebe-like outfit—and joined her for a duet before a gospel choir appeared to give this ridiculous little ditty the grand production it had apparently been waiting decades to receive. 😂

Afterward, Gaga thanked Kudrow for portraying someone who was always unapologetically herself, especially for those of us who felt like “the different one.” Who knew a song about a stinky kitty could produce such a sweet moment?

Get ready for some fun; here’s Lisa Kudrow and Lady Gaga with “Smelly Cat”:

Sometimes a song doesn’t need four minutes and a big chorus to make an impression. This little indie-folk gem clocks in at barely two minutes and originally opened the band’s self-released debut album in 2009.

After the group developed a devoted following in Seattle and sold thousands of copies themselves, Sub Pop signed them and re-released the album in 2011, helping introduce their harmony-filled sound to a much wider audience.

Despite the very pet-friendly title you’re about to see, this isn’t really a cute little song about household animals. 😂 Instead, it’s a dreamy collection of images involving home, travel, relationships and trying to find where you belong. It also doesn’t really end in the traditional sense—the music flows directly into the next track on the album, almost as though it’s opening the door and inviting us into the rest of the record.

For our purposes, though, two particular four-legged creatures in that title earned it a spot in this week’s Happy Cat Month celebration.

Give a listen to The Head and the Heart with “Cats and Dogs”:

This week’s theme gives me the perfect excuse to pull out something from an artist who really does love his four-legged friends. Over the years, he and his wife have shared their home with quite the collection of cats and dogs, so seeing both animals turn up together in one of his song titles doesn’t seem terribly surprising.

He’s even incorporated his pets into other creative projects, proving that sometimes our furry family members find their way into our work whether they mean to or not.

This track appeared on a 2018 album made up of songs recorded during an especially productive period in his career. He had created so much material while working on the previous year’s record that there were enough finished songs left to make another album.

Rather than treating those tracks like leftovers, he considered them part of the same creative burst and gave them their own release. And with cats facing off against dogs in this particular selection, I suppose there’s only one question left: whose side are you on? Team Kitty or Team Pooch?

Give a listen to Matthew Sweet with “Cats Vs. Dogs”:

After all this talk about cats and dogs, it’s time to let the cats make their case for feline superiority—and apparently the argument is JAZZ. 😹 This swinging number comes from Disney’s 1970 animated adventure about an elegant mother cat and her three kittens trying to make their way home through Paris.

Along the way they encounter a band of alley cats, and before long the quiet evening turns into one wonderfully chaotic feline jam session.

The legendary Sherman Brothers wrote the number, and there’s a fun bit of music history hiding behind its coolest character. The trumpet-playing bandleader was originally conceived with jazz legend Louis Armstrong in mind, which helps explain both his musical style and his name.

Phil Harris ultimately provided the character’s voice, but that Armstrong influence remained. More than half a century later, the song is still one of the movie’s best-known numbers—and really, what better way could we end a Happy Cat Month playlist?

After spending the week debating cats, dogs, and even one particularly smelly kitty, Disney settles the matter once and for all: being a feline is apparently where it’s at! 😹

Here’s Phil Harris and Scatman Crothers with “Everybody Wants To Be A Cat”:

That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday! See you on the dance floor!

Now, onto the particulars of Monday’s Music Moves Me:

I have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohort, the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy, and Alana of Ramblin’ with AM!

Want to join in the fun? It’s easy – just find a tune that rocks your boat, post it, and link up! Check out the other music lovahs and let’s jam!