An Ode To Red Knockmix

It’s Valentine’s Day and your social media feeds and inboxes are probably being filled with the color red! So, rather than pick and choose our favorite love songs from the millions out there, we decided to make the latest Knockaround Knockmix an ode to red—an often overlooked, but crucial color in the Knockaround product lineup.

The Cyrkle with "Red Rubber Ball"

It’s February 14th, V-Day, and we’re leading off with a song about… getting dumped! But the reason we had to include this one on our V-Day Knockmix is because of the message: “I think it’s gonna be alright / Yeah, the worst is over now / The morning sun is shining / Like a red rubber ball.” It’s just like we say at Knockaround, “Look at the Bright Side.”

Kid Cudi, HAIM with "Red Eye"

Ah, the red eye. A few members from the Knockaround team recently flew from San Diego to Orlando on an overnight flight. Here’s how that goes: work all day, pack a bag, hit the airport, crack a few beevos, touch down in Florida, channel your inner Shaquille O’Neal, hang at Waffle House for a couple hours, then… back to work, killin’ it. Big players make big plays.

Nena with "99 Red Balloons"

The US government started stockpiling helium back in the 1920s—most of which is now contained in underground tanks in Amarillo, Texas. A lot of people will tell you there’s a worldwide helium shortage, but that’s actually not the case. So, hit up Party City, pick up some red balloons, and enjoy Nena’s uber-cool German accent in this classic 80’s banger.

Portugal. The Man with "Purple Yellow Red and Blue"

What rhymes with purple? Nothin’! So let’s stick with the primary colors. Portugal. The Man sing about wanting to be rich-kid born celebrities, and they hold down the color-based chorus on this track with an ease that would make even the one-eyed, one-horned giant people-eater proud. [Curple?]

Prince with "Little Red Corvette"

You can’t have a red playlist without this song by (arguably) the most famous Minnesotan ever. Many of us remember jamming out to this Prince track as little kids, thinking that it was actually about a fast car. Spoiler alert: it’s not!

UB40 with "Red Red Wine"

For some, Valentine’s Day means thinking about love lost and the ones that got away. Nothing a few glasses of vino can’t help with, though. UB40 knew that well. While this isn’t our favorite UB40 song (The Way You Do The Things You Do, duh), it’s the only one of their songs we could justify putting on this list.

Brooks & Dunn with "Red Dirt Road"

There are a ton of country songs with red in the title: Red Solo Cup, Redneck Yacht Club, Red Ragtop, Little Red Rodeo, etc… We’ve got a lot of country fans at Knockaround HQ, so we contemplated including them all. But, in the end, we decided to stick with this 2003 #1 hit by Brooks & Dunn.

Chris De Burgh with "The Lady in Red"

When he was in high school, our CEO, Ace, called the local easy listening radio station and dedicated this song to his girlfriend. Really? Of all the love song choices available, you went with Chris De Burgh? Not cool. At least, for Knockmix purposes, it’s about “red.” (And when De Burgh goes falsetto at the end, it sounds pretty good.)

Unwritten Law with "Seein’ Red"

A 2014 study by scientists at North Dakota State University said that people with hostile personalities really do see red when they get mad. Not quite a love song, Seein’ Red hit #1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart for four weeks. Unwritten Law is from San Diego.

Peter Gabriel with "Red Rain"

This one isn’t as well known as “In Your Eyes,” but Red Rain has a slow build that, in the right context, will have you feeling like the clouds have opened up and mother nature is pouring down on you. The video might feel a little outdated, but the song holds up.