10 Songs that Made Me Happy in 2017

If ever there was a year when we needed a little extra dose of happiness in our lives, 2017 was it. Here are the 10 songs that injected the most joy into my life, whether I was sitting on a train heading to work, walking around the city with my headphones on, or driving around town with my boys.

The Beaches & Death From Above at Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, December 1, 2017

One of my favourite moments in last night’s blazing celebration of rock at Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre was not even a musical one, and yet it perfectly illustrates what this night was about.

My 15 Favourite Canadian Songs

Canada guitar courtesy of Dean Guitars.

My reasons for loving Canada are endless, but one of the best reasons to love my home and native land is the music it’s given the world. Our 150^th birthday inspired me to create a list of my favourite Canadian songs.

Top 12 Songs That Made Me Happy in 2015

Music never fails to work magic on me, but this was a really cool year for music. It was about simultaneously looking back at music I’ve loved for 20-plus years, and looking forward to the bright future of music.

32. “White is Red,” Death From Above 1979

You can’t listen to this song. This song is mine. All mine. You can’t have it. You couldn’t handle it, anyway. No, seriously, log out of Spotify or YouTube or Apple Music or whatever you’re using to listen to it. Right now. This song is not for you. It’s for me. Only me.

18. “El Scorcho,” Weezer

Somewhere in between obsessing over Death From Above 1979’s The Physical World, I managed to tap shuffle and along came my old friend, “El Scorcho.” He’s a good friend. He takes me all the way back to the turn of the century. Those nail-biting times when we were all sure our computers were going to explode, plummeting society in chaos when the clock hit midnight on January 1, 2000.

Top 10 Songs that Made Me Happy in 2014

I’m not saying these are empirically the best songs of the year. I’m not necessarily even saying they were released this year. I’m just saying I listened to them a lot this year and they made me happy.