Weezer came out with “All MY Favorite Songs” this year. It’s a great tune. It opens with the hook “All my favorite songs are slow and sad.” Talking to people who were big Weezer fans in their teens this is not uncommon. But the Old Man started digging music a little bit earlier than the mid-Nineties. I like my songs upbeat and kind of happy. This is obvious when you look at my favorite song list for 2021.
Let’s just start with the joy ride that is “Good Day for a Good Day” by Michael Franti & Spearhead. The song points out the obvious choice we all actually can choose to make today a good day. The song builds until it’s an actual celebration. This is my ultimate happy song for 2021.
“Next to Me (Yo Guy Version)” by Cheekface is a super fun, though sometimes creepy, song that invites you along for the smiles. The bridge is both inappropriate and hilarious. Its charm cannot be resisted.
Carsie Blanton’s “Party at the End of the World,” tells the story of the epic last party. Sure things aren’t so right in the world, but that’s why we’re going all “going out in a blaze of glory.”
Brett Dennen’s “Kumbaya, Life Rolls On” is a shrug and acceptance of the mundane struggle. But Dennen’s melody and the song’s instrumentation are happiness. There is a joy that comes with the acceptance of the ordinary and difficult. It allows you to celebrate how we all are connected, “If I shine then you’ll shine, too.”
Finally, there is “I Need You” by Jon Batiste, PJ Morton, and Trombone Shorty. The line, “In this world with a lot of problems, all we need is a little loving” sums up the theme of the song. The lyric “If you was Jenny, I guess I was Forrest (run!)” tells you these guys are having fun. This is a handclapping, church-shouting, and New Orleans parading delight!
Well, that’s it. Let’s hear it for the songs that made us happy in 2021!
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