Houstonist Happy iMix: October

While we were without power for a couple of weeks and going through the stress of getting our lives back to normal, we kept thinking of the songs that pick us up when we're down. So, we thought it would be a good time to share them with you; hence, the Housonist Happy iMix.

First, we'll start with the ones you might be more familiar with. Gregg Alexander's band New Radicals broke up while their debut song, the catchiest pop song of 1999, "You Get What You Give" was still on the charts. Earlier in that decade, the English band James scored their biggest hit with a song that was as short and to the point as its title, "Laid." Stevie Wonder has recorded many happy songs throughout his career, and "Uptight" is one of our favorites. Sometimes, we hit the dance floors to make ourselves happy, and Justin Timberlake's "Chop Me Up" does the trick. Van Halen's version of The Kinks "You Really Got Me" really gets us up, too. With "Birdhouse in Your Soul," New York City's They Might Be Giants proved that they can make you smile by writing a song about a nightlight. Los Lobos takes the consumption route, lifting our spirits with "I Got Loaded." Of course, you can't help but to be happy hearing "Love Shack" or James Taylor's classic "Your Smiling Face."

Other happy songs include: Welsh band Los Camesinos! "You! Me! Dancing!," Scottish band The Waterboys "Fisherman's Blues," California one-man synth-pop band Joy Electric's "We Are Rock," English 60's band Unit 4 + 2's "Concrete and Clay," New Orleans' Preservation Hall Jazz Band's "Complicated Life," and Australia's Eddy Current Suppression Ring's "Wrapped Up."

A reminder on how it works: Houstonist contributors submitted a "happy" song, or two. Then, we threw our tracks together and created our own iMix on iTunes. So, if you have iTunes, you can now download our iMix, or, if you’re afraid of commitment, you can download the tracks individually.