Which songs make you happy?

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/feb/26/which-songs-make-you-happy

Version 0 of 1.

Nothing can change your mood as dramatically in just three or four minutes as a pop song. Happy songs are potent capsules of joy that can intensify a good mood or relieve a bad one, and give you the reassuring sensation of being in benevolent company. These 10 tracks are unfailingly effective for me. Do they work for you — and, if not, what would you choose to play instead? Tell us about your favourites in the comments below.

Frank Wilson: Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)

Shelved at the last minute until the northern soul scene rescued it from oblivion, Motown staff producer Frank Wilson’s only solo single could be the label’s most heart-poundingly emphatic love song. Every time Wilson asks “Do I love you?” the music answers before he does: yes yes YES.

The Turtles: Happy Together

A song so delighted by the way that it bursts from black-and-white verse to Technicolor chorus that it can’t stop repeating the trick, Happy Together is a series of explosions, increasing in magnitude until the harmonies light up the sky. Behind the simple story of a boy and a girl you can hear the wonderfully out-of-proportion optimism of the Summer of Love in full bloom.

Stevie Wonder: For Once in My Life

Stevie Wonder has a rare gift for happiness that gives his love songs an elevating, airborne quality. For Once in My Life is structured as an ascent from disappointment to bliss, shrugging off the past bit by bit. Wonder was only 18 when he recorded it but sounded like he’d been waiting twice that long for a love worth singing about.

Curtis Mayfield: Move on Up

It’s hard to write a truly happy protest song and only someone as optimistic as Curtis Mayfield could consider the worst while still believing in the best. Move on Up forms a bridge between gospel and disco, its busy, brassy, unstoppable groove acting as a metaphor for perseverance. The title makes a promise that the music keeps.

ELO: Mr Blue Sky

Nobody has ever sounded more pleased to see the sun coming out from behind the clouds than ELO’s Jeff Lynne on this extravagant work of Beatles fan art, larded with orchestra, choir and vocoder. Taking a simple conceit to stratospheric heights, it sounds like somebody trying to portray happiness from every possible angle before the clock runs out.

Deee-Lite: Groove Is in the Heart

Groove Is in the Heart has been filling dancefloors for 15 years because it’s just too eventful to grow old. Deee-Lite’s utopian party groove refracts disco through Daisy Age hip hop, creating a space where Funkadelic and Q-Tip can play with Dr Seuss while hook follows hook. It declares at the outset, “We are going to dance and have some fun” and delivers every time.

Björk: Big Time Sensuality

Björk is an emotional maximalist: her sorrow is devastating and her happiness volcanic. This song is about taking the plunge after a first date and her growling, swooping vocal conveys a spirit of reckless adventure. It captures both the thrill of the moment and the electric anticipation of greater joy to come.

Supergrass: Alright

A bottle rocket of youthful exuberance that represents Britpop’s long summer at its giddy peak. There’s no particular event in the lyrics to explain the trio’s irrepressible jollity but nothing can dent it. Propelled by rollicking Chas & Dave piano, they are the geezer Monkees, capering around, seeing the sights, high on youth itself.

Daft Punk: Get Lucky

Pharrell Williams wrote Happy for kids but his vocal here, half-spiritual, half-frisky, is the grownup version, orbiting a perfect, endless groove. As warm, spacious and impeccably crafted as any of the disco classics it homages, Get Lucky is a deluxe item with a generous populist mission. It celebrates whoever dances to it.

Todd Terje: Oh Joy

Norwegian producer Todd Terje makes dance music that’s as bright as a cartoon and as buoyant as a balloon. Oh Joy piles melody upon melody for three delirious minutes before finally dropping the beat, then proceeds to chase peak after peak. The kind of relentlessly pleasure-seeking song that turns your life into a feelgood movie for as long as it lasts.

Which songs always make you happy? Tell us in the comments below.