Mavis Staples, shown at 2019's Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville, has been singing uplifting songs going back to the Staple Singers' 1960s anthems. (Chris Riemenschneider — AP Photo/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Now is not the time for Leonard Cohen or Nick Cave. Bob Dylan is even a little too dark if you're looking for music to carry you through the din of this coronavirus quarantine.

On the other hand, you don't want "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," either. Cheery pop music right now sounds as vapid as those Florida spring-breakers on TV who didn't want to leave the beach three weeks ago.

Here's what I came up with as a playlist to keep me upbeat for the long haul. This is actually a whittled-down version of a list I programmed last year after writing about "The Happiness Playlist," a great memoir by Minneapolis rocker Mark Mallman about how he listened to only hopeful, positive tunes to carry him out of depression.

It may seem like a simple concept, but to Mallman and us Generation Xers — whose Walkman-ized youths were ruled by grunge, punk, goth, gangsta rap and metal — happy songs are not really part of our regularly scheduled programming. But we know all about the power of music in general.

1. The Kinks: "Better Things"

2. Allen Toussaint: "Yes We Can"

3. Staple Singers: "Heavy Makes You Happy"

4. Black Flag: "Rise Above"

5. Toots & the Maytals: "Pressure Drop"

6. Willie Nelson: "Pick Up the Tempo"

7. Beyoncé: "Formation"

8. Sleater-Kinney: "Dig Me Out"

9. Dixie Chicks: "Long Time Gone"

10. Sir Douglas Quintet: "Be Real"

11. Prince: "Mountains"

12. Kendrick Lamar & SZA: "All the Stars"

13. Lizzo: "Good as Hell"

14. Iron & Wine: "Call It Dreaming"

15. Lucinda Williams: "Blessed"

16. Trampled by Turtles: "Victory"

17. Soul Asylum: "Sometime to Return"

18. Bob Mould: "See a Little Light"

19. The Killers: "All These Things That I've Done"

20. Superchunk: "What a Time to Be Alive"

21. The Hold Steady: "Stay Positive"

22. Nina Simone: "Here Comes the Sun"

23. Bob Marley: "Coming in From the Cold"

24. Dr. John, Dirty Dozen Brass & Friends: "Time Marches On"

25. Cowboy Junkies: "To Live Is to Fly"

Hear this playlist via Spotify:

Nina Simone, shown in 1985, recorded her powerful version of George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun" in 1971 but could have meant it for 2020. (Chris Riemenschneider — Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

"There's nothing greater than you and me," Prince sang in "Mountains." (Invision/AP file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

about the writer

Chris Riemenschneider

Critic / Reporter

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.