The Tragically Hip, "My Music At Work"
Music @ Work (2000)
I'm going to argue with that date there, because this song absolutely comes with a story attached.
It was the summer of '99, and my mother took me on a tour of colleges in upstate and western New York. Plattsburgh, Albany, and Buffalo. Buffalo was the first stop on the tour, and as SOON as we got past the toll barrier at the far end of the New York State Thruway, we were lost. It was Sunday afternoon, and we drove around for what felt like hours before we found where we were supposed to be.
And in those hours, this song must have come on the radio at least three times. And every time I jammed so hard I nearly cried. It was the very first time I had ever heard The Tragically Hip, and from that moment on I was HOOKED. It also assured me that I would okay. No matter what life handed to me, no matter where I ended up, I would always be okay.
Gord Downie and company saved me. It's a debt I will never be able to repay.