Music in Crisis Mode

“Music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears - it is a remedy, a tonic, orange juice for the ear. But for many of my neurological patients, music is even more - it can provide access, even when no medication can, to movement, to speech, to life. For them, music is not a luxury, but a necessity.” - Oliver Sacks

It is human to know the healing power of music -- sometimes it’s the only thing that grounds us when nothing else seems to make sense. Throughout history, music has played a pivotal role in comforting, transforming, and uplifting humanity in times of crisis. 

Whether physical or emotional, trauma has lasting effects on the human brain. The Coronavirus pandemic is undoubtedly traumatizing the world right now. If it doesn’t manifest in anxiety in the general public, its lasting effects will control and manipulate the way we interact, act within the global economy, and with each other for several generations to come. And while we don’t necessarily feel the entire weight of the universe’s problems on our back 24/7, having the knowledge that something life-altering, something that is out of control, lingers in the mind and manifests as anxiety. Music serves as the antidote - whether we pick a playlist to match a gloomy, scatter-brained or sour mood, or choose music that has been created to relax an overstimulated brain. 

  It’s so hard to keep our heads up and maintain some semblance of normalcy in what are, most definitely, strange and scary times. We don’t have our ordinary lives, we don’t have answers, but we most definitely do have music - to fill in the gaps where our “normal” lives once provided structure. To provide comfort when so much is unknown, and to ground us when the sky seems to perpetually fall. 

I wish I had some definitive solution to our nerves about all of this. I don’t. But, what I do have are a few recommendations. These albums (and one YouTube channel!) have been incredibly helpful for me. Maybe they’ll help you, too. Happy exploring, and stay safe out there.

• Low-Fi Beats/Chillhop: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOxqgCwgOqC2lMqC5PYz_Dg 

• Pilgrim’s Paradise by Daniel Caesar https://open.spotify.com/album/4uP43hIpmEEDuW7aOfiU2C

• Djesse Vol. 2 by Jacob Collier https://www.jacobcollier.com/djesse-vol-2

• Love this Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent https://www.amazon.com/Love-Giant-David-Byrne-Vincent/dp/B008BDZOZY

Grey Tickles, Black Pressure by John Grant https://open.spotify.com/album/5NIK2GM7XYSX5a6OUC5B0S

— Chelsea Moroski