Lifestyle

Music To Feel To

In the last 3 months, things for me have been going a little bit tits up. I lost my proper job that paid me actual money leaving me all too frequently literally penniless, the lease on my lovely flat ended and I had to move out, I got attacked in the street by two yobs who thought it was appropriate to both punch me in the head and run off, and then I found out that I have ovaries that don’t work properly.

A bit of a slump is what I’ve been in at times if truth be told, and despite being told frequently that I seem to remain upbeat and positive, there have been times where I felt so stressed that I think I start to understand why crazed axe wielders go on murder runs. So I have a bit of a growl in my head or a big explosion of crying, and then shake it off and manage to move on to more positive things.

But sometimes things aren’t quite that easy. Sh*t in life can’t always be remedied by a little pick-me-up, and sometimes you don’t want to feel better. Sometimes, all you want to do is sit there as a big blubbering mess, crying big ol’ juicy tears out your red, blotchy eyeballs for an hour or so. And that’s pretty good too. But the one thing that remains a constant for helping turn your frown upside down, or to evoke some salty teardrops down those bright red cheeks is a good bit of music.

Music is great, because there’s so much variety that you will definitely find something to help with whatever it is you wanted to feel.

Sometimes, I like to sit there and feel all uplifted, like I could literally conquer the world in 10 minutes if someone asked me to. Songs that are really good for that is something like One Day Like This by Elbow. Whenever I hear that song, I think “hey, screw this, I’m gonna go out and chase all my dreams!” And sure, by the time I’ve got up to get my coat, the song’s finished and I can’t be bothered again, but for those few minutes, my heart is warmed.

Call me a d*ck if you want (please don’t though), but I love a ‘walking song’. To those of you without a ‘walking song’ – why are you so weird? –  it’s a great bit of music that often has a bouncy beat and makes you feel very similar to the upbeat, world-conquering wonderfulness produced by the above but you listen to it whilst you’re walking. See, clue is in the name. My ‘walking song’ used to be Domino by Jessie J, then it went to Something New by Girls Aloud. I’m currently on the hunt for a new ‘walking song’ but they tend to be anything with a repetitive beat and fairly pop-py and trash-like. Recommendations very welcome. (If you doubt the ‘walking song’, try it when you’re next walking. Seriously, it will revolutionise traveling by foot.)

Other times, I want the tears. I want to feel like I’m in a movie and this song would be playing over the scene where I’m stood in the shower and you can’t tell my tears from the water drops (If you say you never do that then you’re either a liar or you’re not living life properly). Woods by Bon Iver, or Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap are my crying songs of choice. Both equally a bit spacey, and very tear inducing if you commit yourself to the cry. Just remember this, no movie ends with the crying shower scene, move on to brighter tunes, think makeover montage.

In the better moments, who doesn’t like a massive singalong? Losers, that’s who. And none of us are losers so let’s all have a sing-along. My sing-along-songs change frequently. For example, I’m having a huge Beyonce revival at the moment, so I spend hours dancing around with my neighbours seeing how Bootylicious we all are. Well, I say with my neighbours, we’ve got thin walls. Anyway, I can’t resist having a big warble to Countdown and everyone’s very happy about it.

Finally, there are those times where you just want to feel dead inside. For those moments, I’d suggest Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift (except her new song – that one’s quite good).

Sure, there’s other things that can make you feel great, like really good friends, or a huge cuddle, or a pint of vodka, but there’s just something so unconditional about music – you can do it when you want, where you want, it can pull out a thousand emotions from deep inside you, it’s for everyone (even the people who actually like Swift and Bieber), it’s just great. From One Direction, to Slipknot, to Mozart, to Bat for Lashes, I recommend music to help you in that slump. Failing that, there’s usually a BOGOF on vodka at the offy.

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