I love this post and the impact of music on my moods and, it must be said, my sanity is something I've become increasingly aware of. Last summer I heard a background song on "Ted Lasso" that so touched my emotions in so many ways I built a Spotify playlist around it. The song is "Light" by Michael Kiwanuka, a Brit, who wrote another song I always liked, "Cold Little Heart," the haunting theme song from "Big Little Lies." Instrumental movie soundtracks in general are my go-to when I need to feel lifted. Favorites include Rachel Portman, Alexandre Desplat, Justin Horowitz and James Horner. I fell so hard for the theme music from "The Deer Hunter" (Stanley Myers "Cavatina) that I had it played as the entrance for my wedding (I know, weird). I also recently discovered a French new-agey pianist Alexis Ffrench (cq on the double Ff) who I have been playing way too much lately, because they his music just makes me happy and also calm.
What a great source for emotive music Lisa! *slaps hand into forehead* Of course, these songs are picked exactly to elicit specific emotions! I'll be off to listen to your suggestions (after the album "Tea for the Tillerman" finishes 😉), and they ones in your list I know are fab so looking forward to the others. Music is indeed our universal language. ❤️
This is so timely, thank you. I recently created a playlist called “Songs for Cryin’” so we are definitely on the same wavelength. Don’t Cry by Seal is on it, and it definitely makes me cry.
These days, there's often a need to retreat to the soothing calm of Cary Lewincamp or some gentle ballet music.
When I have the need to cry though, there are a few fatefuls and mostly due to Mum and Dad. One is Rambling Rose sung by Nat King Cole (Mum). Another would be any track by Mantovani (Dad). And finally the theme from Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (both) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgNEhb3nj7E which reminds me so much of them both. In fact I'll often have a bit of a weep on and off through the whole movie!
Prue, thanks so much for sharing these memories! It's lovely to hear about how you remember your parents. It's so true that any song's connection to when we heard it is so important to how we associate it afterwards. You know I've never seen Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (obviously I will have to fix that pronto, if only to enjoy the lovely Sidney Poitier!), so I was delighted to see my long ago San Francisco in that clip you linked to! I fly into and out of that airport a couple of times a year now and have since I was a child, and it never loses its thrill for me.
Oh Sabrina, it remains one of my all-time favourite movies. Tracy and Hepburn of course: I have always idolised them. But the out-there idea at the time of a mixed marriage, the emotions portrayed through the movie, the heartfelt pairing of Tracy and Hepburn, Poitier, the fashions of the time, San Francisco - what's not to love? There are good and bad reviews around for it and I suspect that now it would be considered politically incorrect, but it spoke to me at the time and has never stopped speaking really. Tracy died literally weeks after shooting finished and in the biography, 'Kate', it's said that Hepburn never ever watched it. Let me know what you think... XXXX
One of my favorite artists to listen to when I'm in my feels is Sarah McLachlan. Her music can bring me to tears in no time, it's so evocative and emotional. I can see how listening to sad/mellow music can be helpful to move through your emotions. Sometimes, you just have to let it all out. And yes, nature therapy is a must as well.
Thanks for reminding me about Sarah McLachlan. I do like her music but never spent the time to get a sense of her body of work. I'll do that now! Maybe whilst going for a walk by the beach - nature and music!
Thanks, Sabrina. I've been an easy weeper, as my late wife Heather described me, all my life; it was actually the source of considerable shame and teasing when I was a kid. And certain songs just open the floodgates every time. A few random examples: Bruce Springsteen, "Incident on 57th Street"; Paul Simon, "Graceland"; Jackson Browne, "Fountain of Sorrow"; Jane Siberry, "Calling All Angels"; Tom Petty, "American Girl"; Pretenders, "Back on the Chain Gang"... oh, I could go on.
I love these tunes! Although not all of them send me to tears. And I'm so glad to know a fellow weeper. I could only include the songs that had been running on replay in my head since the weekend, otherwise it would have been volumes. We'll have to keep trading songs that set off the floodgates so we can expand our repertoire 🤣
So many thoughts were triggers by this post. Like the time I restacked a pile of bricks on my back patio after finding out a dancer friend's breast cancer came back, metastisized. Or, the time I was depressed after a break up and broke a sweat during a winter dance class, essentially breaking my depression. And recently listing to a variety of Hawaiian music on Pandora evoking memories of the times in Maui spent with my parents as my mother fades out of this life.
The music for me is accompanied by movement. The two have been a powerful combination in my life that has kept me sane, comforted and inspired. It's not about being the best dancer in the studio or stage, but it's the internal connection to self I'm able to project.
I feel your post has been like a writing prompt for several things I should write. Thank you, Sabrina.
Well hello Bradley Cooper indeed! That video made a few tears fall and not because of his looks. I appreciate your thoughtful and moving post about how to deal with the horrors of the world while feeling helpless, and sometimes hopeless, about it. I agree that the best day to day remedy is to be kind, compassionate, and empathetic. Try to do something especially nice for someone else every day even if it's just saying hello on the street or holding the door for someone.
I listen to happy, uplifting music because it helps me remember all the joys and beauty that still exist. Here's one by a Colombian singer, Fonseca, titled Gratitud. It's about that, gratitude for the simple things https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEhE-tERTiA
Thanks Andrea. I am glad you enjoyed the clip from Aloha. 🌾I've got the Gratitud clip on now and it is wonderfully joyful! It's a great way to turn melancholy towards joy. What a gift: thank you for sharing that! ❤️
I love this post and the impact of music on my moods and, it must be said, my sanity is something I've become increasingly aware of. Last summer I heard a background song on "Ted Lasso" that so touched my emotions in so many ways I built a Spotify playlist around it. The song is "Light" by Michael Kiwanuka, a Brit, who wrote another song I always liked, "Cold Little Heart," the haunting theme song from "Big Little Lies." Instrumental movie soundtracks in general are my go-to when I need to feel lifted. Favorites include Rachel Portman, Alexandre Desplat, Justin Horowitz and James Horner. I fell so hard for the theme music from "The Deer Hunter" (Stanley Myers "Cavatina) that I had it played as the entrance for my wedding (I know, weird). I also recently discovered a French new-agey pianist Alexis Ffrench (cq on the double Ff) who I have been playing way too much lately, because they his music just makes me happy and also calm.
What a great source for emotive music Lisa! *slaps hand into forehead* Of course, these songs are picked exactly to elicit specific emotions! I'll be off to listen to your suggestions (after the album "Tea for the Tillerman" finishes 😉), and they ones in your list I know are fab so looking forward to the others. Music is indeed our universal language. ❤️
Thanks for starting such a great conversation. Cat Stevens, another favorite.
I've just spent the last hour listening to your suggestions as well as everyone else's suggestions. What joy in all this wonderful song!
This is so timely, thank you. I recently created a playlist called “Songs for Cryin’” so we are definitely on the same wavelength. Don’t Cry by Seal is on it, and it definitely makes me cry.
Oh Jen I love this! What a smart idea-no getting lost trying to find what you're looking for, just jump straight to it! Cheers and cry on!
This post absolutely sings to me, Sabrina.
Through the years, music has indeed been balm.
These days, there's often a need to retreat to the soothing calm of Cary Lewincamp or some gentle ballet music.
When I have the need to cry though, there are a few fatefuls and mostly due to Mum and Dad. One is Rambling Rose sung by Nat King Cole (Mum). Another would be any track by Mantovani (Dad). And finally the theme from Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (both) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgNEhb3nj7E which reminds me so much of them both. In fact I'll often have a bit of a weep on and off through the whole movie!
Prue, thanks so much for sharing these memories! It's lovely to hear about how you remember your parents. It's so true that any song's connection to when we heard it is so important to how we associate it afterwards. You know I've never seen Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (obviously I will have to fix that pronto, if only to enjoy the lovely Sidney Poitier!), so I was delighted to see my long ago San Francisco in that clip you linked to! I fly into and out of that airport a couple of times a year now and have since I was a child, and it never loses its thrill for me.
Oh Sabrina, it remains one of my all-time favourite movies. Tracy and Hepburn of course: I have always idolised them. But the out-there idea at the time of a mixed marriage, the emotions portrayed through the movie, the heartfelt pairing of Tracy and Hepburn, Poitier, the fashions of the time, San Francisco - what's not to love? There are good and bad reviews around for it and I suspect that now it would be considered politically incorrect, but it spoke to me at the time and has never stopped speaking really. Tracy died literally weeks after shooting finished and in the biography, 'Kate', it's said that Hepburn never ever watched it. Let me know what you think... XXXX
Ohhh, I'm so looking forward to seeing it now that you've shared even more about it. I will let you know! xx
Sabrina, this is such a wonderful post - I love what you're doing. ☀️♥️⭐️
Thanks Rebecca! Feels like plodding most days! 🤪 🤣
😘
One of my favorite artists to listen to when I'm in my feels is Sarah McLachlan. Her music can bring me to tears in no time, it's so evocative and emotional. I can see how listening to sad/mellow music can be helpful to move through your emotions. Sometimes, you just have to let it all out. And yes, nature therapy is a must as well.
Thanks for reminding me about Sarah McLachlan. I do like her music but never spent the time to get a sense of her body of work. I'll do that now! Maybe whilst going for a walk by the beach - nature and music!
Thanks, Sabrina. I've been an easy weeper, as my late wife Heather described me, all my life; it was actually the source of considerable shame and teasing when I was a kid. And certain songs just open the floodgates every time. A few random examples: Bruce Springsteen, "Incident on 57th Street"; Paul Simon, "Graceland"; Jackson Browne, "Fountain of Sorrow"; Jane Siberry, "Calling All Angels"; Tom Petty, "American Girl"; Pretenders, "Back on the Chain Gang"... oh, I could go on.
I love these tunes! Although not all of them send me to tears. And I'm so glad to know a fellow weeper. I could only include the songs that had been running on replay in my head since the weekend, otherwise it would have been volumes. We'll have to keep trading songs that set off the floodgates so we can expand our repertoire 🤣
"Incident on 57th" and "Fountain of Sorrow" are two of my favorite songs from two of my favorite artists.
So many thoughts were triggers by this post. Like the time I restacked a pile of bricks on my back patio after finding out a dancer friend's breast cancer came back, metastisized. Or, the time I was depressed after a break up and broke a sweat during a winter dance class, essentially breaking my depression. And recently listing to a variety of Hawaiian music on Pandora evoking memories of the times in Maui spent with my parents as my mother fades out of this life.
The music for me is accompanied by movement. The two have been a powerful combination in my life that has kept me sane, comforted and inspired. It's not about being the best dancer in the studio or stage, but it's the internal connection to self I'm able to project.
I feel your post has been like a writing prompt for several things I should write. Thank you, Sabrina.
Well hello Bradley Cooper indeed! That video made a few tears fall and not because of his looks. I appreciate your thoughtful and moving post about how to deal with the horrors of the world while feeling helpless, and sometimes hopeless, about it. I agree that the best day to day remedy is to be kind, compassionate, and empathetic. Try to do something especially nice for someone else every day even if it's just saying hello on the street or holding the door for someone.
I listen to happy, uplifting music because it helps me remember all the joys and beauty that still exist. Here's one by a Colombian singer, Fonseca, titled Gratitud. It's about that, gratitude for the simple things https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEhE-tERTiA
Thank you for the helpful and provocative post.
Thanks Andrea. I am glad you enjoyed the clip from Aloha. 🌾I've got the Gratitud clip on now and it is wonderfully joyful! It's a great way to turn melancholy towards joy. What a gift: thank you for sharing that! ❤️