Singing our woes to sleep
What helps you through mental health or happiness struggles?
For me one of my core struggles is loneliness. It is so deeply ingrained within me like a deep rooted tree that only a giant could uproot from where it stands.
As some of you know, I have a deep affinity with music. But I also have to be careful with music, due to bipolar, lest I get too excited, too energised and set myself up to fail within the hour, then build myself up again, then fall back down again and so forth.
When music is helping me gently find optimism in careful dosages I like loud, thoughtful songs, as well as quiet, engaging songs and really plenty of other styles and manners which inhabit the many songs I have listened to over time.
If you usually listen to songs sung in a form of English and desire to try something new, you may want to try listening to Priscilla Betti's music on Youtube. She is a French singer whom also has English sung songs uploaded, such as a cover of "It's raining men."
I find myself excited by me stepping outside of my comfort zone again. It also creates a nice little game, reminding us of how well we can understand someone without the need to know what value they place upon words. Listen to her songs and you will soon be able to work out which are love songs, which are dance songs and you may already be placing meaning to word.
My usual go to for music is of course Avril Lavigne.
If you have no affinity with her then her music may not strike such a strong chord but give her a listen- she has sung all manner of songs, from the catchy "Sk8er Boi" to the beautiful "Darling" to the odd but also catchy "Hello Kitty." She has also covered, very well, the famous "Knocking on Heaven's Door" song, which some still refuse to listen to any version of other than John Lennon's but, I have to say, although having first heard the original, in terms of overall performance I prefer Avril's rendition (Well, actually there exist a few different easy to discover uploads, particularly if including concert performances.).
Martina Mcbride is one of those musicians whom were discovered by me so randomly. A Youtube upload consisting of various clips of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Wonder Woman/Diana eating together, fighting together...had this Martina Mcbride song playing alongside. It was the first song of hers I had ever heard at the time and I instantly felt it a good fit. I later did more research and discovered that her quite country focused vocals were attached to numerous deep, thoughtful and insightful songs, such as "She's a Butterfly."
Celine Dion
Well, this list is definitely not conforming to an alphabetical classification system! True randomness.
Yeah you want me to put down "My Heart Will Go On" and I would. Perhaps the first Celine Dion song I ever heard (Not during a Titanic screening though. I am not sure if I have even watched the film once yet.), it gave me a sense of energy that I needed in my life while also, being highly emphatic, allowing me to feel sad at the memories it stirred up within me of loss and suffering, both upon hearing it as a child and also later on as an adult. But more recently I walked around to some other tunes of hers.
Demi Lovato
She not only sings heartfelt and impactful music such as the brilliant "Skyscraper" and "Did you forget?" but also more playful, whimsical and generally light hearted songs. Give her a go.
Cher Lloyd
Cher Lloyd, I believe, is so underrated by the general media. She brings a liveliness and quirkiness to the British (And now worldwide.) scene which we may have gone for some time without. She can sing about swagger, about dates, but those songs often also carry additional meanings. Naturally, being a modern singer, she has gone through the whole "featuring BOB featuring ROB featuring HOBNOB featuring everyone but the singer you actually came to see" thing that is so defining segments of our music industry. But I think the guest appearances have more or less worked so far. I am not overly keen on rap but when Becky G appeared alongside her it was stylistically appropriate rather than out of place. Given that Pitbull seems to appear more in other people's songs than in his own I expect he and her will someday be performing together and although I am not a fan of Pitbull's music I think there were one or two songs where he managed to control his presence ok. Well that was a long sentence. And breathe.
Taylor Swift
"...can't breathe without you." When I wrote the above sentence about breathing this next artist came to mind. I would have put her in anyway but my wording choice above sparked an early remembrance. Taylor Swift has gone through some changes of late with her being a lot more pop than, say, country-pop and in general I have been less keen on her modern day performances. Some of you may like where she is going but for me the songs of deep, intrinsic value lie in the classics!
And you do not have to have a deep meaning within a song. If she wishes to dance around on her head she can do. We all like different things. That said, I will say what I have been saying everywhere. I worry about her. She went to the trouble of singing a song essentially about not giving a damn what her "haters" thought about her: is there a more resounding confirmation of the fact that they have got to her? Even changing style in order to sing this song about not caring. It is not weakness, it can be hard to be yourself when one feels the whole world wants you to be something else. But if I could get one message to Taylor, it is to be yourself, whatever that is, whether that is singing naturally about past boyfriends, struggles opening up or, as said above, dancing on your head. Just do it for you and not for others. If you have to change your whole goal, if you have to put a message out there, via song, that you are unaffected, clearly you are affected. Your train has been derailed-don't let them take you hostage to boot. This is your arena, your world. You had that dream to sing of your hardship, did you not? Carry on with it. That's all you have got to do. You know, we spend a part of our life believing we need to change, mature, do certain things. Then at the end of it all, as we look around at friends and strangers alike, we realise that we were tricked. While we were worrying about what hairstyle we had, about what branding clothing worn, or whatever it was, you realise that these issues planted upon us are not felt by the bullies themselves. They do not give a dam what they wear, how they look, for the most part. They are living their life. If you change tact you give them currency, allowing them to use you again. Give yourself a value greater than any currency. Be you, be inspiring. There is no shame in making mistakes. Only shame in refusing to learn from them. I have made and continue to make countless mistakes. For me, these days, they are my weapon. A source of immense purpose and direction. I learn faster not because I am smarter or any of that other elitist, illogical nonsense but simply because I tackle my issues head on, which I am sure you, Taylor, have done so in the past. So keep doing that. All of you. All of us. Learn from the musicians above and give them space to learn from us. Over and out!
So another old post finally posted! Almost done, now!
For me one of my core struggles is loneliness. It is so deeply ingrained within me like a deep rooted tree that only a giant could uproot from where it stands.
As some of you know, I have a deep affinity with music. But I also have to be careful with music, due to bipolar, lest I get too excited, too energised and set myself up to fail within the hour, then build myself up again, then fall back down again and so forth.
When music is helping me gently find optimism in careful dosages I like loud, thoughtful songs, as well as quiet, engaging songs and really plenty of other styles and manners which inhabit the many songs I have listened to over time.
If you usually listen to songs sung in a form of English and desire to try something new, you may want to try listening to Priscilla Betti's music on Youtube. She is a French singer whom also has English sung songs uploaded, such as a cover of "It's raining men."
I find myself excited by me stepping outside of my comfort zone again. It also creates a nice little game, reminding us of how well we can understand someone without the need to know what value they place upon words. Listen to her songs and you will soon be able to work out which are love songs, which are dance songs and you may already be placing meaning to word.
My usual go to for music is of course Avril Lavigne.
If you have no affinity with her then her music may not strike such a strong chord but give her a listen- she has sung all manner of songs, from the catchy "Sk8er Boi" to the beautiful "Darling" to the odd but also catchy "Hello Kitty." She has also covered, very well, the famous "Knocking on Heaven's Door" song, which some still refuse to listen to any version of other than John Lennon's but, I have to say, although having first heard the original, in terms of overall performance I prefer Avril's rendition (Well, actually there exist a few different easy to discover uploads, particularly if including concert performances.).
Martina Mcbride is one of those musicians whom were discovered by me so randomly. A Youtube upload consisting of various clips of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Wonder Woman/Diana eating together, fighting together...had this Martina Mcbride song playing alongside. It was the first song of hers I had ever heard at the time and I instantly felt it a good fit. I later did more research and discovered that her quite country focused vocals were attached to numerous deep, thoughtful and insightful songs, such as "She's a Butterfly."
Celine Dion
Well, this list is definitely not conforming to an alphabetical classification system! True randomness.
Yeah you want me to put down "My Heart Will Go On" and I would. Perhaps the first Celine Dion song I ever heard (Not during a Titanic screening though. I am not sure if I have even watched the film once yet.), it gave me a sense of energy that I needed in my life while also, being highly emphatic, allowing me to feel sad at the memories it stirred up within me of loss and suffering, both upon hearing it as a child and also later on as an adult. But more recently I walked around to some other tunes of hers.
Demi Lovato
She not only sings heartfelt and impactful music such as the brilliant "Skyscraper" and "Did you forget?" but also more playful, whimsical and generally light hearted songs. Give her a go.
Cher Lloyd
Cher Lloyd, I believe, is so underrated by the general media. She brings a liveliness and quirkiness to the British (And now worldwide.) scene which we may have gone for some time without. She can sing about swagger, about dates, but those songs often also carry additional meanings. Naturally, being a modern singer, she has gone through the whole "featuring BOB featuring ROB featuring HOBNOB featuring everyone but the singer you actually came to see" thing that is so defining segments of our music industry. But I think the guest appearances have more or less worked so far. I am not overly keen on rap but when Becky G appeared alongside her it was stylistically appropriate rather than out of place. Given that Pitbull seems to appear more in other people's songs than in his own I expect he and her will someday be performing together and although I am not a fan of Pitbull's music I think there were one or two songs where he managed to control his presence ok. Well that was a long sentence. And breathe.
Taylor Swift
"...can't breathe without you." When I wrote the above sentence about breathing this next artist came to mind. I would have put her in anyway but my wording choice above sparked an early remembrance. Taylor Swift has gone through some changes of late with her being a lot more pop than, say, country-pop and in general I have been less keen on her modern day performances. Some of you may like where she is going but for me the songs of deep, intrinsic value lie in the classics!
And you do not have to have a deep meaning within a song. If she wishes to dance around on her head she can do. We all like different things. That said, I will say what I have been saying everywhere. I worry about her. She went to the trouble of singing a song essentially about not giving a damn what her "haters" thought about her: is there a more resounding confirmation of the fact that they have got to her? Even changing style in order to sing this song about not caring. It is not weakness, it can be hard to be yourself when one feels the whole world wants you to be something else. But if I could get one message to Taylor, it is to be yourself, whatever that is, whether that is singing naturally about past boyfriends, struggles opening up or, as said above, dancing on your head. Just do it for you and not for others. If you have to change your whole goal, if you have to put a message out there, via song, that you are unaffected, clearly you are affected. Your train has been derailed-don't let them take you hostage to boot. This is your arena, your world. You had that dream to sing of your hardship, did you not? Carry on with it. That's all you have got to do. You know, we spend a part of our life believing we need to change, mature, do certain things. Then at the end of it all, as we look around at friends and strangers alike, we realise that we were tricked. While we were worrying about what hairstyle we had, about what branding clothing worn, or whatever it was, you realise that these issues planted upon us are not felt by the bullies themselves. They do not give a dam what they wear, how they look, for the most part. They are living their life. If you change tact you give them currency, allowing them to use you again. Give yourself a value greater than any currency. Be you, be inspiring. There is no shame in making mistakes. Only shame in refusing to learn from them. I have made and continue to make countless mistakes. For me, these days, they are my weapon. A source of immense purpose and direction. I learn faster not because I am smarter or any of that other elitist, illogical nonsense but simply because I tackle my issues head on, which I am sure you, Taylor, have done so in the past. So keep doing that. All of you. All of us. Learn from the musicians above and give them space to learn from us. Over and out!
So another old post finally posted! Almost done, now!
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