We all have our good and bad days. Some days, you feel like skipping down the street or singing in the shower while others make you feel like the whole world is against you.
Oftentimes when I’m feeling the former, I like to listen to happy and upbeat music. I like to be embraced and supported by similar energies. A good example of this would be “Walking On Sunshine” by Katrina & The Waves.
When it comes to feeling the latter, what should one listen to? If someone is sad and down in the dumps, should they listen to “Washing Machine Heart” by Mitski? Likewise if someone is upset or angry, should they listen to “Bleed the Freak” by Alice in Chains? Would it be better to listen to someone happy and upbeat to facilitate that emotion?
I don’t think there is a black and white answer. Obviously, the situation is different person to person. People are often encouraged to “cheer up” when upset. By this logic, it would not be a bad idea to try to listen to something more chipper. I think that if this method works for someone, that’s great. It’s a good way to regain composure and compartmentalize for a later and more appropriate time.
I am very much against the idea that problems and negative emotions need to be closed up tight and compartmentalized indefinitely. Being mad at your best friend for lying to you and listening to Deftones as a means of fixing it, isn’t going to work and is a recipe for disaster.
I am of the idea that it’s okay to listen to “Thirteen” by Big Star when you’re sad and “Unsung” by Helmet when you’re mad. Feeling and growing through an emotion, while grueling and difficult, is one of the best ways to handle a problem. I think that having music as a means to help you through something is a wonderful thing. This is not to mean that music should fuel someone’s behavior in an inappropriate or dangerous way. I mean that if listening to “Covet” by Basement is the only way for someone to cry it out and deal with their problem, then that’s what they should do.
Repression of one’s feelings doesn’t help anyone in the long run. Sometimes it helps to just steer into the skid.
— dj dragonfly
