What music do you listen to when you need to be convinced that, despite appearances, the world is not an infinitely vile place in which wounds never heal and only the wicked prosper?
For me, it’s the cast recording to The Secret Garden. For anyone who doesn’t know, this is the 1991 musical based on the children’s novel, about an grieving young orphan girl, Mary Lennox, who finds healing for her grief by working in her deceased aunt’s garden, and in the process helps heal her cousin and uncle of their own physical and spiritual woes. I love the book too, but the musical is where I was first introduced to the story, and it is inexpressibly love. I could go on and on about how “Winter’s on the Wing,” “Wick,” and “A Bit of Earth” are as magical as Lothlorien, but I shall restrain myself.
Depends on why i need comfort. If I have a migraine, a collection of BeeGees softer music [like How Deep is your love]i f I am nervous, Magic Flute by Mozart.
My “Visit my happy place, calm the hell down, life doesn’t always suck, it’ll be better tomorrow, get your zen on” song is New Mother Nature/No Sugar Tonight by the Guess Who.
Someday, I’ll get rich, and somehow get a copy of it with the vocals removed. And then I’ll be a calm happy pleasant sane person, as long as the headphones are over my ears.
Most happy music strikes me as sounding fairly stupid and trite. Only Bonnie Pink and Phish have a large selection of songs that I like that are happy-sounding and make me feel also cheery instead of just annoyed.
“Talula (BT’s Tornado Mix)” and “Tear In Your Hand” by Tori Amos
“Beautiful World” and “Waiting For My Real Life to Begin” by Colin Hay
“Glass House” by Ani DiFranco
I don’t think any of these songs have really ‘happy’ lyrics, but they’ve all got a lot of personal meaning to me, so they usually make me feel better about life and sometimes myself. “Rebel Girl” by Bikini Kill works sometimes, too.
Less Than Jake, Rancid, the Pietasters, MU330, Skavoovie and the Epitones, the Usuals – ska and ska-punk bands that take me right back to my carefree college days (1996-99, or thereabouts). I don’t listen to that stuff much anymore, but I can always rely on ska to HEY HEY HEY pick me up!
Also, The Chronic by Dr. Dre, Doggystyle by Snoop Dogg, and the *Pulp Fiction * soundtrack. Can’t go wrong with any of them.
Moon River (Mercer/Mancini); Instrumental versions, primarily, but vocals will do as long as it’s not Andy Williams (who, I feel, overdramatizes the melody). It should be simple and not overly orchestrated nor vocally embellished to really make me feel at peace. I could listen to it over and over and I’m hoping someone remembers I’d like it played at my memorial.
Other than that I love Edith Piaf as well as torch songs (Julie London is at the top of that list).
The Band and Van Morrison. Almost anything my parents listened to while I was growing up works, but these two in particular always have that comforting quality.
