Southsea Tunes: Everything’s Not Lost
Music is something that I’ve come to rely upon in all situations of my life. I remember saying to my mum once that if I ever stop listening to music, that’s when she’ll need to worry about me and I haven’t stopped yet. Reflecting on key moments throughout my life, my immediate reaction is to listen to music in some context – be that Slipknot (angry Hannah), Radiohead (sad Hannah) or Chase & Status (dancey Hannah) and I always manage to find what I need in the words of a song.
I had cause to reflect on that again this week and found that music really does have some amazing powers. Feeling quite down, I forced myself to listen to some more upbeat music and found that my mood did lift somewhat. Music is, at its heart, a source of entertainment but it’s also a way for individuals to express their experiences – it’s a way of sharing these things with the world and saying ‘hey, you’re not the only silly sod feeling like crap’ and in a way, that’s quite nice – like a universal, musical Twitter.
Music provides individuals with a strong sense of unity and often, songs echo an individual’s feelings and express them in a far more eloquent way than the individual could ever do themselves. It’s not just about the pounding techno beats (see how ‘down’ with the kids I am?); it’s about beautifully constructed lyrics and artistic expression too. That said, there are times when Phil Anselmo screaming “I’M BROKEN!!” just really hits the spot like nothing else can. The emotional impact that music has on me (and many others, I’m sure) is palpable and I’ve been moved to tears on many an occasion. I find myself increasingly reliant upon music and it is, in fact, probably my closest ally.
In these troubled times, I think it’s important that we all turn to our favourite band or song – or even a particular poem, book, film or work of art and find solace in knowing that the best of humanity is just as readily available as the worst. Whether it’s the stock market failing, rioting in Britain or media moguls with far too much power in their pocket, these things are there for us to remind ourselves that it’s not all bad news. To quote Coldplay: everything’s not lost.
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