Given the choice, you may listen to music to focus, escape, or dream of times when wars weren’t raging, transgender kids weren’t being put in harms way, and racism wasn’t being taught as “long in the past.” Truthfully, with all that had been occurring over the course of this week alone, I struggled with finding what the right topic for my article should be. I’m not qualified to talk about Ukraine, or anything else going on in the country or world, but while writing this article, I found myself listening to Janet Jackson’s “Damita Jo” album, which came out in 2004.
The tracks are pretty laid back, after R & B Junkie, with light head bobs and sultry harmonies. As Ms. Rhythm Nation, Janet Jackson was one of the first female artists to talk about racism and injustice through music in her 1989 “Rhythm Nation: 1814”. She soon made me realize, even someone who is active in speaking out against injustice done to others needs to take time to find their own personal happiness.
It seems that every day we are being told how we are “living in unprecedented times”, and sometimes one just needs to back up, and take the time to listen to the music of the world before continuing to be active in it. Music takes you somewhere different, even if it’s just a silly song. For instance, the Gummy bear song. That “yummy tummy funny lucky gummy bear” takes you away from the pains of the world for at least a moment. It’s a certain peace that the whole world needs, especially now.
Whether the song is upbeat, a slow jam, a break up song, rap, R&B, Hip-Hop, jazz, EDM, Rock, K-POP, or your occasional Anime OP, listen to a full album when you have a break. We all need to start focusing on ourselves. Take some time to listen to songs that calm us down or make us happy, and doing so can be essential to the ever-strained mental health.
If you’re having trouble finding a collection of songs you’d like to listen to, then I have a couple recommendations.
My Favorite Albums
- Janet Jackson, All For You (2001). The lead single is “All For You”, which talks about finding love and happiness as well as one’s inner sensual side. “Doesn’t Really Matter” is a cute track that explains it doesn’t matter what you look like because she’ll love you either way. Janet has a habit of being rather explicit, so if you are not a fan of explicit content I would suggest one of my other recommendations.
- BTS, Love Yourself: Tear (2018). As your resident BTS ARMY member, I had to add my boys to this list. I’ll warn you, a roller-coaster of emotions is to be expected when listening to this album. From the loathing of receiving “Fake Love”, to the care-free attitude in “So What”, all the way to the different versions of explosive sadness featured in “Outro: Tear”. You will jump from emotions such as sadness, disappointment, numbness, then to a full blown meltdown, giving a great release to any pent-up emotions you may be feeling. It’s a pleasant listen, and looking up lyric translations helps level-up your enjoyment as well.
- Toni Braxton, Pulse Deluxe Edition (2010). This is an underrated Album and Artist in my opinion. This is also another great listen that takes you through all the emotions, including the heartbreak of a man who’s low down and no good. Not to mention a girl anthem by the name of “Woman” in which the Braxton proclaims her need to be loved and treated like the person she is. I couldn’t agree with her more. There’s also a couple dance tracks on there that I jam out to in my free time.
- Bryan Adams and Hans Zimmer, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Soundtrack (2002). A throw-back to my favorite childhood film, every song on this track list is legendary in it’s own right. It’s one of those soundtracks that sounds too good to be part of a kids movie, but is it? Yeah, it definitely is. “Get off of My Back” will always be my go-to song when it comes to feeling pressured by someone, and wanting them to back off. Not to mention the shift to a feeling of complete hopelessness from “Sound the Bugle”. The album contains a whole story that you don’t even need the images of the original movie to enjoy.
- Pentatonix, Vol.II (2013). Honestly my Pentatonix obsession made a resurgence a few years ago. I keep forgetting their albums are more like E.P.’s, and most of my favorite songs are not all included on the same album, but I had to go with Vol. II for list just because of “Love Again.” It’s an original track that’s EDM, which is crazy considering Pentatonix is an acapella group. This specific song is its own experience, and headphones are recommended! The entire song is about trying to teach someone to love themselves again. The music video is very unique in costume, but the covers on the rest of the album are awesome, especially Jolene, since they performed with the Dolly Parton herself!
These are just five of the many albums I listen to when I need to relax or study. In fact, I am currently writing this while listening to Pulse. My suggestion is: find an artist or album you like and use it to help you re-center yourself when you need to. The world is one hell of a place to live in, and a little bit of music can go a long way. Take care of yourself, and jam on.