Music for Relaxation! We all need it right now. Here are five of my favorites!
Hello friends. There’s no need for me to remind you how stressful things are right now. I really can’t think of an easy way to help but perhaps offering some musical suggestions during this time might be of use for people reading this.
There have been several suggestions floating around my online communities offering advice on music to listen to during these troubled times. Even the L.A. Times wrote a piece with advice on deep listening for albums.
Personally I think music can help realign our brains to cope with life’s ups and downs whether it be a breakup, a celebration of life, weddings, sporting events and on and on. Music is always there to complement what’s going on in our lives.
For that reason I’m listing 5 musical suggestions to possibly help calm things down. This will not work if you’re watching the news or scrolling through social media feeds. Most of these are instrumental albums that should be listened to in full while reading a book or just sitting in a room relaxing. Don’t force your brain to read about uncertainty while listening. Just enjoy as much as you can.
5 Relaxing Things to Listen To:
1) Mark McGuire - Along The Way
“New Age” music has been an easy target to ridicule over the years but it’s found a resurgence recently with younger artists making very interesting albums. Along The Way was released in 2014 and I’ve enjoyed listening to it over and over since its release. It’s not the new age music you remember, it’s a refreshing listen with modern instrumentation.
2) Bill Frisell - Big Sur
I’ve been a huge Bill Frisell for a few years now but I was very late to the game and his 2013 album, Big Sur, is the one that introduced me to his genius. Bill plays the guitar and at this point in his career it’s nearly impossible to just limit his playing to one genre like jazz. He’s done it all. I used to have a radio show and I was playing the first track off Big Sur and the person in the room said, “What is this? It’s beautiful.” That’s all you need to know.
3) Concentration Beats Playlist
Need something to play while working from home to better help you concentrate? It’s been shown that popular songs can often be distracting to work to since you’re drawn to your favorite lyric or hook instead of staying focused. The familiarity actually works against you. I put together a playlist of lo-fi hip hop beats on Spotify a couple years ago that I use quite often when I just need to lock in and focus on getting the task done. It’s only about an hour long which is just enough time to knock that project out and move on.
4) Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
If you just can’t handle instrumental music but need something relaxing to listen to, it doesn’t get any better than Yo La Tengo’s album And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out. I could write an entire newsletter on my love for Yo La Tengo but I’ll keep it short and simple here. This album can easily be wonderful background music to just soak in and then out of nowhere songs like Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House and You Can Have It All will have you standing up and dancing away. If you’re already a fan of Yo La Tengo you know what I’m talking about. They’ve forever balanced this laid back lo-fi feel with in your face catchy pop hits that helps explain how they’ve remained a band for so many years.
5) William Tyler - Impossible Truth
Saving the best for last. William’s Impossible Truth is a cosmic pastoral blessing. When things are stressful, I return to this album a lot to help realign those out whack brain synapses and try to get back into a positive mindset. Fans of guitar based instrumental music will love the finger picking while people who enjoy drone type atmospheres will also be satisfied. It’s one of the best albums to come out of Nashville.
I’m worried about a lot these days but folks who own small businesses, record stores, artists and musicians who can’t tour are all on top of mind. They need our help. If you’re reading this on Friday, Bandcamp is allowing all artists to earn 100% of the revenues so maybe find an independent artist or two to buy from. I’m planning on buying some gift cards to local record stores to help them during this time. I’m sure we’ll do the same for our favorite local restaurants that are seeing a drop in business. The list goes on.
If I could offer any advice it would be to take consistent breaks from the news and social media feeds to search out new music to listen to and if it moves you, send some money the artist’s way.