Recently I've been going through a tough time on all fronts of my life: friends, family, and school. To be completely honest its been pretty crap. Despite the good grades I've been receiving for my work the feeling of success is short-lived, due to the problems I've had in every aspect of life. Then as soon as I feel like I'm on top of my work, I'm plunged back into another internal, which I naturally finish the night before because who wants to do school work when you can stress about life in general? Not everything has been so bad though, I'm looking at universities for 2018 and planning my future which is fun, but nonetheless, I've needed some good music to blast so that I could get through this.
For: Empowerment Beyoncé, Lemonade, 2016 There is no denying that Beyoncé is queen of empowerment, whether its embracing racial diversity or feminism, she's there and she's on top of it. I realise that some people may believe that some of the problems which Beyoncé aptly discusses through her music (see: US Black Lives Matter movement) are things which don't directly affect someone like me (white, New Zealander) but the way I see it is the world is a community, and if somewhere someone is experiencing oppression, then we should all be educating ourselves and speaking out about this injustice. Lemonade is a lyrical masterpiece which points fingers to problems in our society, and addresses them. As someone who is so much older than me I do find it difficult to firmly grasp on the relate-ability of Beyoncé to myself, however, I cannot deny the feeling of empowerment which Lemonade instills. The feeling of invincibility, and "down-with-the-patriachy" attitude which Lemonade promotes is irreplaceable. In this difficult time, Queen Bey has helped me get out of my rut, even if my issues are different to those she's addressing. For: Wallowing in self-pity The Smiths, literally every song ever, 1984-87 I love The Smiths so much I can't even properly describe it. I don't love them in the same way that I love Beyoncé, as the way The Smiths' songs make me feel is pretty crap; I love them in the sense that their music allows me to just sit and wallow in self-pity for a while. Special shout-outs go to There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, Never Had No One Ever, Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me, Well I Wonder and Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want, which are all depressing as hell songs, which let me sit in self-pity for a while at least. There are times where you just need to let the stress take over and acknowledge is going on, I find that The Smiths help me do this. Its only in accepting problems that you can actually get past it, and that is something which I have learnt the hard way over the past three years. The Smiths are also brutally honest with feelings and issues, making their music very relatable even now, thirty years after its production. For: IDGAF moments AC/DC I catch the bus to school with a multitude of other people from the three schools on this particular bus, ranging from ages 8 to 17. Now, I have a low tolerance of kids to begin with, I'm not very maternal, so when I have to spend an hour a day on a bus with pre-pubescent boys who don't know how to shut up, I need something to listen to that will get me into that IDGAF mood. Enter AC/DC. Australia sure as hell produced some bloody great rockers who in turn produced bloody great albums. From High Voltage to Razor's Edge, any mix of AC/DC songs puts me in a mood where I just don't care and am elevated above all the problems in my life. AC/DC is literally the most amazing band to transform your mood from "7.30am-dying-because-of-school" to "7.30am-I-may've-just-left-a-rock-concert-or-I-may've-just-left-home-you-will-never-know". Additionally, I have found that AC/DC was a life-saver during the extremely late nights I was having when trying to complete my internals recently, who's to say that AC/DC didn't help me get an excellence on my history internal. For: Warm fuzzies Avalanche City, We Are for the Wild Places, 2015 Somedays I just need an album which is going to remind me that life isn't always crap, and Avalanche City definitely delivers this message through their music. Although, not every song is all hunky-dory lets all be friends, but its nice to tune into a song and listen to the love pour from Dave Baxter's voice as he sings about his wife. There is something uplifting about Avalanche City's sound that makes me think that even if they were singing about the end of the world, I would still be in a blissful mood. Folk music is just so perfect sometimes. We Are for the Wild Places is Avalanche City's second studio album and has a more refined sound than the last (however, I love both albums all the same). Recently, I have found this album so beautifully perfect when trying to look on the bright side of life. Might I add that I saw them live early last month, and it was one of the best and most intimate concert experiences I have been to. Overall, if you're going through a tough time right now I hope you can take two things away from this post: 1. You are not alone, everyone has crap times. 2. Good music to help you get through to the other side. - C NB: I am writing this in retrospect as I am in a better headspace now. I'm getting professional help and have had a lot of support from my close friends and family (S/O to Amelia, you the real MVP).
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