This is day nine of twenty-one days of posts between January 10th and January 30th of 2021. Hello again to those who read previous days, and hello to those of you who may have stumbled across this post “out of order”. You should go back and read from Day 1, for a few reasons. It explains why I am doing this. It is the first one, and I may make reference to something in it in this post or a later one. It also has a list with each day’s post (once they are available) and you can jump to whatever topic you are interested in. Thanks for reading!
Day 9! Thanks for sticking with me! Today’s post is all about my “moody” music; the music I turn to when things are just not quite as they should be. I think I’ve mentioned the fact that music is a big part of my life. I have music for every mood, including when I am not “feeling right”. Some of my music transcends different playlists and emotional states, particularly between my calming music, which I babbled about on day six and my moody music, which I will detail here in this post.
I’ll try not to duplicate anyone on my list from day six and only mention those artists and pieces that were not on the calming music list. In the realm of pop and alternative music, my moody choices are 10000 Maniacs, Anna Nalick, Dido, the Editors, Sia, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Wreckers, and Toad the Wet Sprocket.
The precise and imaginative guitar playing of Andy McKee is also a part of my moody playlist, along with Mooncake, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Billie Ray Martin, Ludovico Einaudi, The Seraphim Project, and The Sleep Design. Don’t think I’m leaving jazz out of this playlist. Miles Davis, Nina Simone, David Sanborn, Edgar Meyer, Joe Sample, and the incomparable John Coltrane all make the list.
Some new-age-ish music also graces my moody playlist. Works by Jim Brickman, Ray Lynch, Vangelis, Jim Chappell, Adiemus, Renee Stahl, Michael Jones, and Greyflood are also on my list.
Not a lot of classical music makes it on this playlist, but Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, taken from the second movement of his string quartet, Opus 11 is at the top. Also making this list is Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and even his Fanfare for the Common Man. Francis Poulenc’s Stabat Mater (FP 148) is a common choice. Claude Debussy’s Reflections in the Water, and Robert Schumann’s Dedication both rank highly on my moody playlist. Finally Alexander Scriabin’s Etude, Opus. 8, No. 12, in D-sharp minor tops the moody list on a regular basis.
Any of these artists and pieces will do one of two things. Either they will darken your moody mood just a bit, or, they might lead you to a less moody demeanor. It really all depends on how invested you get in the music versus how invested you are in your mood.
I use music to help me with my moody times and it works well. Some may not be able to do this, or music just isn’t their thing. What are they to do? If they are Christians, they can take heart in Psalm 42, particularly verse 5, which says:
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Yes, we are to put our hope in God to lift us up and take our faces from downcast to uplifted, glowing with the hope of the Lord. However, if you need to stew in your moodiness, the music above will very effectively allow you to do so.
Featured Image: Photo by The Humantra on Unsplash