Apr 16, 2012

In which Alanis helps me process anger

Alanis Morissette.  Used in the principles of fair use.
Source: quotespapa.com
I had a very difficult conversation with my boyfriend last night.  We spoke with honesty and openness, and it needed to occur, but it still had me crying, copiously.  Today I'm having a lot of feelings about what was said, most notably sadness and anger.  I'm trying to process those feelings with love.  Trying.  (must...channel...Thorn...)

Listening to music really helps me process intense feelings.  It so often seems that musicians express emotions and experiences in a way that seems far more *right* than I ever can with words alone.  I think that's why singing along is so therapeutic for me.  Especially Alanis Morissette, my all-time favorite artist who also has a great deal of ambiguous spirituality/pseudo-paganism in her music.  She crafts words and melody into such evocations that sometimes I swear she's pulling them straight out of my head.




I feel like my powers of finding just the right song are failing me right now, though.  I could really use some musical suggestions!  Do you have any songs that help you process feelings like anger, sadness, and confusion?

6 comments:

  1. Great post! I'm a musician and LOVE music. Processing emotions for me means putting on music where I can lose myself in the awesomeness that a song is ... like 'All the Rowboats' by Regina Spektor, or 'Dust Bowl Dance' by Mumford & Sons, or anything by Tori Amos. Or St. Vincent! She has some great, emotional songs!

    Alanis is great ... she's just so honest in her songs.

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  2. I just thought of a few more you should listen to ... Canadian artists, and a few of my favourites:

    Sarah Slean -- she has some incredibly emotional songs. 'Looking for Someone' makes me cry every.single.time. I listen to it.

    Hawksley Workman -- he has some love songs that I bawl to. Like 'You Are Too Beautiful' or 'You And the Candles.'

    Chantal Kreviazuk -- I don't listen to her often these days, but 'Wendy House' is AMAZING. She rocks out on the piano and it makes me want to jump around waving my arms.

    Or, I could always recommend myself (<-- self promotion about to happen! warning!). I have one song that I love called 'Dinner for One.' I wrote it pretty quick and recorded it on the fly. A girlfriend of mine thought my husband and I were breaking up when she listened to it (we weren't -- it's not about us), but whenever I listen to it I get very emotional. You can listen to a clip of it here --> http://www.cdbaby.com/all/kristilyn (on the album 'Wild Birds')

    Sorry for the long post! I just love music. :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for all of the recommendations! I'm so glad a fellow music lover and musician is reading my blog :) I occasionally listen to Tori and Regina Spektor, but I haven't heard of most of the rest of those artists, so this is going to be quite the fun musical exploration.

      And I will definitely check out your album ;) Your "road trip" song the other day actually gave me quite the giggle.

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    2. Ha ha ... I'm glad! That's what I was going for. :)

      Oh, and another awesome song? 'Fake Empire' by The National. When the horns bust out at the end, I go nuts. It's such a great song!

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  3. Sorry your talk with the bf left you in so much emotional turmoil. I unfortunately am not one of those people who turn to music to lift my mood. I tend more towards reading, movies, other distractions to take my mind off things. I hope you feel better soon.

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