Sad Song Catharsis

in

When I'm sad, the feeling burrows deep into my body and wriggles around so it can't be ignored. In the past week, I cried on a 3-mile bike ride (all uphill, I might add). I cried on the Metro. I cried while washing dishes. I cried while brushing my teeth. The list goes on. But, life must go on, and I must purge myself of the sadness and the tears. Easier said than done, I know, but I can at least try. My personal strategy is to fight fire with fire. I reach for the saddest songs in my iTunes library -- the ones chock full of regret, heartbreak, disappointment. Bring it on. They're the only things that can quiet the fluttering anxiety and dislodge that lump of unrest that resides in my body, if only for their brief duration. Here they are, in no particular order, to share with you. Enjoy, or don't enjoy -- as the case may be.

1. Nico - These Days

These days I sit on corner stones And count the time in quarter tones to ten. Please don't confront me with my failures, I had not forgotten them

2. The Magnetic Fields - All The Umbrellas In London

I drive around I walk around in circles 'Cause I've got no sense of direction I guess I've got no sense at all

3. The Decemberists - The Engine Driver

And I am a writer, writer of fictions I am the heart that you call home And I've written pages upon pages Trying to rid you from my bones

4. Neil Young - One of These Days

One of these days, I'm gonna sit down and write a long letter To all the good friends I've known And I'm gonna try And thank them all for the good times together. Though so apart we've grown.

5. Lykke Li - Sadness is a Blessing (Gold Panda remix)

These scars of mine make wounded rhymes tonight I dream of times when you were mine so I Can keep it like a haunting Heart beating close to mine