5 Albums to Cure Your Sadness
To all of our wonderful readers, listeners, and in-betweens, we at WVUM hope the beginning of 2019 has treated you well. For those of us who need some sonic therapy, here are five albums assigned to each of Kubler-Ross’s five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Enjoy, find peace in these songs, and most importantly, may your heart grow stronger with every passing measure.
DENIAL - Portishead – Dummy (1994)
Portishead’s critically acclaimed Dummy will gently coax you through your initial feelings, however they manifest. This languid, groovy, and deeply pensive trip hop album will surely let you feel out whatever has begun to settle. Relax, grab some tissues, and let frontwoman Beth Gibbins lullaby your way into….
ANGER - My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (1991)
Can there be a more perfect album to angry-cry to? Let the heavy and ethereal distortion be the soundtrack to your sobs, and let it all out, baby. Shoegaze was made for this very moment: you, your sorry little heart, and a soon-to-be-tear-stained pillowcase. Once you feel you’ve relieved some of that internal pressure that builds all day and begs to release at the most inappropriate of times, switch emotional gears and take a slight turn into…
BARGAINING - Patsy Cline – Greatest Hits (1967
Let’s take a quick breather: you’re done sobbing for the hour, your roommates are wondering if they should call the authorities, and you’re lost in your thoughts again, trapped in the horrible cycle that is grief and pain. Don’t fret, my sweet. Patsy Cline is our go-to-gal when it comes to twangin’ ‘bout heartache. If you’ve got a record player, this is an album you need to invest in. How cinematic: a disheveled you, slumped on the floor while Patsy croons about lost love and shattered hearts, her Greatest Hits vinyl spinning melodramatically beside you. This is an album to ponder about all the things you’ve experienced and learned from thus far. But don’t relax just yet – grief has a funny way of body-slamming you when you least expect it, giving us a nice segway into…
DEPRESSION - Low – Long Division (1995)
Grief takes us experience all kinds of feelings, but robbing them of us, too. If pleasant numbness (secondary to emotional overstimulation) was an album, Low’s 1995 album is the reigning champion of seemingly eternal sadness and being okay with it. For those moments when life seems unsurpassable, take a deep breath… play this album and let it soothe you. Most importantly, respect your sadness; it is here to teach you. And never forget that this too shall pass.
ACCEPTANCE - (Sandy) Alex G – Beach Music (2015)
Play this album on repeat and think about how much you’ve learned from your emotional turmoil. Angsty and humble, this album is sure to bring you to a safe, poignant emotional space, one that allows you to straighten out all the kinks your brain has wrought into your life. There really is no other album that divulges so deeply into the feeling of acceptance – it twiddles with moments of tension and moments of release, while Alex G’s lyrics serve as mantras for the worn out, the jaded, and the healed. Just look at the figures on the album cover; their embrace says it all.
