At 8:43 p.m. on January 17, I disembarked the ski bus after a frigid practice (that went 15 minutes over). I then realized that I had gotten to school late that morning, and I had parked at North. Beginning the trek up to my car, I got a Canvas notification for my first Physics grade of the semester. Opening Canvas, I tried to anticipate the worst, only to still be shocked when my grade was even lower than my lowest expectations. As I got into my car, I knew exactly what I needed to do to make myself feel better. I needed music that would validate my emotional turmoil. Opening Spotify, I played the one song I knew would help to console me. As tears streamed down my face, the opening lines of “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield helped to soothe my mood.
While it might seem unusual, I think that listening to happy music when sad can actually boost your mood. To a certain extent, I understand the appeal of a go-to sad playlist. Everybody wants their music video moment: a pensive stare out the window on a dreary day while “View Between Villages” by Noah Kahan blasts through your car speakers. However, that lifestyle is simply not sustainable. Listening to sad music will cause the initial sadness to be amplified tenfold by the music that was picked to set the scene. With this in mind, I have created some substitution songs to play instead of the run-of-the-mill “sad” songs people flock to.
After a long, draining day, you might think that “Moon Song” by Phoebe Bridgers is what you need to take the edge off things, however, I would recommend “Brighter Than The Sun” by Colbie Caillat. While there is no denying that Bridgers is great, Caillat’s song feels like sitting on the Beach on a sunny Friday afternoon in May. Swapping the moon for the sun can help wipe your worries away. This song swap will ultimately brighten your day more than any ruminating will.
When feeling overwhelmed, many might turn to something like “This Is Me Trying” by Taylor Swift. Instead, I would suggest “Roar” by Katy Perry. Her empowering, no-nonsense song will prompt people to take action and agency over the things that are bothering them, which would help with long-term goals. When your to-do list is half a mile long, Perry will encourage you to keep fighting. Perry’s song evokes the types of feelings that make you feel unstoppable, regardless of the mood you were in before you started listening.
“Marvin’s Room” by Drake might be the obvious choice for when you’re feeling nostalgic, but I recommend “Summer of ’69” by Bryan Adams. Who said that nostalgia has to be sad? There’s a difference between longing for the past and celebrating it. Summer of ’69 taps into a golden-hour memory lane where everything feels bright and full of possibility. Instead of wallowing in the past, the song encourages you to be grateful for what you do have. Music can set the tone for how you experience emotion. Music does not have to be sad or nostalgic to be meaningful. Sometimes, joyful music can be the way to snap out of a bad mood. The next time you’re down, challenge the playlist; it may just turn your day, week, or month around.
So, while sad music might give listeners a temporary sense of camaraderie with the artist and their lyrics, overall, it will just end in a prolonged sense of sadness. This cruel fate is easily avoidable if readers take my song swap recommendations. Next time you are feeling down, throw on “Pocket Full of Sunshine,” and you’ll never look back!