Music Therapy

22nd July 2008

posted in Arts and Music, Personal, Pop Culture |

The husband and I had time to kill before the Cincinnati Rollergirls bout on Saturday, so we stopped by the eclectic Cincinnati community of Northside. Northside is kind of the liberal stepchild of an otherwise conservative Cincinnati – this is, after all, the city that shut down both Larry Flynt and Robert Maplethorpe yet somehow still managed to produce Jerry Springer. But Northside seems to have escaped the ire of the city’s moral crusaders and now boasts a diverse and gay-friendly community of ‘others.’

You can’t visit Northside without also stopping by Shake It Records. The locally-owned indie music shop specializes in the obscure, from Chicago post-punk art-rock to Ethiopian boog-a-loo. Each time I visit, I immediately head for the ‘C’ section in hopes of a Bruce Cockburn find. The man has some 28 records, but since more than a third of them were made before I was even born, they can be a rare find. I lucked out this visit and stumbled across his 1997 album “You Pay Your Money And You Take Your Chance.” The album is a compilation of previous hits, but it does have one song that I love and don’t have in my personal collection, “Fascist Architecture.”

One of the things I love about Bruce Cockburn is that while he’s old enough to be my grandpa, his songs still cover the gamut of my own rollercoaster of emotions. Throughout my eating disorder and recovery afterwards, his songs filled me with a hope and inspiration like no other. Bruce recorded “Fascist Architecture” in 1980 – just a year after I was born – but each time I listen to it, I’m reminded that while the past may at times seem like a bad dream, like the nights of Gethsemane, they were always lived through with the promise of morning.

Who are the artists that inspire you? Do you have any particular pro-recovery song favorites? Discuss your favorite artists or post a link to your favorite song lyrics in the comments below.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 11:04 am and is filed under Arts and Music, Personal, Pop Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 On July 22nd, 2008, Catherine Morton

said:

One of the benefits of being in Canada, you can get any Bruce Cockburn album you want. You can order any of them from Maple Music online.

http://www.maplemusic.com/

My favourite Bruce Song is called
Burden of the Angel/Beast from the album Dart to the Heart

From the lying mirror to the movement of stars
Everybody’s looking for who they are
Those who know don’t have the words to tell
And the ones with the words don’t know too well

Full lyrics
http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/b/brucecockburn10477/burdenoftheangelbeast338588.html

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 1:05 pm

2 On July 22nd, 2008, caseyatthebat

Straight up, Bonnie Raitt saved my life. And then helped me rebuild it. And then gave me the strength to follow my heart on FA. Her popular songs are nice, but it’s always her songs that are buried 8th or 9th on the album/tape/cd/mp3 that speak to something in me - and yes, I’ve purchased several of her records in more than one format.

Women Be Wise (the version w/ Sippie Wallace), Cool Clear Water, Wounded Heart, Dimming of the Day - I could go on. Listening to her songs has taught me that there is strength in both perseverance and in letting go.

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 2:47 pm

3 On July 22nd, 2008, Meowser

“Fascist Architecture”! I love that song! (It’s on the Humans album, Rachel, the whole thing is great.)

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 3:35 pm

4 On July 22nd, 2008, Ducky

“Thank You” and “That I Would Be Good” by Alanis Morissette have helped me through a lot of dark times and growing pains. They both help me center myself and expand in positive ways.

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 6:37 pm

5 On July 22nd, 2008, Amanda

Leonard Cohen - “Anthem”

The birds they sang
at the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don’t dwell on what
has passed away
or what is yet to be.
Ah the wars they will
be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
bought and sold
and bought again
the dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

We asked for signs
the signs were sent:
the birth betrayed
the marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
of every government –
signs for all to see.

I can’t run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud.
But they’ve summoned, they’ve summoned up
a thundercloud
and they’re going to hear from me.

Ring the bells that still can ring …

You can add up the parts
but you won’t have the sum
You can strike up the march,
there is no drum
Every heart, every heart
to love will come
but like a refugee.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
That’s how the light gets in.
That’s how the light gets in.

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 8:40 pm

6 On July 22nd, 2008, Rachel

I taught junior high for one academic year six years ago, and it literally made me want to die. I didn’t see how I was going to make it through the full nine months. I listened to a lot of Charles Trenet during that time, especially “La vie qui va”, which I swear saved my life.

Je sais bien que demain tout peut changer
Je sais bien que le bonheur est passager
Mais après les nuages
Mais après l’orage
On voit se lever joyeux
L’arc-en-ciel dans vos yeux
Tout est beau comme un mirage
Quand la vie va mieux

And of course Morrissey and The Smiths still save my life every day.

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 11:18 pm

7 On July 23rd, 2008, Denise

I’m a big Tori Amos fan. I would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite song, but these are two I really love.

http://www.toriamoslyrics.org/silent-all-these-years-little-earthquakes-lyrics-tori-amos.php

http://www.toriamoslyrics.org/baker-baker-tales-of-a-librarian-lyrics-tori-amos.php

posted on July 23rd, 2008 at 12:07 am

8 On July 23rd, 2008, Ruth of All Evil