Can Music Save Us? (A Playlist)

It's a loaded question to ask, I know, but I'm asking it as someone who needs to pull herself out of some spiraling habits (mostly food-/body- and control-related).
I grew up on my mother's mixed tapes, and while I was never quite musical myself (aside from writing poems, if that counts, LOL), I can attest to the profound impact that music can have on us. Even now, I see my teenage brother find respite from the stress of group projects and AP tests in songs like Arcade Fire's "Everything Now" and Patrick Watson's "Adventures in Your Own Backyard." And my freshman year of high school, when I first became swept up into the madness that is diet culture, some of the best and least anxiety-related moments involved Kate Bush with my mum. Today, feeling particularly ambivalent about my preoccupations and priorities, I put on one of alexrainbird's indie/pop/folk playlists and just allowed myself to experience it while studying for finals. It slowed me down the way yoga does and got my brain out of thinkthinkthink mode and into "Wow, this is beatiful!" mode. Being in awe is good for you (seriously--science backs this up), and music has the power to put us into a state of awe, relax our nervous systems down, and re-balance us.

These Brittle Bones: "Flecks"

George Ezra: "Hold My Girl"

First Aid Kit: "My Silver Lining"

Kate Bush: "This Woman's Work"

Cat Power: "Wonderwall"

And just for fun because I like turning this on and dancing to it when I feel sad . . . .

Selena Gomez: "Who Says"

<3 Frances