May is Mental Health Awareness Month. There was a point in time when many thought struggling with mental health showed weakness in a person. We know this is not to be the case anymore, thankfully.
Like most people, I have struggled with depression and unhappiness. For my part, it's clinical. Both my father and grandfather took their own lives. I certainly do not want to follow in their paths, but that doesn't mean writing or saying that makes it easier. Life sucks sometimes, and one feels alone and misunderstood. It is OK to feel that way.
One of our gifts is music. It can take us to places we didn't know we needed. Like a great film, an hour or three of wonderful music can soothe us just when we need it.
4 albums I literally couldn't have lived without
None of the below is written to be dismissive of feeling hopeless. Only that we can find a connection in things created by others, we might never know. Sometimes that's enough to keep us from dreadful things.
Van Morrison - Moondance
Morrison has some weird views nowadays, but they aren't related to music. The music is what matters. His back-to-back albums, Astral Weeks and Moondance, are among the best two-album runs in music history. Moondance is the more accessible one.
It begins with "And It Stoned Me," a song that will take you adrift on a sea of bliss for as long as you want it. The highlight of the record is "Into the Mystic," though. It will take you to emotional places inside you that you never knew existed.
This album does not dread life and death, but simply a celebration. You might need it when everything else seems to be going to Hell.
Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies
Are there better Waits albums? For sure. This is a collection of tunes. All are great, and the collection is expansive, but faithful Waits listeners will want to get to his studio records. The significant part of the album for me, though, lay in its shifting from one style to another.
This wasn't about focus but the need not to focus. "Johnsburg, Illinois" was followed by "Way Down in the Hole." Each is a terrific tune worthy of being heard, but the flash from one to the other allowed for space. Sometimes, you don't want to think, but just be.
There are some darker songs here, so be careful. Ultimately, Waits means to uplift through his art, making it worthwhile to stick through the entire project.
Boo Radleys - Wake Up!
The best Boo Radleys album might be one that is difficult to find currently. C'Mon Kids is intentionally challenging to listen to. Wake Up! is the complete opposite. It is seemingly a throwback to 1960s pop, but the songs are well-crafted enough to remain timeless.
The key is that many of the tracks are sing-along worthy. You might not even know why you sing along, but you are joyfully doing so.
Manic Street Preachers - This is My Truth Tell Me Yours
Two albums removed from the personal turmoil this group experienced after founding member Richey Edwards disappeared, the Manics reached a level of maturity that appeared unimportant and unnecessary on their earlier records. Truth is not better than The Holy Bible and does not need to be. But the self-awareness in the despair helps the listener through their own.
The tracks are more political than interpersonally emotional, but that makes it easier to relate to one's plight. At different parts of the album, we feel rage and sadness. Like all great music, it makes us feel better to be human.
That is the best part about music as an art form. We sometimes don't know why we love it, but only that we need it. It keeps us alive even when we don't think we should be.