Music as Catharsis

My taste in music is probably pretty lame and eclectic. I'm utterly biased against 90% of the music made in this century, mostly because I feel it's become too commercialized and focused on money and fame. Furthermore, older music makes me think of times where life was a breeze, when Marty McFly could skateboard around and time travel like it was no big deal, or when Samantha Baker could land the hottie Jake Ryan, or when a group of archetypal high schoolers could change the world through a Saturday detention.

Yeah, I like '80s music.

Regardless of your musical affiliation, however, I think all types of songs share the universality of the human experience. All genres address love, pain, happiness, acceptance, death, etc... Music portrays the sentiments and experiences that we all share in one of the most profoundly impacting and universal ways. Because of this, music is clearly one of the most effective modes of catharsis. Pain can be easily released through the lyrics of a song.

So, I decided to dedicate this post to the cathartic beneficence of music, despite knowing that my own taste in it will probably repulse some of you.  These are all songs that "speak" to me in some way.. some are pretty vague connections, while others seem as if they were written to explain my feelings.  Maybe you'll feel the same.

Same Love
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

If You Were Here

Thompson Twins

If It Wasn't for the Nights

ABBA

Every Breath You Take

the Police

Why Can't I Have You

the Cars

Wouldn't It Be Nice

the Beach Boys

Undisclosed Desires

Muse

Getcha Back

the Beach Boys

Ordinary World

Duran Duran

Slow Down

Poolside

The One I Love

R.E.M.

Here's a list, longer than I thought it would be, of other relevant songs.  Enjoy:

Angel Eyes, ABBA
Bizarre Love Triangle, New Order
Burnin' For You, Blue Oyster Cult
Cold As Ice, Foreigner
Can't Get You Off My Mind, Poolside
Do You Believe in Love, Huey Lewis & The News
Don't Worry Baby, Beach Boys
Don't You Want Me, Human League
Dream On, Aerosmith
Everybody Hurts, R.E.M.
Good Times Roll, the Cars
Happy Together, the Turtles
Hotel California, the Eagles
I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye
If You Leave, OMD
It Must Have Been Love, Roxette
Livin' On a Prayer, Bon Jovi
Man in the Wilderness, Styx
Obsession, Animotion
Ogden's Nut Gone Flake, Small Faces
The Promise, When in Rome
Shake it Out, Florence + the Machine
She Cares, Styx
Soon, the Cars
Stone in Love, Journey
Surfer Girl, Beach Boys
Tainted Love, Soft Cell
Take My Breath Away, Berlin
Take On Me, a-ha
The Best of Times, Styx

Touch, Daft Punk
You're My Best Friend, Queen
You're the One that I Want, Olivia Newton John