At the time I’m writing this, we are undoubtedly in a crisis. Many countries are under some form of a lockdown, and daily life has changed completely. The world has been turned upside-down, and we’re left without many of the experiences that made us feel alive pre-quarantine. So how can we cope in these very weird times? I turn to various forms of art to calm myself.
Art can capture a feeling. It cannot give us life, it cannot replicate the experiences that we so dearly miss, but it can give an inkling of the emotions that we regularly felt pre-quarantine. It can fill the gaps of time between schoolwork and sleeping. Now don’t get me wrong, my education is important to me and I love to learn new things, but writing essays and blog posts cannot replicate the times with friends and new experiences that I so dearly miss.
But a song can do that – the emotion it creates can make you feel just a little bit alive in times when we feel so removed from the world. Similarly, other forms of art and media – films, TV shows, etc. – can provide some excitement and help make quarantine a little more fun. Similarly, producing art can provide an outlet to express our emotions, particularly in these weird times.
I’ve been listening to a lot of music to cope with quarantine, as a means to remind me of simpler times and to discover new interests. I’ve attached a playlist below with songs I’ve had on repeat for the past few weeks. The songs that are tied to memory bring back the feelings of the times I listened to them. “4 Seasons” was a song I listened to frequently during Summer 2019, and reminds me of the feeling of freedom at the crossroads of my childhood and college. “Too Close” was a song I had on repeat for a majority of last semester, and I can practically smell the crisp October when I listen to it. Some of these songs I did not listen to until quarantine, and I imagine will bring me back when I listen to them in the future. Motivation has been sparse during quarantine, and one night I listened to “Mamma Mia” (the Austin Weber, not ABBA version) for two hours on repeat while writing a history essay due the next morning. I’ve attached these “songs of crisis” below as an example of the value of humanities in day-to-day life.
This is a Collaborative Playlist. Songs 1-10 are songs I’ve been listening to, but I’d love to hear what everyone else is listening to! If you would like to add your own songs of quarantine/crisis/memory feel free to click on it and add what you’d like! Sharing art is one way to stay connected in the difficult times of distancing.
