Hello! I have just set up this new category: Magpie, for all non-health chatter. I am like a magpie, picking up shiny snippets of info all the time! I’ll be sharing content, news and comment on whatever grabs me that I think you will find amusing, thought-provoking, useful or just enjoyable. It’s generally lifestyle stuff like interior design, politics, culture, reviews, eco fashion, skincare, tech, gadgets, trends etc – anything not so health-related – it gives my head a break!
The blog automatically subscribes existing readers – which is a pain, so sorry! – but you can unsubscribe from this category and manage what posts you get if you want to. Go to www.wordpress.com/read, click on Purehealth, click on the toggle icon top right and manage subscription and then you can turn on or off any of the blog categories. If you get stuck, just ask me. I was just trying to be tidy with everything all in one place, fool, fool 😉
Music has always had a big effect on me. In fact, I recently succumbed to getting an Alexa just so I can ask her to play stuff for me whilst I’m pootling around the kitchen etc. It’s been a good way to discover different music, actually, although I still don’t like having to shout at something several times a day, and I turn her off at night!
Anyway, I was musing on how happy having more music in my life again makes me feel when I read a great piece about music as self-care in the Saturday Guardian supplement.
Could we use music like medicine, David Robson
In that, the author discusses using different types of music and choosing songs to help you cope with emotions such as grief or sadness. When I had PTSD, I made a Happy song list, which I still play a lot. And, when I broke up with my former partner, I actually couldn’t listen to music for over a year. Of course, it’s a right of passage for most teenage girls to have sung all the words to I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor many times after relationship break-ups. I’m not sure if there is an equivalent song for lads – do let me know if there is!
The article recommended several books on the subject so I share them here too in case they are useful:
This is Your Brain on Music, Daniel Levitin
Musicophilia, Oliver Sacks
Wired for Music, Adriana Barton
Meantime: music Q&A:
Fave band? It varies, but I play a lot of Muse and Leftfield, then again I love a bit of James Blunt or even Tracy Chapman too. I is getting old!
Fave festival? Used to be Leeds when I was younger but then Chester (as they have a champagne tent, very posh!), although Iggy Pop was the headliner that year so wasn’t sure how that fitted!
Fave radio station? To be honest, none of them nowadays. Heart? LBC for chatter. Radio 2 at a push. Radio 4 for funny shows when driving. Classic FM if stressed, or see Muse/Leftfield above which always brings me out of it!
Fave female artist? Love Christine and the Queens and I always wanted my hair like Annie Lennox from the Eurythmics years ago (I did too for a while – and got suspended from school for it – oh, there’s a lot you don’t know about me, I was always a bit of a rebel!)
I better shut up now! Tell me some of your faves so I can laugh at you too 😉
When I was struggling most with my health, I listened to Jackie Leven on repeat. Seems paradoxical as his songs are deep and often full of pain, but I think I found it comforting to know he’d been through really tough times too. Fortunately now I can stomach joyful music again too.
A couple of go-to tracks for when my soul needs soothing would be Martha’s Harbour by All About Eve, and River by Maddie Southorn.
That’s useful, thanks for sharing, Sandra x. I am going to check those out and listen to them.