Music helps even bad times seem better

Published: Friday, January 29, 1999

Friday, January 29, 1999

COLUMN: Listening hard to true meaning of tunes can improve mood, life

Winter is a rotten time of year. Maybe we don't get blizzards here, and there's no deep freeze to keep us housebound, but it's still crummy. People get irritable, relationships deteriorate, shoes get soaked, and a malaise hangs in the air - like cigarette smoke, but more permanent. There's just an undeniably unpleasant feeling connected with the post-holiday season, one that can't be erased with a ray of sunshine or a whistled happy tune.

We've all experienced it somehow. Maybe your parents are nagging about bills, or your roommate is telling you how you annoy him, or just about any other thing that can get under your skin. I myself have been victim to this lately, trapped under a layer of gloom that I couldn't seem to shake. It makes you feel powerless, friendless and alone.

It's not a pleasant feeling.

One morning last week, I found myself stuck particularly deep in this pit, without any clue as to how I might climb out. In trying to escape from the doldrums, I put on some music to help me take my mind off things. The snarling electric guitars, rapid-fire drums and ragged, gritty vocals kicked in, and my mind began to drift. I found myself beginning to move in to the song's rhythm, growling under my breath, and playing a half hearted air guitar, all without realizing what I was listening to.

As the music continued, I realized I was singing along, full volume, with little care for who might hear and pretending to be a rock star in front of my bedroom mirror. By the time the song was over, however, I realized that I felt completely better, and that my problems seemed much less daunting.

Pausing from my pantomimed theatrics, I took a look at the CD that was spinning - Social Distortion's self-titled 1990 release. I'd picked it up on a whim at Christmas, but hadn't really listened to it in depth, yet.

Liking what I heard, I shut my door, turned the volume up loud, and proceeded to lose myself in the music. Bitter, angry, rebellious and ultimately hopeful, Mike Ness and Co.'s emotion-laden punk rock lifted me out of my little well of depression and turned things around. Well, at least until I went to class and remembered why I'd been in a bad mood before.

In any case, the music really struck a powerful chord with me. I'd heard Social D on the radio before, and even owned another album, last year's "Live At The Roxy," but never really regarded it as anything more than hard-edged punk with surprisingly good lead guitar.

In listening to the lyrics, however, I saw why the band is a lot more than just tough guys with instruments. There's an indescribable power to Ness's simple and honest lyrics, that, when combined with the band's dynamics, really nails me right in the heart.

You don't have to have grown up in an Orange County gutter to identify with what Ness is saying. I've never been beaten up by construction workers, scored heroin or gotten in trouble with the law, but I know exactly what emotions he's talking about when he rips through "Sick Boys."

Alienation, fear, self-doubt.. . these are all things everyone experiences at one time or another, and Ness articulates them with brilliance. It's not exactly lyrically complicated or technically taxing, but the fury with which he attacks each song speaks to me.

"I've had it all/ And lost it all one blackout night/ I want it back/ But I just can't seem to get it right," he sings on "So Far Away." He messed up and wants another chance.

Is there anyone out there who hasn't felt that way before? We all have things in life we want to change, but can't. Sometimes when you feel like you don't have anything to grab onto for support, it's nice to know that there's someone out there in the same boat as you.

Many people look at these songs and dismiss them as being hopelessly dark and negative. While it's tempting to do so, that ignores the point of the music altogether. When he sings "Times are hard, getting harder/ I'm born to lose and destined to fail," in "Ball and Chain," Ness isn't wallowing in self-pity, he's fighting to stay alive.

This is a valuable lesson. No matter how screwed up the situation might seem, there's a way out, somehow. This sounds like Mickey Mouse motivational speaker garbage, but it's the truth. No matter how kicked around life makes me feel, I've always been able to make it through.

All of Social D's songs are like this, somehow. They deal with different subjects, but the me-against-the-world theme is always there. This ought to get monotonous, but strangely enough, it never does. There's always something to identify with in each song, and this is why the music sounds so powerful. Ness isn't singing only about himself, he's singing about anyone who's ever been beaten down unfairly.

Lately, it's been these songs that have been keeping me afloat through bad times. If this isn't the type of music that does it for you, that's fine. Go out and find something that does. Once you find something that speaks to you and lets you know that there are kindred spirits out there, you'll find that life's a little bit easier to take.

Hopkins is a second-year English student.

Brent Hopkins

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