Music Is Better Than Prozac… Or At Least I Think So by Joseph Matons

Good heavens, is there anything on God’s green Earth that can connect you more with your emotions than music? In times of joy, grief, trouble, or sorrow, is there ever a healthier outlet?  When you’re sad, lonely, depressed, or just out-and-out disappointed with the world, isn’t it grand that (somewhere out there) there is a song that connects so profoundly with your current mood or situation?  …That one song from that one album that just sums it up so perfectly!  It lets you connect with yourself in just the right way so you don’t snap at your friends, your family, your coworkers, YOURSELF, and lets you just move the fuck on with life!  Isn’t it amazing that during those moments of sheer orgasmic joy and unparalleled ecstasy, that there is someone out there who’s been there, done that—perhaps not in that exact way, but in surefooted emotional synchronicity, that only they, with that single euphoric melody, could possibly express?

How much of a sweet relief is it that amidst your unprecedented anger at all things unfair and unjust, there are a series of songs that will let you head-bang, scream, shout, or fist-pump your way to a sweet Zen release of negative emotions?  When you are brought so fucking low, when you feel betrayed by family, excluded from friends, when the weight of the world is so heavy and crushing against your frail, worn, and fragile shoulders, how uplifting and freeing is that extra special anthem that you hold ever so close to your heart? The one that either lets you release that hurtful poison or store it for a rainy day when you can use it to your advantage.  How much of a small relief is it that when you get up to go to your shitty job, and you flick on the radio, there are a few songs that can pump you up for the Herculean tasks that make up your daily routine?

Not only do we bask in music during times of joy, such as weddings and births (perhaps in the soothing works of Bach or Vivaldi), we also seek refuge in music during those soul-crushing moments of illness or death (say, with Lennon or Garcia). That this maddening cacophony we know as life can have moments of such profound solace in it is a miracle unto itself.  I cannot picture a single soul who can live a day without music in their lives, and if there is such a soul, then I weep and grieve for them. Thank goodness we all (for the most part) have music to help us through the daily grind.