During a recent conversation over coffee with a friend, I was reminded of a term I first learned from a Brené Brown conversation with musician Dave Grohl at ACL Festival in 2023: “collective effervescence”. Collective Effervescence is a feeling of energy and harmony that people feel when they engage enthusiastically in a shared purpose. It […]
music
This is “The Most Calming Song in the World” According to Neuroscientists
Hunting for relaxation music and want to get really clinical about it? Marconi Union’s “Weightless” is literally the most calming song in the world– at least according to neuroscientists. Allow me to explain further. In 2011, British ambient band Marconi Union worked with sound therapists and researchers from Mindlab International to specifically design an 8-minute […]
How Mental Health Became Pop Music’s Unlikely Muse
Maybe you’ve noticed that some of the biggest songs on the radio in recent years have dealt with themes of depression, anxiety, suicide, and other aspects of mental health. Or maybe you saw Lady Gaga‘s 2019 speech at the Grammy Awards in which she mentioned, perhaps unsurprisingly, that many artists deal with mental health issues. […]
Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs’ Moving “Fast Car” Duet is a Masterclass in Emotional Connection
Last night at the 2024 GRAMMY Awards, Tracy Chapman performed her iconic 1988 single “Fast Car” as a duet with Luke Combs, who famously covered the song last year to much critical fanfare. (Combs’ cover of “Fast Car” was so well performed, if politically controversial, that it also secured its own GRAMMY nomination and has […]
Beautiful Life Lesson: Thom Yorke, Rothko, and How We Interpret Joy
Sometime in the year 2000, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke sat for an interview on Dutch television about the making of Radiohead’s Kid A and the rough time he had separating his personal life from the world of celebrity after the monumental success of 1997’s Ok Computer. In this interview, Yorke relayed an anecdote that has […]
Watch Lady Gaga, Oprah Talk “Radical Acceptance” in Mental Health
Oprah’s 2020 Vision Tour is a series of conversations between Oprah and various innovators and change-makers in society. In a recent candid interview with Lady Gaga in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the two spoke about Gaga’s career and also her focus on mental health. They also spoke about spirituality, and an innovative dialectical behavioral therapy concept […]
Paramore’s Hayley Williams to Design “Sanctuary of Self-Love” for Bonnaroo
Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams recently reported via her Instagram that she will be designing a “Sanctuary of Self-Love” for Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival‘s 2019 edition. The annual Manchester, Tennessee music festival will feature headliners Childish Gambino, Cardi B, Kacey Musgraves, Solange, Brandi Carlile, Mac DeMarco, The National, The Lumineers, and Hozier, among many […]