In the second of a series on mental health and music, Songs for the Soul, Chloë Moloney discusses the importance of breaking out of a musical cycle.
BY CHLOE MOLONEY
I used to be stuck in a cycle of the same three artists: James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan – I was stuck in the 1960s and 1970s and not willing to budge.
These artists still reign supreme in my mind nonetheless, orchestrating memories both pleasant and otherwise. However, listening to the same few tracks over and over again certainly had its implications. I more often than not found myself recycling the same fusty memories which had attached themselves to my musical addiction.
For example, I spent most of my teenage years listening to James Taylor’s Hourglass album. Not only did the album become the so-called soundtrack to my adolescence, but once a handful of years had passed, his romantic and poetic lyrics started to sing of the harrowing and uncomfortable memories of puberty. A scattering of Steely Dan songs only now remind me of hungover Sunday mornings and Fleetwood Mac’s "Dreams" has started to make me shiver a little. I was stuck in a binary of not wanting to move on from my teenage years, yet equally as desperate to listen to the sweet melodies of adulthood.
Loving is Easy – Rex Orange County
So far, 2018 has admittedly been pretty awful. On the fringe of my twenties, the stars haven’t quite aligned yet and I’m hoping that they’ll catch up soon. Perhaps, I thought, I need to go out and find my own shining star to guide me on my leap back to the present day. That’s where Rex Orange County came in.
Alexander O’Connor is an English recording artist and singer. Going by the name of Rex Orange County, he recently came second place in the BBC Sound of 2018 award. His music was the key which unlocked the gate to a whole field of blooming musical opportunities.
Best Friend - Rex Orange County
Don’t get me wrong, I want to enjoy these older artists as much as I so dearly did when their beats first graced my ears. The qualm arose when I began to identify myself solely with the nostalgia sewn into their riffs. Whilst I was not willing to break out of the grump and flump of my late teens, I was equally as reluctant to listen to anyone who had their debut after 1990. And so, I’ve declared the beginning of a new cycle in my musical endeavors - going down an unbeaten track when I’ve been running on the main road for years upon end.
Sunflower – Rex Orange County
A fresh and exciting beat can truly do wonders for a musical taste which has spent years on repeat. Casting a warm sunset vibe over the rain cloud of my 2018, Rex Orange County is now the introduction into a brand-spanking new chapter of my life – one that is not dictated by my younger years, but dances along to its own groovier beat.
Chloë Moloney is a student and writer from Surrey, United Kingdom. She is a staff writer and curator at Luna Luna Magazine, and a reviewer for MookyChick. Chloë has had short stories published with Moonchild Magazine, Occulum, Sick Lit Magazine and more. She is also a culture writer and biographer at the award-winning news platform Shout Out UK, and has also written for Epigram, B24/7 and the London Horror Society. She also acted as a reviewer for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in 2017. You can find Chloë at @ChloeMoloney98.