Bob's Music Therapy
5 Songs to Jumpstart Your Week
Listening to unfamiliar music (or even a rearranged version of a familiar song) requires the brain to form new memories and neural connections, supporting neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to reorganize and strengthen connections. This is the seventh post along the same line: Five songs, from different genres and vintages, are sent your way in hopes you might find 20 minutes or so today or this week to give them a serious couple of listens to help your brain and also judge for yourself whether, in good moods or bad, these songs lift your spirits a bit. If so, feel free to add them to your Spotify, Pandora or iTunes playlists. If not, please don’t tell me and spoil my mood too!
Delbert McClinton, a singer, multi-instrumentalist, and witty songwriter from Texas, is equally comfortable in the blues and country music worlds, having won multiple Grammy awards. One of his more recent songs claims While touring the U.K. in the early 1960's, he famously tutored John Lennon on the blues harmonica, influencing early Beatles’ tracks like “Love Me Do,” confirming his claim in a recent song, “I ain’t old, but I’ve been around a long time.” His song below, “Same Kind of Crazy,” extols the joy we can feel when finding a partner who matches our own off-kilter outlook on life. It’s hard not to smile hearing this song, which later became a hit for George Strait, but not for McClinton,
Rita Coolidge is known for her smooth voice that is versatile enough for almost any rock, pop, or country song or ballad. She had a string of hits in the 1970s, won two Grammy awards for duets with Kris Kristofferson, and was the inspiration for Leon Russell’s song “Delta Lady.” The song “Rainbow,” from her latest album, reflects on being in love, getting through hard times together, and being all the better for the experience, observing we “go in as the rain in the cloud, [and] come out as a rainbow.”
Caedmon’s Call is primarily known for their contemporary Christian songs that draw upon folk and acoustic influences, but their song “Daring Daylight Escape” falls outside that narrow niche. The song describes a common dilemma many have faced: not knowing exactly when or how to propose marriage, but knowing time is running short and outside circumstances may be forcing things. The hurried rhythm of the song and the line “please say ‘yes’ quick ‘cuz the sun’s going down” say it all.
Deborah Coleman, a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Portsmouth, Virginia, blends blues and rock in her music, creating a unique sound. She has received numerous accolades, including being named the Best Female Blues Guitarist in 2001. She has played with artists like Bonnie Raitt, and was invited to perform at B.B. King’s 80th birthday celebration as the only female guitarist on stage. Her fluid guitar lines propel the song “Soft Place to Fall,” while her lyrics emphasize our need to find a safe haven—a place or person that provides support—when times get tough and we need a reprieve from life’s challenges.
A songwriter and keyboardist from the San Francisco Bay area, Austin de Lone over several decades released numerous solo albums of blues, Americana, and roots music. He also has played with artists like Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe. Costello and Lowe appear on de Lone’s song “Ain’t Love a Funny Thing,” a classic tale of his trying to take advantage of having seen a woman getting upset with her clueless boyfriend on the dance floor. Spoiler alert: in the end, he succeeds in attracting her attention by, as he puts it, “doing my best not to hide.”
I hope you found a song or two here that can brighten your day or even your week! Blessings, Bob Pomeroy