Some Music for the Post-Brexit Blues

I hope you don't think this is terribly crass, but I made a playlist to help me think through the Brexit blues. Well, in truth I starting making this playlist just after the vote, but I added the last four songs this morning, while it's looking like the UK is going to eat itself for breakfast.

(And don't think I wasn't tempted to write Brexfast, because boy oh boy, I was.)

I'm a musician and a music therapist, so I guess it's not surprising that I so often turn to music when the going gets tough. Music can be a nifty way both to make sense of the world around me, and to

give shape to how I'm feeling. Picture and frame. When everything is feeling far too baggy and nebulous, I often like to listen to silver-tongued voices that seem more poten t than my own. They might not know more than me, but they certainly know how to say it in a way that makes me want to listen. And of course music is great when you just want to filter out the noise. 

I put together this playlist just for myself really - to perk myself up, during what feels like the end of the world to this baby of the EU. But then I thought I might as well share the love (that is the name of the game, after all) so I hope it might offer a little of what you need today - whatever that might be.  

So here it is:

This is the section for licking your wounds. Go on - wallow away, my friend. This truly sucks, and it's more than okay to admit it. 

If You Leave Me Now - Chicago

Let's Stay Together - Al Green

Stay With Me - Sam Smith 

Now we get into the baffled indignation department. What the hell is going on?! There just aren't enough curse words in the world. (Although #curseBorisJohnson on Twitter is a great place to go if you're looking to vent.) 

Can't Believe You Wanna Leave - Little Richard

European Son - The Velvet Underground 

Ok, now it's time to start really thinking about what the hell really is going on. The fact is, the UK wasn't any different the day after the vote from how it was the day before. We just didn't know what was up. (And by we, I mean those who voted to stay in the EU, or at least a big wodge of them.) We didn't how people felt. Or if we did, we didn't care, and that's even worse. 

So now we know how people feel, and we don't like it, but I guess that's tough tuchus. Time, then, to do something about it. But what?? We need to start thinking about how to honour the voices that wanted to be heard, at whatever cost it came. Where to begin? (This is not a rhetorical question - I really, really want to know.)

You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave) - Hank Williams

Yes, this is an unbelievably scary time. (Relatively speaking of course - I work in a hospital, primarily in paediatric oncology, and boy does that work works wonders for the old sense of perspective.) I chose this song to force myself just to sit with that scared feeling for a hot minute. 

Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival 

I chose this beautiful Max Richter piece, not only for it's title, but because I find it equally haunting and hopeful, and that felt like just the ticket. It provides an excellent soundtrack for serious thinking (which is certainly what's needed), but also for just being. Despite my best intentions, I'm not really much of one for meditating, but sitting, breathing, existing.. We will continue to do all of these things, whatever the weather, so I do find it helpful to practice them once in a while.

Europe, After the Rain - Max Richter

Eyes on the Prize - The Emmaus Group Singers

I just love this song. I think it's been a firm member on every 'cheer up' playlist I've ever made. Since before the halcyon days of playlists, even. I first heard it as the closing music for the movie Green Card - the Gérard Depardieu & Andie MacDowell movie about the visa marriage of an unlikely pair... Brontë, a green-living New Yorker, and George, a carnivorous Parisian.. What are they like! (You can probably see where this is going.) I love this film. Maybe it's because I always used to watch it with my Granny, and I'm a big softie, but the message of love transcending borders and bureaucracy... well it just feels more fitting than ever. Plus, Andie MacDowell is a babe, so there's that too.   

Actually this song is almost too fitting: 

Sometimes it’s hard,
Sometimes it’s cold.
Sometimes I’m in,
Sometimes I’m out.

I mean, come ON!

So keep your eyes on the prize,
Don’t be dismayed,
Don’t be dismayed.

Deep in your heart,
You must believe:

Everything is gonna be alright,
Everything is gonna be alright,
Everything is gonna be alright someday!

You know what? Sold. I'm into it.

Come on into the blind optimism cocoon, even if just for the duration of this song. People have gotten through far worse than this. The embers of hope may be infinitesimally small, but they're glowing just enough to stay warm.

Okay, fine - one more cocoon song, but this time with a little extra kick of real talk, or at least some version of it:

Let's Face The Music and Dance - Nat King Cole

And now. Now it's time for the one and only. This is the song I always use when it's time to buck the hell up, and get cracking. No ifs, ands, or buts.

It's I'll Make a Man Out of You, from Mulan, sung by the one and only Donny Osmond. Yeah, you know the one.

Do feel free ignore the gender-agenda of the lyrics (or just remember it in the more appropriate context of the story, I guess) and don't mock me. Or mock away if you must, but know that I don't give two figs. This song is magnificent.

So now it's time to put Donny's wise, wise words into action. Let's get down to business. (Less of the stuff about the Huns. That's context specific.)

If you have something to say, say it to your MP. Do it now. Don't just talk to your friends on social media - they probably already agree with you, at least if my Facebook echo chamber is anything to go by.

That said, I hope we'll all keep talking to our friends about this as well. Maybe I just had bananas in my ears for far too long, but it feels like I'm seeing unprecedented amounts of insight and information being shared amongst my friends, and I love it.

Some sage advice I've seen being bandied about, especially relevant if you're not a member of any political party, or if you're looking to shift your allegiance:

You could join the Labour Party, and vote for the next leader. (Though I must warn you, the number of e-mails they send out is no joke.)

You could join the Liberal Democrats, who have said that they intend to fight in the General Election on a platform of keeping Britain in Europe.

You could join the Conservatives, if you were so inclined, and wanted to have a say in their next leader.

Or you could join the Green Party. They're standing up for the good stuff.

If you're keeping an eye on the horrifying rise in racist incidents and xenophobia, it might be worth checking out Hope not Hate and/or Stand Up to Racism, just as a starting point. I was also heartened by the safety pin idea - a simple way to show solidarity with immigrants and EU citizens.

If you're in the market for a reminder that there are still plenty of brilliant people in the world, specifically in Bristol, then I'd urge you to visit this page, and I dare you not to feel even a little bit more hopeful.

I'm right, right?

And finally, this:

I think this is a truly excellent message, but I'm not sure who to attribute it to, as the name was already nixed when I found it. I'd love to know who it was, because they were bang on.

Now I'm going to go and listen to my songs once more, and then it'll be time to stop licking my wounds and buck the hell up. And by this I mean - if anyone has any ideas on how to do this, please let me know. There's no idea too small.

I'm all ears, and I'm in.