Friday, January 29, 1999
Music helps even bad times seem better
COLUMN: Listening hard to true meaning of tunes can improve
mood, life
Winter is a rotten time of year. Maybe we don’t get blizzards
here, and there’s no deep freeze to keep us housebound, but it’s
still crummy. People get irritable, relationships deteriorate,
shoes get soaked, and a malaise hangs in the air – like cigarette
smoke, but more permanent. There’s just an undeniably unpleasant
feeling connected with the post-holiday season, one that can’t be
erased with a ray of sunshine or a whistled happy tune.
We’ve all experienced it somehow. Maybe your parents are nagging
about bills, or your roommate is telling you how you annoy him, or
just about any other thing that can get under your skin. I myself
have been victim to this lately, trapped under a layer of gloom
that I couldn’t seem to shake. It makes you feel powerless,
friendless and alone.
It’s not a pleasant feeling.
One morning last week, I found myself stuck particularly deep in
this pit, without any clue as to how I might climb out. In trying
to escape from the doldrums, I put on some music to help me take my
mind off things. The snarling electric guitars, rapid-fire drums
and ragged, gritty vocals kicked in, and my mind began to drift. I
found myself beginning to move in to the song’s rhythm, growling
under my breath, and playing a half hearted air guitar, all without
realizing what I was listening to.
As the music continued, I realized I was singing along, full
volume, with little care for who might hear and pretending to be a
rock star in front of my bedroom mirror. By the time the song was
over, however, I realized that I felt completely better, and that
my problems seemed much less daunting.
Pausing from my pantomimed theatrics, I took a look at the CD
that was spinning – Social Distortion’s self-titled 1990 release.
I’d picked it up on a whim at Christmas, but hadn’t really listened
to it in depth, yet.
Liking what I heard, I shut my door, turned the volume up loud,
and proceeded to lose myself in the music. Bitter, angry,
rebellious and ultimately hopeful, Mike Ness and Co.’s
emotion-laden punk rock lifted me out of my little well of
depression and turned things around. Well, at least until I went to
class and remembered why I’d been in a bad mood before.
In any case, the music really struck a powerful chord with me.
I’d heard Social D on the radio before, and even owned another
album, last year’s "Live At The Roxy," but never really regarded it
as anything more than hard-edged punk with surprisingly good lead
guitar.
In listening to the lyrics, however, I saw why the band is a lot
more than just tough guys with instruments. There’s an
indescribable power to Ness’s simple and honest lyrics, that, when
combined with the band’s dynamics, really nails me right in the
heart.
You don’t have to have grown up in an Orange County gutter to
identify with what Ness is saying. I’ve never been beaten up by
construction workers, scored heroin or gotten in trouble with the
law, but I know exactly what emotions he’s talking about when he
rips through "Sick Boys."
Alienation, fear, self-doubt.. . these are all things everyone
experiences at one time or another, and Ness articulates them with
brilliance. It’s not exactly lyrically complicated or technically
taxing, but the fury with which he attacks each song speaks to
me.
"I’ve had it all/ And lost it all one blackout night/ I want it
back/ But I just can’t seem to get it right," he sings on "So Far
Away." He messed up and wants another chance.
Is there anyone out there who hasn’t felt that way before? We
all have things in life we want to change, but can’t. Sometimes
when you feel like you don’t have anything to grab onto for
support, it’s nice to know that there’s someone out there in the
same boat as you.
Many people look at these songs and dismiss them as being
hopelessly dark and negative. While it’s tempting to do so, that
ignores the point of the music altogether. When he sings "Times are
hard, getting harder/ I’m born to lose and destined to fail," in
"Ball and Chain," Ness isn’t wallowing in self-pity, he’s fighting
to stay alive.
This is a valuable lesson. No matter how screwed up the
situation might seem, there’s a way out, somehow. This sounds like
Mickey Mouse motivational speaker garbage, but it’s the truth. No
matter how kicked around life makes me feel, I’ve always been able
to make it through.
All of Social D’s songs are like this, somehow. They deal with
different subjects, but the me-against-the-world theme is always
there. This ought to get monotonous, but strangely enough, it never
does. There’s always something to identify with in each song, and
this is why the music sounds so powerful. Ness isn’t singing only
about himself, he’s singing about anyone who’s ever been beaten
down unfairly.
Lately, it’s been these songs that have been keeping me afloat
through bad times. If this isn’t the type of music that does it for
you, that’s fine. Go out and find something that does. Once you
find something that speaks to you and lets you know that there are
kindred spirits out there, you’ll find that life’s a little bit
easier to take.
Hopkins is a second-year English student.
Brent Hopkins
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]