What
do Lucinda Williams’ Essence, Annie
Lennox’s "Bare" and Steely Dan’s "Everything Must Go," have
in common? They're all breakup CDs that
came out roughly around the time of my divorce. Perhaps gray skies were gonna clear up, but in
the meantime, I had to have them. I’m
not even sure I knew why when I bought them.
Warren Zevon’s "The Wind" is not a breakup CD, unless you
count the fact that he was dying, kind of a breakup with the universe. I had to
have that one too. As we know, music has charms to soothe the savage breast. We
also know that misery loves company, not just plain old company, but miserable
company. If we put it all together, we can understand more about music's effect
on our mood.
At
the time I didn't know that there was research to back up my preference. A
recent study shows that people prefer sad music when they've
experienced an interpersonal loss. The sad music may actually help people cope
by providing a substitute for the loss, kind of like a companion. Hanging with
Lucinda was all about having someone who could really feel my pain.
