Tunes For Tears
Last night, Jenny Diane Lewis blessed us with an Instagram Live performance. The Dandy has been steering clear of Instagram Lives, only because they’re everywhere. And quite frankly, they’re sort of awkward despite coming from a good place. The few “lives” we have joined in on are all music-centric. This includes Talib Kweli’s 90s hip hop DJ sessions, Ben Platt’s chill-inducing piano performances, and Jenny Lewis’ lo-fi concerts she puts on at random with her guitar and piano in a room adorned with tinny Christmas lights and a polychromatic wall projector.
This Jenny Lewis performance got The Dandy thinking about music that moves us in ineffable ways time and time again. But more so, it made us wonder why certain songs produce a swell of tears no matter if we’re already consciously happy or sad when we hear it. That’s probably because we all carry a little lack with us no matter where we go. That subtle-yet-gnawing attachment to a different time, people lost, and defense mechanisms built up from years of “keeping it moving” finally gets permission to come out, come out, wherever it is.
For The Dandy, our favorite place to let some tears fall free are all in transit. And we’re not alone! That tender moment felt in motion stems from our parasympathetic nervous system kicking in. Those times when we are on our way somewhere, but simultaneously at rest. Check out the linked Atlantic article “Why We Cry on Planes” for more of the scientific findings.
Our top 3 songs that make us cry in transit are:
“Acid Tongue” by Jenny Lewis
“Only You” by Yazoo
“Landslide” by Stevie Nicks
What are yours? Tag @thedandygram in your top 3 #TunesForTears :)