Surgery Soundtrack: An Annotated Playlist
Songs for catharsis: to sing, dance, and cry along with.
Hey all,
Well, it’s been an eventful few weeks! I moved to a new apartment at the end of April, and on May 9 I had surgery on my wrist. I’m recovering, working some, but often laying low.
I am also dealing with traumatic anniversaries from earlier this month. Without going into detail, music is typically what helps me the most to deal with pain and discomfort, but I’m also working on other forms of self-care to heal.
Still, I have a lot to celebrate. I was accepted to present at a conference in October. I’m wrapping up the season for a state high school communications contest that I chair, and as it turns out, Illinois students won First Place in FOUR out of twenty-three categories in the larger national contest. I was told I landed in the separate national contest for Professional communicators; the exact results will come out in late June.
Lastly, I’m proud to be celebrating Pride Month as part of a storytelling show on June 6 in Chicago. More details TBA!
For this blog, I wanted to write about songs that I’m listening to as part of my recovery from surgery. The playlist is on Apple Music and Spotify, but I will provide YouTube videos here for those without those streaming apps.
Here is my mix, in order:
1. “For the First Time,” Kenny Chesney
Like many of country superstar Kenny Chesney’s bigger hits, “For the First Time,” released on his 2000 Greatest Hits CD, exudes sunshine and smiles from the opening moments. This song, about looking back fondly on the blossoming of high school romance, isn’t exactly my story, as is true of many songs I love, but the sheer joy and exuberance in it always make me smile and want to sing along.
2. “It’s Gonna Be Me,” *NSYNC
I admit it: I hated this song as a kid, and now, having a greater appreciation for pop music, the recovering music snob in me recognizes that a song being very catchy doesn’t preclude its value and/or level of craft. And yes, all those Justin Timberlake “IT’S GONNA BE MAY” memes encouraged me to listen to the song this month, but more important, I sometimes like to dance to this song for more than a few seconds, historically a rare occurrence. This is what the kids call a serious banger.
3. “Summers Like That,” Kimberly Kelly
I love 1990s country music, and this tribute to the era, naming several ‘90s country classics as touchstones for the narrator’s love life, hits the spot (metaphorically) when I need a dose of nostalgia. This is yet another example of a song that’s well written enough to make me forget that it is not my story in any way, shape, or form. That’s what a great song can do.
4. “Early Mornin’ Rain,” Peter, Paul and Mary
I grew up on ‘60s folk, and some records that I loved as a kid hold up better to me than others. Like *NSYNC, the Monkees, and the Sex Pistols, Peter, Paul and Mary were formed by a manager for whom they auditioned, but that shouldn’t prohibit us from appreciating the records of theirs that I love, especially this one, which I’ve been listening to more since the death of its songwriter, Gordon Lightfoot. The harmonies are gorgeous, the acoustic picking strong, and the performance very effective.
5. “Paint Me a Birmingham,” Tracy Lawrence
Speaking of ‘90s country, this 2003 song by ‘90s star Tracy Lawrence (“Time Marches On,” referenced in track 3) gave us one great country story song with this, a hit about lost love and lost dreams. To me, the delivery feels more gentle than sentimental (hey, that rhymes!), but you can hear the loss in every line. That delivery makes me feel it more deeply and appreciate it when listening to it.
6. “That Old Black Magic,” Ella Fitzgerald
Big, booming, bouncy, and brassy: Billy May’s arrangements on Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book from 1961 might be my favorite arrangements among the 8-part Song Book series of albums Ella Fitzgerald recorded from 1956 to 1964. Ella’s voice was unmatched in its clarity and rhythmic drive, and the album of Harold Arlen compositions is an underrated jewel among the Song Book albums for her interpretations as well as the arrangements. “That Old Black Magic” is one of my favorites from the album, and its elements of jazz and blues are ideal for one of jazz’s greatest artists. This makes me smile every time I hear it.
7. “You Don't Even Know Who I Am,” Patty Loveless
This song marks the emotional high point of this mix. One of the most devastatingly detail-oriented breakup songs I've ever heard, 2023 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Patty Loveless’s ‘90s hit “You Don't Even Know Who I Am” embodies a musical catharsis more than most sad songs of any genre or style. There’s a reason Loveless’s singing connects deeply with listeners decades after her commercial apex. I can feel the anguish in this song, and it's helped soothe me during some rough moments.
8. “And the Melody Still Lingers On (Night in Tunisia),” Chaka Khan
Whether or not people classify her music as jazz, Chaka Khan uses her voice like an instrument, as the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and other jazz legends have. And here, on an ‘80s R&B reworking of the jazz standard “A Night in Tunisia,” Khan stretches her vocal muscles and listeners’ expectations to create a highly funky, danceable record. Some serious booty shaking may or may not occur when I play this record in my apartment.
9. “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” Kris Kristofferson
As a Rhodes Scholar who started in the music business doing janitorial work at Columbia Records, Kris Kristofferson surprised everyone and wrote some of the greatest country songs ever, including this gem, which Johnny Cash recorded and took up the charts in 1970. I’ve never taken intoxicating drugs, let alone been hungover on a Sunday morning, but the desperation in these lyrics can be summed up in one line about a bell: “And it echoed through the canyons like the disappearing dreams of yesterday.” As a kid hearing this line, I could feel those disappearing dreams, and today, I still get chills typing those words. Like the Patty Loveless song above, it’s oddly provided consolation during rough moments in recovering from surgery.
10. “As Far As You Could,” Charles Kelley
Lady A (aka Lady Antebellum) member Charles Kelley’s 2022 single “As Far as You Could” is one of the most remarkable songs I’ve ever heard about alcoholic sobriety. Like many of the songs on this list, it’s not my story, but I appreciate this song greatly as a somber, sobering (no pun intended) reminder of the damage addictions can cause. The internal peace that Kelley has to sing that alcohol has “taken [him] as far as [it] could” as a goodbye letter is very moving to me.
No. 6 is the only one I recognize, but I know the habit. Whether I'm playing music on my record player, CD player, YouTube, cello, or the violin I inherited (and am definitely still learning), music heals all sorts of problems and attaches to many.