Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) – John Lennon

Music to Grieve To doesn’t always have to be sad - in fact - Music to Grieve To can be anything you want it to be. The whole point of this - for me anyway - is that music makes life better - and when you’re grieving - having something that can make the slightest difference - is worth it.

One of the core ideas behind this playlist is that grief is a lonely experience - while siblings, families, close friends etc can share a semblance of what it is to lose a loved one - each person’s grief is going to be unique. It’s the times when you’re on your own - thinking of the person you loved - that grief can hit the hardest.

Sad music can help at this point - it creates empathy in the listener and helps you feel more connected to society - but I love how Tommi describes his experience. Like me he lost his dad at a similar stage in life - not too early and not unexpectedly - we both had great respect for and a great relationship with our fathers. Likewise, music played a huge part in our relationships - but here - instead of listening to their shared music and feeling sad - it’s wonderful to see how Tommi uses those shared experiences to evoke memories that make him feel good.

And while I know that not everybody has this - and that there are people who have shared musical experiences that aren’t exactly positive - if you do have a song that you shared with a loved one - go find it and put it on - you may be pleasantly surprised with how good it can feel.

As for this particular track - it’s just gotta feel good to know that when your dad was listening to this song - he was thinking of you…

You can learn more about John Lennon here:

About the Curator - Andrew McCluskey

The first visual memory I have is that of the white upright piano in Singapore, Hell and the Dark Forces lived at the bottom, Heaven and the Angels at the top, they would play battles through my fingers and I was hooked.

As a psychology graduate I studied how sound affects human performance.

As a musician I compose instrumental music that stimulates your brain but doesn't mess with your language centers, leaving you free to be creative and brilliant without distraction.

As a curator I research how music can improve your life and create flow - I can tell you what music to listen to when studying for a test and why listening to sad music can make you feel better.

As the founder of musicto I’m on a mission to inspire a global audience of music lovers and artists through the development of people powered playlists.