Music to Grieve to
listen to sad music and feel better with andrew
featuring artists like
The Staves, Robb Murphy, Colin Hay, Shelby Lynne, Dawes, Tim Minchin, Radiohead, Nick Cave, Tom Khan
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Listening to sad music after losing a loved one, being diagnosed with a terminal illness, or finalizing a divorce might seem counterintuitive, but this somber sounding activity has been proven to help.
Nothing can prepare you for grief, nor is there a right or wrong way to deal with it, but sad music is an easily accessible and highly effective tool that can help you begin to heal.
The music on this list is not designed to cheer you up – although oddly – after listening to it, you’ll likely feel better – it’s designed to meet you where you’re at – to connect with how you’re feeling – to create a space where you can just sit and be with your grief and to know that – that’s OK.
It covers all genres and all topics so it’s likely that not all tracks will resonate with you – but some will – and some will shake you to your core – according to the science – this is a good thing!
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Streams – Manon
23 April 2019
Life is odd.
You know what I mean? Life is just bloody strange at times – and I’m not talking about what happens to you as you go through it – I’m talking about what you do to yourself – particularly when you’re grieving…
Not Okay – Tom Khan
16 April 2019
You never know what it is about a track that will get you, but sampling Barack Obama on mental illness sure does make the intro stand out. Having had my attention caught I found myself more and more drawn to this unique track…Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
Cold Little Heart – Michael Kiwanuka
10 April 2019
Staring out the window on a beautiful day in Monterey, in an emotional coma for the last 4 days. I can’t cry and I can’t stop trying to rationalize it, shouldn’t this be illegal? Can’t I write a law? But it’s nature. It’s life. How humbling, how little control we have really. I can’t write a law. I can’t write a grievance. I can’t slam the door and walk away…
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Talk – Johannes Hirschmann
3 April 2019
It’s that time of year again – memories of deaths and funerals – photos appear in my feed and remind me of who isn’t here anymore – I drink too much and only later guess at why. It’s depressing really – you think you’re out the other side and suddenly you get slammed…
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It Was Good – Radharani
26 March 2019
Hooks!
They’re strange things, commonly associated with Peter Pan and not generally looked upon with favor. However in the music world, they’re the holy grail of songwriting, performing the same piratical function of piercing your body and getting stuck deep inside your soul…
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blue – Rose Gray
20 March 2019
There’s a lot of Loss on this playlist – I’d say nearly two thirds of the tracks reflect the loss of something in one way or another, and while we’re familiar with the physical loss of a family member, close friend or lover, it’s the mental loss that has always intrigued me…
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I Am Her. – Mike Bauer
5 March 2019
Grief and Loss.
Loss and Grief.
One follows the other surely as night follows day. How dark and how long that night will be – well – that depends doesn’t it…
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Bitter – Ely
27 February 2019
What if it really isn’t you – it’s me?
What if the underlying reason for why we broke up is that, I’m a dick!…
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Everyone I Know Has Seen A Ghost – Jonathan Titmouse
19 February 2019
People came from many miles
to say they loved you so
The mind, the trash
how loud you laughed
“The sun, the moon, he’s gone too soon.
But trust us dear, he’s here with you.“
But is he? Really? ‘cos it sure as hell doesn’t feel like it…
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Love Of My Life – Queen
12 February 2019
Valentine’s Day huh?
Oh joy – another “holiday” that fills me with dread. The celebration of love – of togetherness – of Romance with a capital R. And yes – I suppose it’s kinda cute in grade school as we establish early on that popularity is driven by looks rather than smarts and the pretty ones count their cards – but as adults – really?…
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Suspirium – Thom Yorke
6 February 2019
This is a waltz.
But this is also an offering, an offering of sweat and tears, a sea of tears for each and everyone of the deceased troubled souls of this world, dead without an inch of mercy, left too early or too suddenly, left without explanation, left without compassion, killed without regret, left with all their wounds fresh, left broken and fragmented, left without a moment of silence, without anyone to mourn them…
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What It Is – Autumn Dawn Leader
28 January 2019
I like Autumn Leader – I like this track – and while it’s a little more raw than the majority of the songs on this playlist – the lyric is undeniable. Followers of the list will be familiar with my particular disdain for platitudes and positive messages – inspirational quotes – in quotes – make me want to throw up – preferably on the person who posted them…

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 write creatively 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 a creator / contributor at musicto I believe that music can make the world better.
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