The Best Mix Playlist For A Lonely Friend In Quarantine
This quarantine is affecting everyone differently. Some people have become highly skilled at Fortnite, others have learned how to make macaroni necklaces for their entire family, and some have become professional bounty hunters in search of Carol Baskin’s missing husband. But others have struggled with anxiety, depression, and losing loved ones. It’s a bizarre and surreal time in human history. But as we all know, music has a profound way of affecting people. So if you know someone who may be struggling (let’s be honest, everyone is struggling in one way or another) pay some good juju forward and make them a playlist.
Check out some of our recommendations for a playlist to lift your loved one’s spirits.
Through The Glass - Nina Storey- Sometimes a little validation goes a long way. And knowing you’re not alone in how you’re feeling is a big deal. But so is a double shot of hope. Check out this new single that will have you singing along to this love note to humanity.
The Middle- Jimmy Eat World- Proving we all don’t have to get naked at parties to find our soulmate. Or better yet, if you’re alone, in quarantine, startup that nudist colony with passion.
Rise Up- Andra Day- Feel the movement of mountains in this powerful piece. Sing along and channel your inner soul singer.
Hold On-Good Charlotte- A powerful, poignant, and a heart-felt anthem about loneliness and getting through it to see better times.
Bishop’s Knife Trick-Fall Out Boy- This is a great song for thinking about a finish line. Dig in for the duration but know there is a light at the end of this masked tunnel.
I Wanna Get Better-Bleachers- What a great honest song about being broken, vulnerable, and ready for life to get better. This song lives in an anthemic ethos.
Soldier-Gavin Degraw- You can’t help but just start swaying when you listen to this song. Plus the music video features people who are doing good things. Real stories always feel good.
Bohemian Rhapsody-Queen- I mean, come on. If you don’t enjoy listening to this song, you might be a drone from another universe. And if that’s the case, can you please share your technology for curing all that ails us.
2020 MTV VMA's Recap
This year's VMA's may have been sans the screaming crowd contingent, but they certainly didn't lack the glitter and gusto that you've come to expect from one of the flashiest awards ceremonies around. From Lady Gaga's variety of high fashion face masks to Miley Cyrus' disco wrecking ball ride, there was still plenty of glamor and glitter for the homebound audience.
Keke Palmer gracefully hosted the night, sharing the importance of ending systemic racism and honoring the frontline workers in the COVID fight. There was grace and class as the night saw awards given to BTS, Ariana Grande, and Lady Gaga who came away with four awards.
The show also paid an honorable tribute to Chadwick Boseman, the highly accomplished and revered actor who famously played Black Panther, and who recently passed away from a 4 year battle with colon cancer.
The music industry may still be in the throes of change from COVID, but night's like this, serve as a happy little escape and a reminder to everyone of just how much music can connect, heal, and inspire people beyond all boundaries.
Taylor Swift Wins Best Director
The 2020 MTV, VMA's were marked with not only the first virtual broadcast but also with a new take on live performances. Since quarantine is still under full effect, all performances were shot on closed sets. Among the notable moments of the evening, was Taylor Swift's win for best direction for her music video, "The Man", a single release from her seventh studio album, "Lover".
Swift stars in the video, playing a white male of extreme privilege. It follows her around as she boldly tramples through the day. The tone is both funny and charming and she successfully captures a day in the life of an entitled wealthy white man. She gave her acceptance speech via video as did the other performers and made a point to thank both her industry peers as well as her devoted fans.
Swift is the first woman to win this award as well. This just goes to show you, all it takes is a global pandemic for women to be acknowledged as great directors by MTV.
Animals Help Us Cope With Covid
The loss of our daily routines as we knew them—and the threat of more serious casualties to come from COVID-19—has put a serious emotional strain on all of us. So perhaps it should come as no surprise to see social media feeds flooded with photos and videos of cats, dogs, and other companion animals rising to the occasion.
Pets are serving as our companions in coping throughout the U.S., from suburban kitties taking over “office” chairs and keyboards to rural dogs hunkering down at home. Even celebrities have gotten in on the act—with Anthony Hopkins serenading his cat, and Arnold Schwarzenegger delivering a stay-at-home video PSA starring his pet donkey and miniature horse in his kitchen.
This instinct to turn to our pets during this pandemic is supported by science, said Megan Mueller, A08, G10, G13, the Elizabeth Arnold Stevens Junior Professor at Cummings School and a researcher studying how pets help people.
Pets provide nonjudgmental emotional support, she said, and studies show that “contact with pets help reduces stress and anxiety, particularly when you are experiencing a stressful situation.”
Research also has shown that animals help older adults cope better with social isolation—that is, being physically separated from others—and with loneliness, said Mueller, who is also co-director of Tufts Institute for Human-Animal Interaction and a senior fellow at Tisch College.
In day-to-day life, seniors tend to more at risk of social isolation and loneliness because of factors related to that stage of life, including spouses and friends passing away, being stuck at home due to health or transportation issues, or children being occupied with work and raising their own families.
Now, though, “everyone is truly physically isolated,” said Mueller, who is curious whether the same benefits seen in seniors apply to the general population during COVID-19.
Mueller said that people these days should consider spending extra time with their pet—it could provide a much-needed boost.
“A lot of us are connecting remotely with other people right now, and that’s great,” she said. “But pets are physically present in a way that other forms of social and emotional support aren’t these days for many people, and there’s really something to having that tactile component of petting or touching a pet.”