We’ve been receiving dozens of stories from people coast to coast about the transformative power of music. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we are publishing a story every day in May.
Submitted by: Jennifer Alvarez (Twitter: @jenniferalegri, Blog: jenniferalegria.wordpress.com)
Since I was eleven years old, Lorde’s debut album Pure Heroine has been my favorite album of all time.
I associate it with the time I began to pay closer attention to music and when I learned how to play an instrument. I love every song on that album, but my favorite is “Buzzcut Season”.
The dream-like synthesizers and reverb on Lorde’s vocals provide solace, disconnecting me from reality for four minutes. “Make believe, it’s hyperreal,” Lorde sings. “But I live in a hologram with you.”
I remember being in middle school, listening to this song to distract myself from worrying about making friends and wondering how people saw me. Now, those worries seem so insignificant. We’re in the midst of a pandemic, and the future is uncertain.
Another lyric from “Buzzcut Season” that’s especially relevant now is “The men up on the news, they try to tell us all that we will lose / But it’s so easy in this blue / where everything is good.”
I’m aware that many people are facing hardships and putting their lives at risk to serve others during this time. However, I’m also aware of how privileged I am to be able to stay home and finish my last year of high school online. I’m seventeen years old now and I’ve decided to major in music when I attend college in the fall.
Life can be overwhelming and no one knows what will happen next, but I do know that “Buzzcut Season” by Lorde is a song that I can always turn to for comfort.
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