Music and Society
Music connects people emotionally. Making them feel seen by discussing feelings in songs that may not be typically discussed in conversation. Through lyrics, songs tell stories and intricate sometimes relatable details about life. Going further- music expresses beyond just words and cultivates feeling through the arrangement of sounds. Music has the power to make others feel that they're not alone in that feeling.
Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold, United States, 2022
In Em Beihold's song; Numb Little Bug, the artist shares her journey through depression, anxiety, and how taking anti-depressants made her feel "numb" inside. The timbre of the song balances sad, raw, narrated lyrics firmly sung while being accompanied by a bouncy, airy, playful piano that mimics moving through life with these negative feelings while pretending to be happy. The 4/4 rhythm remains at a moderate steady pace throughout, with little change in dynamics, additionally signifying the unfeeling chugging along through life.
In an interview, Beihold stated that she is thrilled that so many people feel comfort in relating to her song, but feels it is a sad commentary on society. "I'm getting all these messages and DMs and comments all saying 'Oh, this is exactly how I feel. I feel so seen,' and that's incredible and gratifying," she says, "But at the same time, I feel not good that so many people feel the same way!"
Beihold released Numb Little Bug at a time where getting help for mental health issues was prevalent, but still stigmatized. Releasing a song discussing her personal journey with mental health issues and medication battled this stigmatization and opened up the conversation for a lot of people who felt similarly. Having the song gain popularity and begin playing on the radio allowed more folks to feel comfortable having conversations about their own mental health.
When I first heard this song, I really connected with the lyrics, but I was also drawn in by how upbeat the song is for talking about such a heavy topic. It feels like it was positive to sing along with in a way that felt sort of freeing and made those feelings less heavy, especially because they're not being carried alone. I feel like the heaviness sort of bounces off in the same way the hand bounces off the keys of the piano.
Scars To Your Beautiful - Alessia Cara, Canada, 2016
In Scars to Your Beautiful, Alessia Cara talks from the perspective of someone outside looking in at someone living by Western feminine beauty standards. Her lyrics encourage the listener to reject these standards and the idea that they should change themselves to be beautiful- that they already are beautiful. The song is in an A minor key, portraying the sadness of living life by these standards. In terms of dynamics, the song gets louder as it goes on. This brings a feeling of power to the song; it's so determined and confident, and aligns with her goal of trying to inspire those listening to the song to feel empowered and accept themselves. For the timbre, the song begins with a piano synth that hums more like an organ, that feels sort of comforting and also mournful. This is followed by a drum and snap that picks up the pace in a way that reminds me of camera shutters, which I think adds to the effect of talking about beauty standards in a society where taking pictures and seeing them on the internet/comparing yourself to them are prevalent. The drums continue throughout the rest of the song, increasing in force and further adding to the increase in hope and empowerment.
Cara wrote Scars to Your Beautiful in an age where a lot of people, particularly feminine presenting people, felt pressure to look a certain way to feel "beautiful." Though this line of thinking is consistent throughout all ages of history, this song became high in popularity and increased conversation around the topic. The song resonated with and brought forth inspiration to the younger audiences, and encouraged them to challenge beliefs about what is needed to make someone beautiful. In an interview with Teen Vogue, Cara shares, "I was finding it really hard to be a girl in this world today. With all these expectations being thrown at us, I wanted to make women forget, and remind everyone that you don't have to conform to these standards or molds that we're expected to fit into. There are so many different kinds of beautiful, and it's about time that we start embracing all of them." I feel like there have been different ways of challenging beauty standards through music, and especially within the realm of feminine empowerment, and Scars to Your Beautiful was a popular force that didn't shy away from the darkness that is felt by being on the end of these standards, which helped move the needle more forward into a better line of thinking.
I remember listening to this song on the radio as a teenager when it came out. I was someone who was (and is) passionate about body positivity and very anti-Western beauty standards as the only way someone can be "beautiful," and so the song resonated with me, not necessarily in a "beauty standards" way but in a "reject the system" way. I found it empowering moving forward, and felt comforted knowing someone else was seeing the world the same way as me, seeing how harmful these standards are. I enjoy how strong the vocals are, how much imagery the lyrics hold, and how capturing the music feels. I feel like the music is all around me when I hear it, making me feel encompassed by the feelings and message it holds.
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