What's Your Go-To Comfort Song?

[Noah]

Everyone's had one of those days where everything that could go wrong does go wrong. You wake up, walk into a wall, spill your coffee (or tea), realize you've forgotten about a deadline, miss a meeting, and so on.

For me, I had one of those days this past week. I'm a university biology student, and it's a mid-term season, which is already stressful enough, but things were just not going my way this past Tuesday. So, I popped in my earbuds and jammed out to some music. Coincidently, the first song that came on was "Don't Be so Hard on Yourself" by Jess Glynne, and it really hit home for me and helped me get through the day. Now, when I'm having a bad day, this is the first song I queue up!

https://open.spotify.com/track/6jF1nHIMESqft9p33tQYPn?si=763edaa24528460e

So, I'll turn it over to you. What's your go-to comfort song for the days when nothing can seem to go your way?

[AdamDamon]

This is a great question, @Noah!

Nowadays when I feel down or stressed-out, I sometimes take solace in the grooving riffs and fuzzy distortion of stoner rock or psychedelic doom. Other times, I immerse myself in the otherworldly sounds of psychedelic space rock, and in doing so, disconnect from the outside world for a while. It is from the latter case that comes to mind perhaps my ultimate comforting band: Ozric Tentacles.

The Ozrics’ sound is unique and recognizable, incorporating elements of psychedelic-, space-, and progressive rock (among other genres), with a noticeable electronic influence; and their songs are nearly always instrumental. In a way, the weirdly ethereal and evocative soundscapes that the Ozrics create allow me to escape from the world for a while, and instead lose myself in their music–something that I think helps me to compose my thoughts and find a positive mindset amidst all the outside stressors.

While no one song by Ozric Tentacles comes to mind as the most comforting–in my opinion, their songs all have a similar, wonderfully psychedelic and entrancing effect that seems to elevate my mood–I do have some favorites, including “The High Pass,” from their 2015 album, Technicians of the Sacred:

https://open.spotify.com/track/7xsuMzFXfGHQwohmjPE9oO?si=6cf51674a9c041cc

With its blissed-out, synth-heavy passages, ambient atmospheres, and soaring electric guitar leads towards the end of the track, I think “The High Pass” is a great example of a song that I find to be quite comforting upon each listen. Also, around the 4-minute mark there is a sample of crows calling; I always enjoy hearing the raucous calls of crows, and think they fit perfectly in this moment of “The High Pass.”

Cheers!

[DarioGatto1]

https://open.spotify.com/album/4rApY8hbjZtTd7POolxdRs?si=ZR3mRLtbReOfGtC-n0qR3Q&utm_source=copy-link