Calm the Hell Down: The Playlist
December 9, 2016 10:17 PM   Subscribe

Looking for songs to listen to while carefully not waiting for the phone to ring. Something that will help regain some of the chill that should already be there. Not looking for pure instrumentals; something that is just subtly supposed to be calm. Nothing romantic, but nothing break-up-themed either. Ideally something that acknowledges and captures this nervous energy and lets it dissipate.

Current songs:
"The Trick is To Keep Breathing" by Garbage
"Do You Feel It?" by Chaos Chaos
"Life on Mars" by David Bowie.
posted by RainyJay to Grab Bag (19 answers total) 19 users marked this as a favorite
 
Lorde's whole album would be good for this. Chill music and lyrics that encourage independence.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 11:06 PM on December 9, 2016


Let it go by Morcheeba?
posted by Heloise9 at 11:10 PM on December 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


Buzzcocks - Why Can't I Touch It.
posted by misteraitch at 12:35 AM on December 10, 2016


Zefrank's Chillout Song .

The story behind the song.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:04 AM on December 10, 2016 [1 favorite]




Sorry - Cloudbusting not Something Good!
posted by Nilehorse at 3:24 AM on December 10, 2016 [1 favorite]


Haha, Nilehorse! This is the song I sing to myself when stressed. "I just know that something good is gonna happen. I don't know when. But just saying it could even make it happen...." Kate's otherworldly voice makes you believe it. Totally get why your brain decided the name of it was "Something Good."
posted by thebrokedown at 5:47 AM on December 10, 2016 [1 favorite]


May I suggest Kind of Blue by Miles Davis? The music is chill, but it is engaged in a way that I can't quite put into words.
The whole album is available on the tubes.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 6:47 AM on December 10, 2016 [1 favorite]


Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War is my favorite Paul Simon song and has a nice lilting tempo that I always find calming.
posted by Flannery Culp at 7:13 AM on December 10, 2016


Groove Armada (more about the music than lyrics)
At the River
My Friend
posted by Gorgik at 7:21 AM on December 10, 2016 [2 favorites]


I find Calexico to be very soothing. Also, jazz if you're into that kind of thing.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:06 AM on December 10, 2016


Oh, and Morphine!
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:14 AM on December 10, 2016


All Will Be Well by Gabe Dixon Band. No idea if this is a super well-known song in the US and thus trite, but I'm British and had never heard it til it cropped up on Parks & Rec the other day and I've been listening to it on repeat ever since.
posted by penguin pie at 9:20 AM on December 10, 2016


Vienna Teng - Feather Moon
posted by invokeuse at 9:27 AM on December 10, 2016


Bread by Clem Snide. This is my go to "ease into bedtime/relaxation mode' song.
posted by Twicketface at 10:47 AM on December 10, 2016 [1 favorite]


Best answer: this is going to sound kind of nuts, but I'll just throw it out there, why not.. When I feel anxious, I sometimes listen to this youtube playlist. It used to have more songs, but some got taken down for copyright violations. But you can just youtube "Ruth Welcome" ..

She's an artist whose body of work - including my favorite, an album titled "Christmas in Zitherland" - mainly still exists only on vinyl. It is all zither. Yep, that's right, the zither. No vocals (a big plus, to me, if i'm trying to calm down.)

At first listen it may seem cheesy. That's what I thought, anyway. A while back, my grandmother replaced her old record player with a new-to-her-one of the sort that plays a "stack" of records.. she got into the habit of playing several of these Ruth Welcome zither albums. She said it put her into a meditative time-slows-down kind of state of mind. At first I'd go over there and think, "I don't know about this zither music." But, one day, after she had passed away, I got to thinking about those ole ruth welcome albums, and youtubed it.. and gave it a go myself.

Now, it could be mainly because it reminds me of her and her house, a good memory, but.. I gotta say, it works. It's slow and there's no lyrics and it really does seem to change the pace of time, somehow. I'm not even much of a fan of christmas carols, but the christmas ones are among my favorites. go figure.

Well, your mileage may vary, but I thought I'd chime in. Something a little different.

On another hand entirely, If zither's not your thing, my other suggestion is some of the soma.fm stations - http://somafm.com/ A lot of them are ambient and electronic, but some vocals as well. The fact that it's radio (over which I have no control, unlike pandora, etc) is a help to me, because if I'm working on something I won't get distracted by having to pick a new album/playlist/etc.

ps .. rats, I just re-read your post and it says not looking for pure instrumentals, hmm.. add a grain of salt to the above then.

sincere wishes for calmer feelings soon.
posted by elgee at 12:12 PM on December 10, 2016 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Across the Universe - Fiona Apple (cover)

Belong - R.E.M.
posted by Askr at 3:27 PM on December 10, 2016


Laura Mvula. Start with Sing to the Moon?
posted by slanket wizard at 4:21 PM on December 10, 2016




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