Music has a way of healing — at least it always has for me. Through listening, studying, speculating, relating, singing, dancing, laughing and crying, music can usher in profound experiences.
My wife and I were lucky enough to see one of our very favorite bands, My Morning Jacket, last month. We’ve seen them half a dozen times and they were headlining the Friday night concert at the Park City Song Summit.
It’s not just a concert. Here’s how organizers describe the three-day event: “Song Summit is a different way to experience a music festival, emphasizing wellness, mental health, addiction recovery & inclusivity.”
It also included daily yoga and meditation sessions, song baths and a variety of fun stuff.
The concert was amazing, as always, and we were able to be right up front, in awe of greatness, all night long. It’s the kind of show that puts my aching back and knees and every other ounce of pain or negativity completely out of my mind.
My wife taught me how to surrender completely during the blissful moments live performances always bring. Holly has a disease that attacks her joints — it’s led to two total hip replacements so far. While she was suffering with a crumbling hip several years ago, seeing My Morning Jacket (MMJ) perform and the love they expressed helped her dance the night away. Even for those short two or three hours, music physically healed her.
But what I’ve experienced through and because of music has helped me more emotionally and psychologically. I’ve struggled with depression for most of my life. I’m grateful for therapy — which has absolutely saved my life — and medication that helps keep the bad chemicals in my brain at bay. Thanks to those and a couple of daily routines, I’m happy as can be … most of the time.
As more and more people continue to speak up about mental health and they’re emotional and psychological struggles, it’s easier to see what a widespread health emergency we are dealing with.
Jim James, the lead singer of MMJ, participated in one of the labs at the Song Summit. Holly and I got to see him speak for about an hour in a room of about 100 people. He was joined on stage by iconic rock photographer Danny Clinch. If you haven’t heard of Clinch, search for his photography online and I’d bet you recognize his work. He’s famously photographed the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, U2, the Beastie Boys, Pearl Jam, Tupac and probably any musician you can think of.
Their presentation was called “Regions of Light,” and they talked about touring, writing and mental health, among other things.
Clinch started by showing some of his photos and then focusing on his photos of My Morning Jacket. He’s known the band for a long time, and he showed iconic photos of them that spanned decades.
He got emotional while reading the lyrics to one of his favorite MMJ songs called “I’m Amazed.”
“This song always brings a tear to my eye, and I hope I can get through it,” Clinch said.
I’m amazed at a quiet ocean
I’m amazed at your warm devotion
I’m amazed at what the people sayin’
I’m amazed by a divided nation
Like the rhythm of the earth, I get disrupted
I’m amazed at all that has been
I’m amazed at all that will be
I’m amazed at the TV stations
I’m amazed what they want me to believe
After all is said and done, where is the justice?
I’m amazed, the lack of evolution
I’m amazed, at the lack of faith
I’m amazed, at the love we rejecting
I’m amazed, what we accept in its place
Like the rhythm of the earth
And the rhythm of the ages
Like the rhythm, I get disrupted
When Clinch asked James about songwriting, he responded, “One theme that I feel like hits me a lot is that we’re really missing the boat. We’re really missing this opportunity to love each other as people…”
He said he’s so tired of “this divide and conquer bulls---,” adding that people with power use division to make money and to separate us.
“I think it’s our job, as loving humans, to say, ‘Enough — I’ll have no part of it,’” James said. “… Music is a great reminder, and I wanna try as best as I can to remind people to love. Like, ‘Hey, don’t forget about love. Don’t forget about peace.’”
He said we all have more in common than we probably think.
“Don’t forget about the fact that … actually the person you think you hate so much, or you disagree with so much … you can find 20 things that you have in common,” James said. “You can sit down at dinner and talk to each other, and be like, ‘You know what, we don’t agree about A, B and C, but we do agree about X, Y and Z; let’s share that harmony and agreement. Let’s understand each other; let’s love each other. I just feel like we miss out on so much love.”
Clinch asked, “What makes Jim James tick?”
James’ answer — and my reaction to it — caught me off guard. I’m a big enough fanboy to know James has publicly supported mental health and has touted the benefits of therapy — and helped to destigmatize it. And I knew this presentation and festival had a strong focus on mental health. But what he said just crushed me in the moment. I felt it in my chest.
“I just try to take it day by day,” James said. “I’ve really struggled with life… most the time. … You know, everybody has their challenges, and most of the time I have not wanted to be here, and I’ve spent most of my time trying to escape.”
He credited music with helping him make it through tough times.
“Music is one of the few places I could go to be present,” he said. “But even music is some kind of wild escape, because you’re in this altered state or whatever.”
He said the last few years he’s tried to be as present as he can.
“I found a really great therapist a couple of years ago, who I really love. And I quit drinking a couple of years ago, and I’m just trying to be more and more present,” he said, receiving much applause. He later said the entire band gave up drinking and they’re feeling better than ever.
Now, he said, “I just feel so grateful to be here. … I’m just so grateful for all the love in my life. … I feel like the more present you can get … everything just becomes sweeter and sweeter and sweeter, and every day is a new gift. And I didn’t always used to feel that way.”
Is it odd that it hurt me to hear how someone I’ve never met had struggled with depression most his life? Maybe, but I felt it in my chest. Maybe it’s because past me could relate to not wanting to be here. Maybe it’s because this man, who uses his wonderful talents and angelic voice to spread love, said he’s struggled to feel loved.
When Clinch asked if James has any routines or rituals that help with his mental well-being, James said he tries to, though acknowledging that he’s failed and succeeded many times.
“I meditate,” he said, adding that he does a 15-minute yoga session in the morning to help him wake up.
Meditation has helped me a ton. I’ve experienced many, many failures with some successes, but I believe it’s important, like anything you want to improve, to practice. I’ve found that it’s very possible to experience life differently than to constantly be lost in thought. And those moments, where you can truly connect with reality, make me want to live.
Clinch asked if there was a moment when James decided to get help and see a therapist.
“Well, I’ve been in therapy my whole life to varying degrees of success… I kind of feel like everybody should be in therapy. Even if it’s just talking to somebody, it helps getting things through your system. … There’s some sort of resistance to therapy that I’ve never quite understood. I think a lot of it is left over from outdated ways of thinking.”
He said we need to normalize therapy and remove the stigmas around it and mental health care.
“There’s no shame in being depressed. There’s no shame in being suicidal,” James said. “We’ve just gotta talk about it and get more people the help they need.”
Cheers to that. And cheers to the Park City Song Summit for putting together such a positive and healing weekend. I hope to see you next year.
