What do we listen to when all the news is bad? Music is motivating, but over the past year, in a hailstorm of political outrage we couldn’t have prepared for even if we’d known, old playlists haven’t always kept up. We want to feel energized by the history of artistic activism, but we also deserve time to log off, escape, and recharge. What does resistance sound like in 2017?
For the past few months, SPIN has asked some of the musicians we know to share, in many words or few, the music they turn to—for inspiration, catharsis, or comfort—when things just aren’t okay. Below, read their responses and hear the songs that help each of them navigate tumultuous times.
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249132″ title=”Brother Ali” index=”” image_id=”249134″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249145″ title=”D∆WN” index=”” image_id=”249149″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249171″ title=”Eva Hendricks of Charly Bliss” index=”” image_id=”249172″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249088″ title=”Feist” index=”” image_id=””]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249153″ title=”Forest Swords (Matthew Barnes)” index=”” image_id=”249156″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249173″ title=”Jacques Greene” index=”” image_id=”249177″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249161″ title=”Jens Lekman” index=”” image_id=”249165″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249151″ title=”Julia Holter” index=”” image_id=”249152″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249180″ title=”” index=”” image_id=”249182″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249123″ title=”Julien Baker” index=”” image_id=”249130″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249111″ title=”Kurt Wagner of Lambchop” index=”” image_id=”249117″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249093″ title=”Maggie Rogers” index=”” image_id=”249102″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249166″ title=”Matt Palmer of Sheer Mag” index=”” image_id=”249170″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249158″ title=”Michelle Branch” index=”” image_id=”249160″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249178″ title=”Ryuichi Sakamoto” index=”” image_id=”249179″]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id=”249141″ title=”Xenia Rubinos” index=”” image_id=”249143″]
