The Monkey Mind Chronicles » Anxiety Jukebox

And he shall be Levon

Daniel Smith — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:43:00 +0000

The recent death of Levon Helm, which saddens me to no end — he was, as Bob Dylan says, a great spirit — seems a good opportunity to revive our Anxiety Jukebox feature with one of The Band’s most beautiful songs, “Stage Fright.” Levon doesn’t sing, with that tragic nasal twang he had, on this one; he’s playing drums. But he’s playing them with his customary brilliance. And hell, it’s a great tune.

Chillout

Daniel Smith — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:58:56 +0000

Receiving the gift of Christine Lavin’s song yesterday made me think back to a really sweet and compassionate project the indomitable Ze Frank did some time ago. A fan, overwhelmed by anxiety, wrote to Ze asking him to put together a “nice sweet calmdown song.” He did, and the result is just great. YouTube version of the song after the jump, but I recommend the full narrative experience.

The Age of Anxiety: A New Song

Daniel Smith — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:36:00 +0000

Reader Christine Lavin, a singer-songwriter, was inspired by my NYT article on anxiety to write the following song. Check it out. It’s fantastic. And if you haven’t seen Jason Good’s video, be sure to watch that, too.

The Age Of Anxiety by Christine Lavin from christine lavin on Vimeo.

Anxiety Jukebox: Mainstream Edition

Daniel Smith — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:04:33 +0000

If will.i.am is anxious, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Anxiety Jukebox Fridays!

Daniel Smith — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:15:19 +0000

Fridays are Anxiety Jukebox days here at the Chronicles. This means that every Friday, so long as I’m not paralyzed with self-hatred or indolence, I will bring you a song about, invoking, or (sometimes) intended to soothe anxiety.

First up is a lovely little ditty by Jeffrey Lewis called “Anxiety Attack.”