It seems like everyone is detoxing themselves from one thing or another these days, whether it be dairy, social media, an ex - You name it and there is probably someone on the internet telling you to free yourself from something in your life. One detox that does not seem to have much hype behind it is the music detox. I resisted listening to music for one week, and I actually didn’t implode. As someone who listened to 64,199 minutes of music in 2020 (stats provided by the wonderful Spotify Wrapped), one could say I dabbled in the occasional song. Why, might you ask, would someone want to detox from such a seemingly innocent and joyous medium such as music? Well, since you asked, I'll tell you.
I was skipping song after song. Even Fleetwood Mac. Yes, you heard that right.
Say what you want about Fleetwood Mac, but let’s be clear - No one skips Fleetwood Mac. I knew that when I hit skip before even hearing Stevie Nicks’ mesmerizing voice in Dreams, that I had a problem. I felt like I couldn’t find a song that satisfied me, and in a world oversaturated with music, that seemed impossible. But there I was, skipping through songs faster than a little kid popping skittles. It would be easy to blame my entire generation for having a short attention span, but even this behavior was out of the norm for me.
I found myself listening to the same songs - I call them my junk food songs.
Everyone has those reliable songs that you can always play and you know that you will be satisfied. Well for me, those songs stopped doing the trick. I sound a bit like a drug addict, but in a way music resembles a drug. You can become addicted to filling those gaps of silence in your life with sounds that make things seem a little bit less lonely. However, when you become addicted to music, there is no step up from that drug, you simply burnout.
I couldn’t brush my teeth without music.
I found myself needing music to be playing in the background of every occasion, even something as mundane as brushing my teeth. To me, music has always been a way of creating a soundtrack to my very own life. Some movie soundtracks are unforgettable, such as in Baby Driver, Black Panther, and Dirty Dancing, just to name a few. When I discovered the art of playlist making, I was simultaneously discovering the indulgent act of curating one’s life playlist. 535 playlists later, I put a pause on my impulsive playlist making and decided to work on curating the ones I already have. As thrilling as it was to glamorize my life with playlists, I came to the jarring realization that I was being taken out of the present moment to exist in a moment that did not belong to me.
After reading this it probably seems like I put down my headphones, cancelled my Spotify membership, and never listened to music again. Heck no. Music is an absolutely life-changing medium that I will never give up, nor should I. There is value in understanding the idea of too much of a good thing, as well as balance.
Choosing to drive in silence, run in silence, shower in silence, turned out to be not so silent after all. When you unplug, other sounds become more magnified. While running, I grew to appreciate the steady sound of my sneakers pounding on the pavement, and the birds chirping as if they were cheering me on. In the car there were not so many external noises, but internal noises. I grew to value my car rides as a time of reflection and deep thought. This sentiment reminds me of the song, “Car Radio” by Twenty One Pilots which I listened to in my angsty middle school years before I even realized how poignant the lyrics are.
After a week when I began to listen to music again, I found that I took much more pleasure in the listening experience. The music once again began to lift me up and inspire, while not overtaking my present experience. I will continue to do music detoxes when needed, as well as detoxing my body and mind from any stimuli that can overwhelm the senses and dulls one’s experience. Music should be the spice to life, without making it the main dish. Balancing the music humans create with the music of life’s everyday sounds certainly helped me become more present, and this idea of balance is an idea that has many applications in life. I wholeheartedly suggest a music detox if you find yourself to be overstimulated and overwhelmed by constantly listening to music. Who knows what you might hear in its absence?
Happy and mindful listening folks! If you want access to the madness that is my Spotify, you can find it here.