Riding the Radiowaves, Music as a Liferaft

By Maria Wuerker

It’s 2:30 AM, and I’m making another playlist. I’ve been here so many times over the past six (seven? eight?) months, and music has become my go-to. My playlists have slowly become a heavily curated assortment of genres ranging from ‘80s soft rock to riot grrrl to a brief foray into international heavy metal. (If you’re looking for some killer hard rock in Maori, Alien Weaponry is your band.) I’ve spent months counting down to music releases and subsequently listening to those releases on repeat once they’re out. Before the pandemic, I would have described my relationship with music as casual. I had the songs that I had been listening to for a few years. Occasionally I would add in some new ones to my rotation, but it wasn’t something that I would actively track. Now, I would describe it as a (mostly) healthy pastime. Of course, there are the nights like this one where I’m up until the early hours of the morning searching out that new sound or lyric that’s going to be exactly what I need to hear, but what follows are days filled with thoughtful lyrics, a melody or beat that gives me the energy I need to stay motivated and allows me to enter a headspace of focus or one of having fun.

I have taken countless car rides through the back roads of my town, listening to the perfect song just as I crest the top of that one hill that always makes my stomach flip as I begin the descent down; I have sat on mornings filled with quiet whispers of music as I drink my tea and begin my day’s work; I have attended socially distant dance parties with friends in parking lots; and I have trekked on hikes in the woods, sweet strains of classical music keeping me company as I trace the course of a stream. Music has been my constant companion this year in a way that people could not be. Music has been a tangible presence in my room. I’ve danced with Pale Waves; I’ve cried with Phoebe Bridgers; I’ve screamed out my frustration with Wage War. Even though I’ve made collaborative playlists with friends, curated playlists for my friends, talked with friends about those eagerly awaited music releases, the experiences that I’ve been missing are set into the feelings that my music allows me.

Music as a Liferaft

While music has been a positive force in my life always and has allowed me to feel that sensation of the shared human experience countless times before, this year has brought us closer together. It’s made me more introspective and consequently has made the music I listen to a more integral and personal part of me. Music has sparked inspiration in my writing this year, inspiring me to enact vignettes from song lyrics on a page. I’ve tracked the creative processes of some of my favorite lyricists on Twitter and read countless articles about the inspirations that drive my favorite musicians. I’ve been awed by the ways in which creators have managed to find inspiration from the times we’re in. Despite the circumstances, artists have had virtual concerts, meet-and-greets online, Twitch streams, socially distant music video shoots, and perhaps most amazingly, new music releases.

I’m not the only one who has felt a deeper connection with music this year. To get some insight into how the events of the year have allowed for artists to create and develop their music, I spoke with Mary Bragg Burmeister, a freelance model and musician based in LA and Nashville, about how this year has allowed her to reconnect with her music after a hiatus during which she was focused solely on modeling. “I looked at my guitars and decided to pick them back up again and spend the time wisely and used music as a coping mechanism or therapy,” Bragg said. When asked whether she thought her music and lyrics had changed due to the events of 2020, she said, “I feel like [my music] has grown a lot. It’s a lot more mature. I’ve had to do so much internal reflection.” Bragg is planning on recording some of the music she has written over the course of this year sometime in late 2020 or early 2021, so keep your eyes peeled for her on your release radars!

It’s clear that for many, whether directly creating or simply consuming music, this year has been one that has allowed music to fill in those spaces in our lives that have been left empty due to the coronavirus and its many complications. Music provides a medium to keep us connected, even while we’re six feet apart.