On "The Ezra Klein Show," a Grammy-nominated musician explains how music can transform pain into joy.
By Annie Galvin Associate Producer, Opinion Audio |
I distinctly remember the first concert I felt safe enough to attend after enduring nearly two years of the pandemic. I'd returned to one of my favorite neighborhood venues in Charlottesville, Va., to see Darlingside. While I usually listen near the front of the stage, this time, I hovered anxiously toward the back of the space. As soon as the band's four-part harmonies and gorgeous string parts filled the room, I felt them in my chest. My spine tingled. Everyone in the venue perked up. Many of us cried. |
I've been a lifelong music fan, I've played music casually and I covered music as a journalist for nearly a decade. Through it all, I've been haunted by the same questions: Why does music work so powerfully on us? How is a live performance able to draw strangers into a community for a few brief hours? What can music teach us about the world and about ourselves? |
To get to the bottom of these and other questions, I invited the musician and public intellectual Allison Russell on "The Ezra Klein Show" for an episode I guest-hosted. The music on Russell's debut solo record, "Outside Child," was nominated for three Grammy Awards and named a best album of 2021 by NPR and The Times. Her music combines many genres (folk, gospel and rock 'n' roll, for starters) and her lyrics emerge out of a deeply scholarly project: She looks to books and archives to surface her own generational history, and then weaves those stories together with the pain and pleasure she has experienced in her own lifetime. |
My conversation with Russell not only provided convincing answers to my questions about music as a medium — Russell opened my mind even further to music's power, its magic, its often devastating hold over anyone who hears it played well. "It is OK to be in that place of weariness with the world," Russell told me. "It is part of our process, all of us. I don't think that any of us escapes from this life without those times of feeling very overwhelmed." While Russell expresses deep empathy for the difficulties we all face, she believes passionately in "survivor's joy," a concept that she contends we can all access, regardless of our individual experiences. |
And as an extra treat, Russell and three accompanying musicians performed four of my favorite songs, which you'll hear in the episode. Sitting in the room with them, I felt the songs in my chest and my spine. I was moved to tears. Such is the power of music, paired with great conversation. I hope the episode brings you a dose of joy, as it did for me. |
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