For the first time, I feel a lot of anxiety about our country. Its because of recent events. I suspect that most people, regardless of their political views, have seen, read, or experienced events that left them shaking their head if not sick to their stomach. I worry that weve become so bitterly divided that a reconciliation may not be possible, at least not anytime soon. Theres just so much anger and resentment that will be extremely hard to overcome.
I find a lot of solace in music. It makes me wonder if at some level, in some way, shape, or form, music might be the answer to bridging some problems and healing some wounds. Thats because everyone seems to share a passion for music. Its not always the same artists, songs, or genres, but theres probably some overlap between any two people.
I imagine that if you randomly took two people, no matter how politically or demographically different, and made a Venn diagram of their music, youd find common ground. Maybe finding things like music that we have in common with others is a good starting point for building a friendship or a least some level of trust.
For example, when I go to concerts, music is shared and consumed by thousands of people singing along and getting along. It makes me realize that people from across all ideologies can come together, and even form connections, over music.
Interestingly, or maybe ironically, a song popped up on my YouTube playlist last week from Frank Zappa called Trouble Every Day. The lyrics talk about social injustice, racial conflict, and sensationalist journalism. Zappa wrote the song in 1965 after watching the Watts Riots on TV. The riots, ignited by a traffic stop, resulted in 34 deaths, more than 1,000 injuries, about 4,000 arrests, and 1,000 buildings damaged or destroyed. This happened before I was born, yet the song profoundly captures current issues.
Ive read that music affects all parts of your brain, although there appears to be some debate about whether thats scientifically true or not. Regardless, science does confirm that music impacts brain function and human behavior. Its been shown to reduce stress, pain, and symptoms of depression. Thats not surprising. I always feel better when I listen to music.
Science also found that your favorite music triggers the same type of activity in your brain as other peoples' favorite tunes do in their brains. It doesnt matter if the music is Tori Amos, Iron Maiden, or Mozart. All people react the same way to their favorites, and sometimes various songs bring out different feelings, emotions, or memories.
Music is primal. It affects all of us, but in very personal, unique ways, said Jonathan Burdette, M.D, a neuroradiologist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, in an article for ScienceDaily. Your interaction with music is different than mine, but its still powerful.
Ive found that turning off the news and turning on music, by myself or with others, is having a significant and positive effect on my mental health. I highly recommend it.
Brett Martin is a community columnist whos been a Shakopee resident for over 15 years.
See more here:
Column: Embracing the power of music | Shakopee Opinion - SW News Media
- How Smart Cities Are Redesigning Human Behavior - Lakeland Connect - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- HUMAN TRAFFICKING | 'That was normal behavior': Victim recalls being 'sold' by her mother, then the aftermath of abuse - The Tribune-Democrat - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- Tech company unveils eerie new way to map human behavior: 'We're tokenizing the invisible ones' - The Cool Down - June 1st, 2025 [June 1st, 2025]
- Simulating Human Behavior with AI Agents - Stanford HAI - May 21st, 2025 [May 21st, 2025]
- 'Human behavior is the basis of the energy transition' - ioplus.nl - May 21st, 2025 [May 21st, 2025]
- Driverless taxi ride surprises with human-like behavior - Alton Telegraph - May 21st, 2025 [May 21st, 2025]
- VeChains Bold Vision to Tokenize Human Behavior - 99Bitcoins - May 21st, 2025 [May 21st, 2025]
- Study links most alligator attacks to risky human behavior - Gulf Coast News and Weather - Southwest Florida News - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- UF study finds risky human behavior is the cause for most alligator bites - The Palm Beach Post - April 19th, 2025 [April 19th, 2025]
- Study Finds 96% of Gator Bites Are the Result of Risky Human Behavior - Gizmodo - April 19th, 2025 [April 19th, 2025]
- A Growing Pathway to Understanding Human Behavior - University of Northern Colorado - April 19th, 2025 [April 19th, 2025]
- The Rehearsal S2: Nathan Fielder Explores Human Behavior - Hollywood.com - April 19th, 2025 [April 19th, 2025]
- A Bad Rap: Most alligator bites are caused by risky human behavior, UF researchers say - WCJB TV20 - April 19th, 2025 [April 19th, 2025]
- AI humanoid robot learns to mimic human emotions and behavior - Fox News - April 19th, 2025 [April 19th, 2025]
- INTERVIEW: Dying for Sex Director Shannon Murphy on Portraying Authentic Human Behavior by Blending Comedy & Drama - The Knockturnal - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- 7 Must-Read Psychology Books That Will Help You Decode Human Behavior - Times Now - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Vet shares warning against common human behavior that gives dogs anxiety - The Mirror US - March 30th, 2025 [March 30th, 2025]
- BBVA Foundation awards the psychologists who changed the way we understand and predict human behavior - WebWire - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Human behavior is driven by fifteen key motives - Earth.com - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Nature Human Behavior is back, this time touting allyship - Why Evolution Is True - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- 30 Times Courtrooms Became The Stage For The Strangest Human Behavior - Bored Panda - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- The Impact of AI on Human Behavior: Insights and Implications - iTMunch - January 23rd, 2025 [January 23rd, 2025]
- Disturbing Wildlife Isnt Fun: IFS Parveen Kaswan Raises Concern Over Human Behavior in Viral Clip - Indian Masterminds - January 15th, 2025 [January 15th, 2025]
- The interplay of time and space in human behavior: a sociological perspective on the TSCH model - Nature.com - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Thinking Slowly: The Paradoxical Slowness of Human Behavior - Caltech - December 23rd, 2024 [December 23rd, 2024]
- From smog to crime: How air pollution is shaping human behavior and public safety - The Times of India - December 9th, 2024 [December 9th, 2024]
- The Smell Of Death Has A Strange Influence On Human Behavior - IFLScience - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- "WEIRD" in psychology literature oversimplifies the global diversity of human behavior. - Psychology Today - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Scientists issue warning about increasingly alarming whale behavior due to human activity - Orcasonian - September 23rd, 2024 [September 23rd, 2024]
- Does AI adoption call for a change in human behavior? - Fast Company - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Dogs can smell human stress and it alters their own behavior, study reveals - New York Post - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Trajectories of brain and behaviour development in the womb, at birth and through infancy - Nature.com - June 18th, 2024 [June 18th, 2024]
- AI model predicts human behavior from our poor decision-making - Big Think - June 18th, 2024 [June 18th, 2024]
- ZkSync defends Sybil measures as Binance offers own ZK token airdrop - TradingView - June 18th, 2024 [June 18th, 2024]
- On TikTok, Goldendoodles Are People Trapped in Dog Bodies - The New York Times - June 18th, 2024 [June 18th, 2024]
- 10 things only introverts find irritating, according to psychology - Hack Spirit - June 18th, 2024 [June 18th, 2024]
- 32 animals that act weirdly human sometimes - Livescience.com - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- NBC Is Using Animals To Push The LGBT Agenda. Here Are 5 Abhorrent Animal Behaviors Humans Shouldn't Emulate - The Daily Wire - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- New study examines the dynamics of adaptive autonomy in human volition and behavior - PsyPost - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- 30000 years of history reveals that hard times boost human societies' resilience - Livescience.com - May 12th, 2024 [May 12th, 2024]
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Actors Had Trouble Reverting Back to Human - CBR - May 12th, 2024 [May 12th, 2024]
- The need to feel safe is a core driver of human behavior. - Psychology Today - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- AI learned how to sway humans by watching a cooperative cooking game - Science News Magazine - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- We can't combat climate change without changing minds. This psychology class explores how. - Northeastern University - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Bees Reveal a Human-Like Collective Intelligence We Never Knew Existed - ScienceAlert - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Franciscan AI expert warns of technology becoming a 'pseudo-religion' - Detroit Catholic - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Freshwater resources at risk thanks to human behavior - messenger-inquirer - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Astrocytes Play Critical Role in Regulating Behavior - Neuroscience News - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Freshwater resources at risk thanks to human behavior - Sunnyside Sun - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Freshwater resources at risk thanks to human behavior - Blue Mountain Eagle - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- 7 Books on Human Behavior - Times Now - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Euphemisms increasingly used to soften behavior that would be questionable in direct language - Norfolk Daily News - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Linking environmental influences, genetic research to address concerns of genetic determinism of human behavior - Phys.org - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Emerson's Insight: Navigating the Three Fundamental Desires of Human Nature - The Good Men Project - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Dogs can recognize a bad person and there's science to prove it. - GOOD - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- What Is Organizational Behavior? Everything You Need To Know - MarketWatch - February 4th, 2024 [February 4th, 2024]
- Overcoming 'Otherness' in Scientific Research Commentary in Nature Human Behavior USA - English - USA - PR Newswire - February 4th, 2024 [February 4th, 2024]
- "Reichman University's behavioral economics program: Navigating human be - The Jerusalem Post - January 19th, 2024 [January 19th, 2024]
- Of trees, symbols of humankind, on Tu BShevat - The Jewish Star - January 19th, 2024 [January 19th, 2024]
- Tapping Into The Power Of Positive Psychology With Acclaimed Expert Niyc Pidgeon - GirlTalkHQ - January 19th, 2024 [January 19th, 2024]
- Don't just make resolutions, 'be the architect of your future self,' says Stanford-trained human behavior expert - CNBC - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Never happy? Humans tend to imagine how life could be better : Short Wave - NPR - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- People who feel unhappy but hide it well usually exhibit these 9 behaviors - Hack Spirit - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- If you display these 9 behaviors, you're being passive aggressive without realizing it - Hack Spirit - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Men who are relationship-oriented by nature usually display these 9 behaviors - Hack Spirit - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- A look at the curious 'winter break' behavior of ChatGPT-4 - ReadWrite - December 14th, 2023 [December 14th, 2023]
- Neuroscience and Behavior Major (B.S.) | College of Liberal Arts - UNH's College of Liberal Arts - December 14th, 2023 [December 14th, 2023]
- The positive health effects of prosocial behaviors | News | Harvard ... - HSPH News - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- The valuable link between succession planning and skills - Human Resource Executive - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Okinawa's ants show reduced seasonal behavior in areas with more human development - Phys.org - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- How humans use their sense of smell to find their way | Penn Today - Penn Today - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Wrestling With Evil in the World, or Is It Something Else? - Psychiatric Times - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Shimmying like electric fish is a universal movement across species - Earth.com - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Why do dogs get the zoomies? - Care.com - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- How Stuart Robinson's misconduct went overlooked for years - Washington Square News - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Whatchamacolumn: Homeless camps back in the news - News-Register - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Stunted Growth in Infants Reshapes Brain Function and Cognitive ... - Neuroscience News - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Social medias role in modeling human behavior, societies - kuwaittimes - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- The gift of reformation - Living Lutheran - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- After pandemic, birds are surprisingly becoming less fearful of humans - Study Finds - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]