Music for the Soul

I've never really been 'into' music.  Not that I don't like it, I love it, but I've never followed bands, gone to concerts really, and I always only like main stream stuff.  Not because the alternative, less than main stream stuff isn't good, but because I'm a bit lazy and I'm not interested in 'discovering' anything... My music is brought to me by the radio... can't get much easier than that.  I listen to two stations and genres of music.  Mainstream 'pop' (think Bruno Mars, Rhianna, Kelly Clarkson... I can't think of a single other artist at the moment) and mainstream 'new country' (think Toby Keith, Rascall Flatts, Sugarland, Lady Antebellum).

The music I download is primarily based on my exposure to this music by the radio... I'll buy a whole album sometimes of the artist that I like (Dean Brody, Jason Aldean) but hardly ever venture out of my comfort zone.

I've been mocked relentlessly in the past for being musically stunted and I honestly don't care.  It's where I feel at home, mostly the country and like comfort foods, I have comfort songs.  So, that pretty much outlines how much of a musicphile I am, which brings me to my question.

 

When you hear a song... that you know and love, and turn it up and sing along, why can it heal you?  What in that music can make you feel?  And for those of you that do this and know that you can't really sing well, what is it about belting out a tune, out of key that makes you feel good inside?

 

The reason that I ask is sometimes, when I'm feeling especially shitty, I sit in my car before I go in and sing along to a song that comes on the radio.  I sing at the top of my lungs and my heart and soul are filled with what feel like tiny bubbles of happiness.  I'm not a good singer.  I'm not terrible and I've been known to be in singing groups in the past, but I don't practice and I'm certainly no soloist.  But certain songs, at a certain volume, in a certain moment give me a glee that is not usually present these days.

 

They say music heals the soul and I have no reason to believe that that isn't inately true.  It wraps around you like a warm blanket and for a moment, you can lose yourself in the comfort of a story you've heard a million times.  Does it matter that it's a song played 100 times a day on a radio station that doesn't measure up to the standard of a real audiophile?  Not to me.

 

What song do you sing along to at the top of your lungs when you're alone?  How does that experience make you feel?