This is the face of someone slowly, but fiercely, crawling out of depression:
Imagine the surprised look on my face when I realized that I survived August. Truth be told, it was the worst month I’ve had in a long time. Yet, as the incomparable Cardi B once said, “Knock me down nine times but I get up ten, bitch”
Depression is one hell of a diagnosis and no matter how long I live with it, I still can’t seem to get a grasp on my brain. Thankfully, there’s music that saves my life over and over again.
Katy Perry dropped her latest album, Smile, this past Friday and it’s just the kind of joy I was looking for. Admittedly, at first it was a problem to listen to such a joyful album when I was just barely beginning to crawl out of the dark hole that I had been calling my home all of August. However, while listening I felt as if Katy Perry was sitting next to me and cheering me on as opposed to shoving her happiness in my face.
Not only is the album an eclectic compilation of amazing songs, but it lyrically rips you wide open and forces you to find the love in the world. This album dropped at the perfect time and I think we all need to listen to it.
Katy Perry is the kind of artist that is willing to let you completely in. If you move past the bright aesthetic and the intricate music videos, you will find her heart at the center of her music. Every song in Smile feels like a celebration of her being alive despite it all.
Yeah, I’m thankful
Scratch that, baby, I’m grateful
Gotta say it’s really been a while
But now I got back that smile (smile)
-“Smile”
Every melody feels like its wrapped in strength, every lyric a reminder of everything she’s overcome and I gotta say: this may just be Katy Perry’s best album. Though I’d be remiss to ignore the legendary albums she dropped at the beginning of her career, Smile feels like the one project she’s been working her entire life towards. This is a project that celebrates the person she’s become.
In “Only Love”she imagines what she would do if she had nothing to lose.
Oh, I’d call my mother and tell her I’m sorry
I never call her back
I’d pour my heart and soul out into a letter
And send it to my dad
Like, oh my God, the time I’ve waste
-“Only Love”
In “Daisies” she celebrates the dreamers and I’ve never needed a song more in my life.
They told me I was out there, tried knock me down
Took those sticks and stones, showed them I could build a house
They tell me that I’m crazy, but I’ll never let them change me
‘Til they cover me in daisies, daisies, daisies
-“Daisies”
Though every song brings its own special kind of magic, there’s no competing with “Not the End of the World”. This is the song I want playing every single time I crawl out of depression. I want this song playing when I finally get my book published. This song alone deserves the world and I thank Katy Perry for creating it.
It’s not the end of the world
No, not the end of the world
Throw on your fancy attire, fears in the fire
Don’t lose hope
It’s no funeral we’re attending
Actually, just the beginning
Throw on your fancy attire, fears in the fire
Don’t lose hope
It’s not the end of the, no, not the end of the world
-“Not the End of the World”
Here’s to music that reminds you of why you’re alive. Here’s to artists, like Katy Perry, who allow their audience into their darkness and who loudly celebrate when they get out of it.
Listen to Smile on any platform that you stream music on.