Alex Cornell

Monday

On the occasion that I wake up hungover, I always want to go to the gym to clear my system. I picture my body being made of up a thousands of little workers that get two equally daunting construction projects passed down from above. In one case, they desperately trying to repair the damage from the previous night’s storm. They consider this a top priority. Meanwhile, they are being asked to begin an entirely different construction project elsewhere, one that is basically for beautification purposes. It would be like asking a hurricane cleanup crew to build a football stadium before they cleaned the streets.

I always wonder whether it’s better to match my music to my mood, or to try and use music to alter my mood. So for example, right now I am feeling blue. Do I listen to slow and pensive music and try and match the emotion as much as possible? I think this enhances your overall emotional experience and you feel blue more intensely, but for less time. There are benefits to this; you just have to be careful not to wallow for too long. The alternative is to try and listen to happy and feel-good music to try and excavate yourself from the blue mood. This is a risky approach. If it backfires, you set yourself back by a few days.