Wake Me Up.... With My "Alive Inside" Music Playlist

It must have been a couple of years ago when I watched a fascinating documentary called Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory. The film examined the effect of music on people, mostly elderly, suffering from Alzheimers and other forms of dementia. You'd think this would be a very depressing story, but it's not, because of the efforts of social worker Dan Cohen. He brought music players and headphones into special care residences and encouraged the residents to listen to their favourite songs. The transformation from nearly catatonic to joyous and lucid is amazing. Folks with failing memory, unhappy mood and antisocial behaviour appeared to make instantaneous changes upon listening to music of their youth. They spoke and smiled, sang and swayed... and some even danced a little, and recalled details from good times in their younger years. Even the ones who had been unresponsive to any other stimuli during treatments. 

The music obviously awakened parts of the mind (and soul?) that had laid dormant for years. The link between music and memory was clear to see. The healing power of music really must be put to more widespread use, to help bring those suffering and dwindling needlessly in isolation back to their happy and more lively selves. Cohen assembled personalized playlists of songs that would resonate with each person by first interviewing their families to learn what sort of music they grew up with. I highly recommend Alive Inside... it's unlike anything you've ever seen before. 

After watching this inspirational and emotional film, I felt I should assemble my own "Alive Inside" playlist, one that would be most likely to draw me back to the land of the living... should I ever need such a thing. So extremely nostalgic and meaningful songs are of the first order. Music that meant a lot to me when I was young and still strikes a chord with me today. 

I think that my personal playlist would consist mostly of music from my teenage years, with the odd song from my twenties and later. And there are even a couple of tunes from my pre-teens, like the Monkees and Beatles. 

In no particular order, here is my Alive Inside Playlist:

Daydream Believer, The Monkees
Roll Over Beethoven, The Beatles
Ninth Symphony, Beethoven
Sister Moonshine, Supertramp
Nobody Does It Better, Carly Simon
Shout it out Loud, Kiss
Second Hand News, Fleetwood Mac
Philadelphia Freedom, Elton John
Gravity, Max Webster
Main Title/Rebel Blockade Runner, Star Wars: A New Hope movie soundtrack
Lady Evil, Black Sabbath
You're My Best Friend, Queen
Don't Stop Believing, Journey
Lady, Styx
Closer to the Heart, Rush
Surrender, Cheap Trick
Patio Lanterns, Kim Mitchell
Boys of Summer, Don Henley
I Turn to You, Melanie C
I Believe in You, Kylie Minogue
I'm an Errand Girl for Rhythm, Diana Krall
He Is, Ghost
Emmylou, First Aid Kit

And here's a small sampling of the songs that 'ought to jog my memory: