Cry About It
Playlist and article by: Gunakkshi Garg
The playlist says “cry about it”, and it is a request, not a jibe. I was inspired to make this playlist while talking to one of my closest friends. He told me he hadn’t cried in years, and that the day before, he was talking about his anxiety with another friend. He had been struggling with depression on and off for the past few years, and decided to talk about it with this trusted friend. The response he got was “Damn, what are gonna do– cry about it?”. He laughed about it with me but I felt my heart was going out to him. I know so many boys, boys I grew up with, who lost their ability to cry, to express, to exist freely, somewhere along the way.
Patriarchy and its dual-sword nature ensures this. Masculinity is attributed to a ridiculous notion of “strength” and “toughness”, and has been reduced to lifeless rigidity. Surveys find that 40% of men don’t talk about their feelings with their close friends, 70% of deaths by suicide are committed by men, and nearly 1 in 10 men experience feelings of anxiety and depression on a daily basis. These numbers reflect the truths we already know: men’s mental health is not properly addressed due to the false, yet widespread, image of “manhood” perpetrated throughout popular culture. An attempt to shatter these notions through music is made through the playlist- “Beyond the Binary”, you should check it out! (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZOzPr2DmpDa5o8h2ayUDZ?si=S8uKGePtQZuElTx36p9ytw&pi=u-bauSDJW-Siex )
“Who told you boys don’t cry? Now, that’s a lie. You keep holding in, while giving out love deeper than your skin.”
- “Boys Cry”, Oscar Scheller
In keeping with the direction of this song, the playlist has heartbreaking melodies to remind you you’re not alone in whatever you’re going through, and many others to remind you that boys should, in fact, cry about it. Everyone should.
So, this playlist is an effort to tell all boys (and ultimately, all people that don’t let themselves cry), that please, cry. It will release you in the most cathartic manner.
The cover of the playlist features an artwork by Russian artist, Alisa Yufa, of a dreary corridor that dampens one’s mood– meant to symbolise a challenging and morose mental state. Against it are contrasted the words, “Cry About It”: a light-hearted jibe that works as well as a band-aid does on a fracture. Here, it is meant not as a sarcastic jibe, but as a request. Cry about it.
As always, I hope you enjoy the journey: beat by beat, heartbeat by heartbeat.
Listen to the playlist here! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/29ugDlSPaRkpFzNDFeI9fZ?si=SyVEeXUsTyWpzirlqASKxg&pi=u-aAz8SQmcRr6g
