The Music I Lost and Found
How do you make driving 350 miles in hard rain actually pleasurable? Well, it’s in the music. What’s more, music can have a positive affect on your health in numerous ways.
I’M SITTING in front of a café alongside of the main drag through this little hamlet in Northern California, Sausalito. Am thinking about the long but pleasant ride home from Santa Barbara yesterday.
Although it rained hard much of the 350 miles along Highway 101, the driving experience was enhanced by one Luke Crampton, host of Santa Barbara radio station Lost and Found Radio, The Best Music You’ve Never Heard, states the byline.
Indeed it was.
Not one to seek out music on a day-to-day basis, I was, nevertheless, delighted not only by Mr. Crampton’s selection of music, but his insightful banter about the artists and their place in time and space.
Song after song held my attention and helped the endorphins flow as rain pelted the car and I passed three accidents. Sadly, by the time I passed Paso Robles, the radio signal no longer could keep up with my speedy car. For awhile, I let my space be punctuated with silence, just to let the marvelous time I had set in.
I really wanted to share my listening experience with you, but unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that Lost and Found radio has an Internet stream. Rather, the link above takes you to what appears to be a marketing site for iTunes; meaning, you can see the songs that Luke Crampton plays and then listen to fragments of them at iTunes, or buy them there. Even if that’s fine with you, what’s missed is Mr. Crampton’s insightful commentary, as well as his British(?) inflection.
UPDATE 11/28/11: Thanks to “russfrac” in the Comments below, I’ve been apprised that I dimwittingly, unwittingly didn’t realize that you can listen to Lost and Found Radio on iTunes, as well as buy the songs there heard. Simply, go to lostandfound.com and click on the “Podcast” banner which will take you to iTunes where you can listen to your heart’s content.
Music and Your Health
Now, if you’ve skipped around this blog before, it’s no surprise to you that I sometimes write about things unrelated to health matters, the purported focus of this blog. But I can concoct a relationship between just about any topic and health – music being no exception.
The reason we choose to do most things is for the experience of it, I’d argue, and listening to music is no exception. It can inspire, focus, delight and make you weepy, among an assortment of other stuff. To the extent it amplifies positive emotions and thoughts, well, this can have a decidedly physically positive result.
As eMedExpert reports in How Music Affects Us and Promotes Health:
“Music is one of the few activities that involves using the whole brain. It is intrinsic to all cultures and can have surprising benefits not only for learning language, improving memory and focusing attention, but also for physical coordination and development.”
The article goes on to describe how music can be effective for pain control, reduce blood pressure, speed post-stroke recovery, boost immunity, increase productivity, athletic performance and relaxation.
With a list like that, what doesn’t music do? Well, my house up the hill needs cleaning, so I’m going to see if my 26 year-old Bang & Olufsen can still crank a tune substantial enough to spur me on.
P.S. Hey, if anyone can find a stream to Lost and Found Radio, Santa Barbara, with Luke Crampton, please let us know in the Comments below. Not needed, thanks… see UPDATE above.
Last Updated on February 27, 2022 by Joe Garma
