Pearl Jam
A cover originally written by Victoria Williams, this Pearl Jam rendition tells the story of a marginalized, possibly mentally…
outsiderhood and stigma small-town cruelty and complicity fear versus compassion
Neil Young
A spare, hymn-like address to fear and mortality, written for Jonathan Demme's film about a man dying of AIDS-related illness…
mortality stigma and shame need for belonging
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth's "Schizophrenia" builds a fractured character sketch around a woman whose mental illness is treated with unsettling…
mental illness and stigma unreliable perception family cruelty
Florence + the Machine
A song about anxiety as a physical predator and dancing as the only available exit from it. Florence Welch frames mental illness…
anxiety and mental illness stigma and self-doubt catharsis through music/dance
B.B. King
B.B. King uses a first-person narrator identified as an aging traveling musician to plead for dignity and recognition, framing…
itinerant hardship dignity under judgment aging and endurance