Session soundtrack: ACLU SD makes playlist for a robust democracy

Whether you’re for a specific bill or against it, there’s plenty of work to do, calls to make, letters to write, legislative coffees and cracker barrels to attend.

Sometimes, you just need to jam out to some good music.

While scientists are still trying to figure out what exactly is going on in our brains when we listen to music and how it produces such potent effects on the psyche, studies have shown that listening to music has the ability to pump us up, calm us down and, according to Daniel Levitin, a prominent psychologist who studies the neuroscience of music at McGill University in Montreal, reduce anxiety and stress better than prescribed drugs.

That’s why the ACLU of South Dakota has created a legislative session playlist on Spotify. The playlist is a locally curated list of eclectic songs and includes:

·        “I’m Just a Bill” by Deluxe Folk Implosion

·        “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” by Tracy Chapman

·        U.N.I.T.Y” by Queen Latifah

·        “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister

·        “Young Americans” by David Bowie

·        “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor

The 23-song playlist is available at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2QY8Ak56wa3xO1IOjddyfO.