“Dr Noel told you”: Noel Gallagher and the cure for depression
Depression is a very serious condition, and naturally, before this article goes any further, if people are suffering from it, then they should seek professional help and get advice from a specialist. That should always be the first port of call. Outside of the medical field, there are other comforts that many people turn to when they feel sad, music being one of them, as many artists have previously spoken about the connective properties that can be carried through sound. Noel Gallagher offered no such insight, however.
The best way to explain how much it can help you when you feel low is to look at how it can acknowledge emotions that you might not say out loud. Talking about love, Thomas J Scheff writes in his book What’s Love Got to Do with It?: Emotions and Relationships in Popular Songs, “In [many] years of teaching college students, I couldn’t help but notice that for many of them, popular songs held a special meaning, as they did to me when I was their age…”
Scheff continued: “Popular love lyrics present a picture of an imagined social-emotional world, and modern societies tend to ignore this world. Since modern societies are highly individualistic, the nature of relationships usually takes a backseat. Modern societies focus on the self-reliant individual.”
In other words, when we don’t vocalise our emotions and, as a result, feel trapped within them, music provides some level of alleviation as it does acknowledge them, and we feel seen. The above talks about love, but this extends to all human emotions. Subsequently, if you ever feel sad and alone, there is likely some music out there that will express those feelings in a way you can personally connect with. That’s why so many fans of artists say their music has saved them because, in some ways, it has.
Many Oasis fans can attest to this. Sure, some of their most famous tracks are braggadocious and nonsensical, such as ‘Rock n Roll Star’ and ‘Champagne Supernova’, but they also have many heartfelt numbers too. Tracks such as ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’ and ‘Little By Little’ offer an olive branch to those who might be struggling and strengthen the connection between artist and listener.
Considering the above, however, Noel Gallagher’s advice to those who feel sad doesn’t pertain to music whatsoever. His advice stems from the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle that Oasis was so keen to embrace, stating that regardless of how you feel, this little tip will cheer up anybody.
“If you’re depressed, buy yourself a television, go to the nearest hotel, open a window, throw it in the car park,” he says, “Done. That’s your best cure for depression. Fuck your drugs and all that. Go see the doctor and tell him Dr Noel told you.”
It turns out that despite the healing properties of music and the sincerity embedded in many Oasis songs, nothing makes Noel Gallagher happier than being a straight-up rock star.
