Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance Recommended Recovery & Reconnection Records - listen to them here -
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlpN8mmVl6oEXzOHptbPABCc2Sv95iqC-
Hi! I'm Mike - this is Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance. Welcome!
In uncertain times, many readers (and creators) struggle with focus, motivation, and emotional balance. Today, I explore something deeply personal yet powerfully scientific: music as a force for healing and renewal.
This episode of RiffRaff’s Reading Renaissance launches a new subseries, TOMTOM (The Old Man Talks Of Music), examining the profound relationship between music and the human brain — grounded not in sentiment, but in neuroscience.
If music truly engages the same neural systems as sorrow and ecstasy — could it also help us endure difficult seasons?
We explore three remarkable books:
Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks - How music survives brain trauma, unlocks memory, and reorganizes neural pathways.
This Is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin - Why music triggers universal emotions and may be evolutionarily essential.
The World in Six Songs by Daniel Levitin - How six fundamental song types shaped cooperation, memory, spirituality, and love.
We discuss:
- Music and Parkinson’s, stroke recovery, and Alzheimer’s
- Dopamine, oxytocin, cortisol, and neural reward systems
- Music as social bonding and evolutionary adaptation
- Why music activates the same brain regions as grief and joy
Timestamps & Chapters
00:00 What's on my mind
01:56 TOMTOM - a new series of books & music
03:38 Musicophilia – Oliver Sacks
05:35 Daniel Levitin & Evolutionary Music
07:19 Your Brain On Music (Robert Sapolsky's foreward)
08:41 The Six Types of Songs Explained
13:22 The Science of Music, the Brain, Grief & Joy
14:23 RRRR Recommended Recovery & Reconnection Records
15:55 Global Collaboration Playlist
16:33 AMERICA
18:46 ENGLISH
21:57 CELTIC
23:32 AFRICAN
25:39 WORLD COLLABORATIONS
28:04 Listening for Soul Healing
28:57 Wrap Up & Thank You
Finally, I share a carefully curated global playlist celebrating collaboration across cultures — from folk traditions to world fusion — designed to calm chaos and reconnect us to our shared humanity. Listen to it here -
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlpN8mmVl6oEXzOHptbPABCc2Sv95iqC-
Featured artists include:
[AMERICAN]
Simon & Garfunkel, Loreena McKennitt, Judy Collins, Gillian Welch, Stan Rogers
[ENGLISH]
Coope Boyes & Simpson, Pentangle, The Imagined Village, June Tabor & The Oysterband, Fairport Convention
[CELTIC]
Bill Whelan (Riverdance), Sting & The Chieftains, Andy Irvine & Paul Brady, Dougie Maclean, Dick Gaughan
[AFRICAN]
Paul Simon (Graceland), Tananas, Rokia Traore, Juluka, Toumani Diabate & Ballake Sissoko
[WORLD]
Mariza, Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares, Ry Cooder & V M Bhatt, Buena Vista Social Club, AfroCubism
Let me know:
Would you like more music-and-book crossovers?
Or shall we return strictly to mainstream book content?
Like, subscribe, ring the bell and comment — it genuinely helps the channel reach fellow readers in need of renewal. Thank you.
And for the almighty algorithm :
#MusicAndTheBrain #MusicNeuroscience #HealingThroughMusic
#Musicophilia #OliverSacks #DanielLevitin
#ThisIsYourBrainOnMusic #TheWorldInSixSongs
#BooksAboutMusic #BookTube #NonfictionBooks
#MusicPsychology #CreativeHealing #Resilience
Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance Recommended Recovery & Reconnection Records - listen to them here -
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlpN8mmVl6oEXzOHptbPABCc2Sv95iqC-
Hi! I'm Mike - this is Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance. Welcome!
In uncertain times, many readers (and creators) struggle with focus, motivation, and emotional balance. Today, I explore something deeply personal yet powerfully scientific: music as a force for healing and renewal.
This episode of RiffRaff’s Reading Renaissance launches a new subseries, TOMTOM (The Old Man Talks Of Music), examining the profound relationship between music and the human brain — grounded not in sentiment, but in neuroscience.
If music truly engages the same neural systems as sorrow and ecstasy — could it also help us endure difficult seasons?
We explore three remarkable books:
Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks - How music survives brain trauma, unlocks memory, and reorganizes neural pathways.
This Is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin - Why music triggers universal emotions and may be evolutionarily essential.
The World in Six Songs by Daniel Levitin - How six fundamental song types shaped cooperation, memory, spirituality, and love.
We discuss:
- Music and Parkinson’s, stroke recovery, and Alzheimer’s
- Dopamine, oxytocin, cortisol, and neural reward systems
- Music as social bonding and evolutionary adaptation
- Why music activates the same brain regions as grief and joy
Timestamps & Chapters
00:00 What's on my mind
01:56 TOMTOM - a new series of books & music
03:38 Musicophilia – Oliver Sacks
05:35 Daniel Levitin & Evolutionary Music
07:19 Your Brain On Music (Robert Sapolsky's foreward)
08:41 The Six Types of Songs Explained
13:22 The Science of Music, the Brain, Grief & Joy
14:23 RRRR Recommended Recovery & Reconnection Records
15:55 Global Collaboration Playlist
16:33 AMERICA
18:46 ENGLISH
21:57 CELTIC
23:32 AFRICAN
25:39 WORLD COLLABORATIONS
28:04 Listening for Soul Healing
28:57 Wrap Up & Thank You
Finally, I share a carefully curated global playlist celebrating collaboration across cultures — from folk traditions to world fusion — designed to calm chaos and reconnect us to our shared humanity. Listen to it here -
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlpN8mmVl6oEXzOHptbPABCc2Sv95iqC-
Featured artists include:
[AMERICAN]
Simon & Garfunkel, Loreena McKennitt, Judy Collins, Gillian Welch, Stan Rogers
[ENGLISH]
Coope Boyes & Simpson, Pentangle, The Imagined Village, June Tabor & The Oysterband, Fairport Convention
[CELTIC]
Bill Whelan (Riverdance), Sting & The Chieftains, Andy Irvine & Paul Brady, Dougie Maclean, Dick Gaughan
[AFRICAN]
Paul Simon (Graceland), Tananas, Rokia Traore, Juluka, Toumani Diabate & Ballake Sissoko
[WORLD]
Mariza, Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares, Ry Cooder & V M Bhatt, Buena Vista Social Club, AfroCubism
Let me know:
Would you like more music-and-book crossovers?
Or shall we return strictly to mainstream book content?
Like, subscribe, ring the bell and comment — it genuinely helps the channel reach fellow readers in need of renewal. Thank you.
And for the almighty algorithm :
#MusicAndTheBrain #MusicNeuroscience #HealingThroughMusic
#Musicophilia #OliverSacks #DanielLevitin
#ThisIsYourBrainOnMusic #TheWorldInSixSongs
#BooksAboutMusic #BookTube #NonfictionBooks
#MusicPsychology #CreativeHealing #Resilience
