Metallica and the Miner

Doctors are playing Metallica for rescued West Virginia miner Randal McCloy, according to a story in the New York Daily News.

The story suggests that the music was more the doing of his wife than his doctors, but there's evidence that music might help mitigate some of the brain damage he seems to have suffered. As this brief piece indicates, rhythm stimulates the lower limbic brain, which is pretty deep in our core. If anybody can shake Randal back to the world, then Metallica can. Their stuff is a lot more rhythmically sophisticated than most heavy metal, so perhaps he's in good hands. But a thought experiment - would it be better for a patient in his condition to have music playing that he likes and with which he is familiar, or something theoretically more effective for its complexity. Is it possible, for example, that recordings of Indian music or African drum ensembles would do more to rewire or repair damaged parts of the brain? Or is this just about making Randal feel more at home? I do not have these answers.

For a general orientation to music therapy, check HERE.