My patron saint

My normal MO when I'm writing the dissertation is to put ONE song on infinite repeat while I'm writing, which is usually a few hours at a time. The one song that has gotten more traction than any other song over the last six months, by a couple of orders of magnitude, is Metallica's "St. Anger." No other song comes remotely close.

There is a part of me that thinks that nursing this level of sustained fury is bad for the soul. There's a much larger part of me that, at this point in my life, really couldn't give two flying fucks and knows that the raw fury that this brings will get me through the next month.

Saint Anger 'round my neck
Saint Anger 'round my neck
He never gets respect
Saint Anger 'round my neck

You flush it out, You flush it out
Saint Anger 'round my neck
You flush it out, You flush it out
He never gets respect

Fuck it all and no regrets
I hit the lights on these dark sets
I need a voice to let myself
To let myself go free
Fuck it all and fuckin' no regrets
I hit the lights on these dark sets
Medallion noose, I hang myself
Saint Anger 'round my neck

I feel my world shake
Like an earthquake
Hard to see clear
Is it me? Is it fear?

I'm madly in anger with you

And I want my anger to be healthy
And I want my anger just for me
And I need my anger not to control me
And I want my anger to be me

And I need to set my anger free.

Set it free!