Emotions
No matter where you are right now, if you listen really hard, you can probably hear Gotye and Kimbra’s song Somebody That I Used To Know. Hell, you’ve probably been humming it all day. It’s as ubiquitous as the waft of cherry blossoms and has racked up 140,000 sales (double platinum!), 6 million views on YouTube and a legion of international twitter fans via Ashton Kutcher, Katy Perry and others with actual music taste.
It’s a very sad song making a lot of people very happy. So why has Gotye and Kimbra’s paean to pain resonated with music fans all over the world? It’s a tricky question but one I can answer for you, curious reader.
Partly, it’s about empowerment. A tight arrangement, catchy verses and soaring chorus can make you forget all about that person what dun you wrawwwng. But mostly it’s not about that at all. Mostly it’s about recognising – almost subliminally – that a sad song has more truth in it than a happy song.
Continue reading "Rolling in the deep: Why sad songs make us happy" »
Whenever I read the word ‘contagious’ I think of chicken pox and the summer I spent scratching myself stupid as an eight year old.
My younger sister caught it from a school friend the week before and I remember my mum telling us to keep close to each other in a bid to hit all thee kids at once.
And it worked. Before you knew it I was covered in Pinetarsol and ensconced in the shade of the back yard with a pile of books.
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annabel says:
in all seriousness i suffer from clinical depression, my husband has had a couple of weeks where i swore he was as well. interestingly enough about 9/10 friends of mine have it also. maybe we are attracted to one another. Read more »
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Julia says:
I’ve just done up the front yard. I wonder how long it will be before the rest of the street starts to think they should do theirs up? I think this isn’t about contagiousness but about remembering. Oh, it’s been raining for a month and the grass is hip high,… Read more »
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