12 Comments
User's avatar
Bailey Dunn's avatar

love love loved this

Brendon Holder's avatar

thank you! it’s been on my mind for a while so im glad i can return to my sad music and not feel bad about it :)

Tell the Bees's avatar

wait this is so real because i'm still hiding from mitski's new album... i know it'll devastate me. I often describe myself as the saddest person in the world but the identity is married to everything, not just the music (though the music doesn't help)

Brendon Holder's avatar

wait so many of my friends who grew up on the mitski tumblr era haven’t listened to the new one for this exact reason. maybe there becomes a time where you are well equip at articulating your own grief that you don’t need a musician to process it for you

Sydney Gore's avatar

looks like i'm the saddest girl in the world!

Brendon Holder's avatar

my friends who exclusively listen to sad music also have the best taste…. so there’s that!

Sydney Gore's avatar

also, experiencing "cellophane" live awakens something inside you... few can understand!

Aaron James's avatar

I also kind of felt like sad music helped to get those emotions out of you. A means to process those feelings as opposed to surprising them. Yes they can make you sad in the moment but getting that emotion out of you makes room for other thoughts and feelings to grow, which helps you move on as a human being

Sam Foster's avatar

This was really interesting! I would say I'm a little suspicious of the first study though - isn't it also possible that a depressed person is simply more likely to listen to sad music? I'd also say it can sometimes be a little tricky to determine if a song is "sad". Lots of blues music originates from negative emotions, but takes a variety of outlooks on them.

Also really enjoyed the Picassos scattered through the piece!

Amar Patel's avatar

For me, listening to music where the artist is anxious, uncertain or downcast can be cathartic. For how long, I don’t know.

You mentioned Damn. ‘Fear’ is a go-to track in that respect.

Cat Jones's avatar

“crying on the dance floor” is an elite genre

Lisa Kholostenko's avatar

I relate so hard. I cannot take in culture without an identity transmission. I've often asked myself all the same questions above - I think the answer is: you're an artist! Also, Jia Tolentino wrote beautifully about the Robyn Paramount show. Check it out if you haven't already <3