By Alex Jesus (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: November 5, 2014
It’s safe to say that while a lot of us live happy lives (I hope), we tend to do that human thing every once in a while — break down. Now there could be a myriad of reasons for this: life struggles, problems at home, running out of coffee — the list goes on. I’ve often said music, to me, is the ultimate comfort: the universal Kleenex, maybe even the everyday pick-up we need so we don’t have a breakdown in the middle of our English 105 class. Often happy and upbeat tunes provide a lift for a bad day, but what if I told you a few solemn symphonies could do the job even better? Wait: sad music, making you feel better?
Frank Ocean once said, “When you’re happy, you enjoy the music. But when you’re sad, you understand the lyrics.” Truer words have never been spoken — or sung! Yes, listening to Pharrell Williams can be fun, unless it’s “Happy”; in that case, pace yourself for hearing the word “happy” 300 times too many.
Excluding instrumental music, lyrics are the key components to the message of a song, and are worth just as much as any instrument (this is hard to admit, being a guitar player). You can have a piano and a drum kit, but unless Sam Smith is behind that mic belting out something like “Stay with Me,” you won’t have that same impact. In times of despair we look to take comfort in the fact that someone, somewhere, has been through this. If you’re a guy who lost the love of his life, and the first song that comes on the radio is Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man,” not only are you going to identify with the lyrics, but you get a chance to let someone else do the talking for you. And when the last thing you want to do is explain to another human being why you look like you’ve been crying for 10 hours straight, the reality of someone singing the things you feel is amazing.
Music is the ultimate way of expressing emotion through sound. While a few happy tunes can temporarily lift you out of a slump, it won’t put things in perspective like a sad song will.
It’s kind of like how ice cream is the go-to comfort food when you’re sad and alone. Well, sure, eating healthy could help your self-esteem and put you on the right track, but who doesn’t want to go off the rails and polish off a tub of Ben and Jerry’s on their couch when tears are streaming?
Listening to sad music when sombre, even if you don’t want to admit it, is a guilty pleasure. If someone asks what you did on your weekend, you’ll be inclined to lie, and not tell them the part about how you bought all the City and Colour albums within a 100-km radius. Again, we may not like it, but it is what it is. Sad songs sell because so many can relate to them, and when you’re really down and out, nothing feels better than having a soft — or loud — heartfelt tune bring you back down to Earth. Let’s just hope you don’t get too caught up in it, in which case I’m officially prescribing you some Pharrell.
