"What came first, the music or the misery?

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Did I listen to music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to music? Do all those records turn you into a miserable person?

People worry about kids playing with guns, and teenagers watching violent videos; we are scared that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands - literally thousands - of songs about broken hearts and rejection and pain and misery and loss. The unhappiest people I know, romantically speaking, are the ones who like music the most; and I don't know whether music has caused this unhappiness, but I do know they've been listening to sad songs longer than they've been living their unhappy lives."
- Nick Hornby, High Fidelity

In the words of a million essay titles - discuss.

p.s. Focus should be placed on the concept of ROMANTIC unhappiness as opposed to unhappiness in general.

― thingsinshoals (uptoeleven), Friday, 25 March 2005 19:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Pink Floyd when you're 12 to thread.

― shookout (shookout), Friday, 25 March 2005 19:38 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't think music can induce romantic unhappiness, but maybe the wrong stuff too early can lead to unrealistic idea(l)s.

Then again, I once told an ex-lover she might be less depressed if she listened to ragga first thing in the morning rather than Lou Reed.

― Ferlin Husky (noodle vague), Friday, 25 March 2005 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

To crib Chris Morris - in 2Unlimited's "No Limits" they sing the word "no" twelve times in a row. That's got to have a bad effect.

― Webb Friendly (Webb Friendly), Friday, 25 March 2005 19:41 (twenty-one years ago)

My formative years were spent with morrissey, david gedge and bobby wratten as my three biggest musical obsessions. and I'm relatively well adjusted, have a happy relationshipthat works well and am by all rights one of the happiest people i know.

so i call "bunk theory" at least from my vantage point

but it sounds nice, especially when delivered by John Cusack

― rentboy (rentboy), Friday, 25 March 2005 19:47 (twenty-one years ago)

anyone who gleans romantic wisdom from pop-song lyrics deserves whatever's coming to them

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Friday, 25 March 2005 19:49 (twenty-one years ago)

the misery is primordial

― Yngwie AlmsteenMay (sgertz), Friday, 25 March 2005 21:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Crap movies like "Love Actually" are more to blame for unrealistic romantic expectations than innocuous pop songs.

― darin (darin), Friday, 25 March 2005 21:46 (twenty-one years ago)

What came first--Rush or D&D. Or to be less cryptic, I've been listening to music too much since I was like 8, and didn't want to hear any love songs until I was in college. Back in the day, gimme the Floyd, or the Zeppelin songs about the Dark Lord. I didn't prefer girls over that stuff until I was well into my teens. (which is one of the reasons I think Hornby's a bit of a poseur--seriously, all that Motown talk in that book, and not a single mention of Hawkwind.)

― Elric of Melnibone, Friday, 25 March 2005 22:07 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know, but I know that when i was in high school and convinced nobody would ever look at me, all i wanted to hear was songs about bad relationships -- Afghan Whigs, "Black" by Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails.

But I'm not sure white teenagers listened to happy music in the mid-90's at all anyhow.

― Lyra Jane (Lyra Jane), Friday, 25 March 2005 22:46 (twenty-one years ago)

maybe the ravers

― Silky Sensor (sexyDancer), Friday, 25 March 2005 23:20 (twenty-one years ago)

darin rigoddamnediculously OTM.

― Matt Chesnut, Saturday, 26 March 2005 02:21 (twenty-one years ago)

The misery came before I played Joy Division incessantly to the point where I can't listen to them anymore because they dull me. Even though I'm not as low these days, I still need a stronger fix than that when down in order for there to be something to empathise with and Breathless and The Comsat Angels have a darker sound.

― What we want? Sex with T.V. stars! What you want? Ian Riese-Moraine! (Eastern Ma, Sunday, 27 March 2005 18:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I deserve what's coming to me.

― Alba (Alba), Sunday, 27 March 2005 20:12 (twenty-one years ago)

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