Axios Finish Line
By Mike Allen and Erica Pandey and Jim VandeHei ·May 24, 2023
Welcome back!
Smart Brevity™ count: 239 words … 1 min.
1 big thing: The power of sad music
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
Music has a unique ability to take us back in time, conjure up happy memories and fill us with joy.
- But it can also evoke sadness and bring us back to melancholy moments.
The twist: Many of us seek out sad songs precisely for their ability to connect us with negative emotions, The New York Times’ Oliver Whang writes.
- “We generally don’t enjoy being sad in real life, but we do enjoy art that makes us feel that way.”
- The effect can be cathartic, and even help us get through real-life tough times.
Between the lines: We also gravitate toward sad songs because they inspire a sense of connection, The Times notes.
- Engaging with someone else’s sadness — via the song — connects us to them through empathy.
Only about 25% of people say they actually feel sad when they listen to sad songs, according to U.C. Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.
- Feelings of empathy or nostalgia are more common.
Many of you have already sent us the songs associated with your happiest memories or your favorite songs for a dance party playlist. Now we want to know: What’s a sad song that moves you?
- Tell us at finishline@axios.com. We’ll feature the tunes in future newsletters!
Thanks to the staff of Axios Finish Line for this very interesting piece.
Stevie’s notes to Axios and anyone else. About the Power of Sad Music…
I grew up listening to lots of music. My mother loved all kinds of music ( mostly the current favorites and she would play them over and over.. at night and during the day)
What she played when her friends came over was quite different than what she played when it was just her and her children. She listened to jazz, music from various plays and musical
films… and then there was pop music. She turned up the radio when she was driving all of us in the car. I grew up listening to pop music quite a bit. I realized as I grew up that some of the
current music was giving me opportunities to explore feelings that some music elicited from me. Of course, it’s easier to listen to happy music than songs that are sad or angry.
I found myself playing my records quite a bit, and I liked that I could feel like I was living the same “life” that was on the records, tapes, and CDs. I like having upbeat songs when I am
working or trying to get things accomplished. When I am hearing different types of musical styles or those pop songs that evoke more serious feelings, I feel like I am living those
feelings, and I feel I know what the composer and musician are feeling when they created that piece of music. I can listen to music that is sad.. and feel everything that was in the music
and more from the way the musician and/or singer phrased it and recorded it.
Stevie Wilson
LA-Story.com
If you have a question, you can email me at stevie.wilson@LA-Story.com
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