Emotional Masochism Through Music

When we listen to music, do we really think about why we are listening to that particular song? What emotions are stirred up and brought to the surface? One of my favourite quotes about music comes from the movie “High Fidelity,” where the protagonist says: “do we listen to pop music because we are miserable, or are we miserable because we listen to pop music?”

This is a very good question to consider. Does the way we feel at the time really have that much of an effect on the songs we play? I would say yes, it has SOME effect. It really depends on the person’s state of mind at the time, the mood they are in and the general atmosphere. There are many factors to consider.

For example, if someone has just had their heart broken, listening to say, “Grenade” by Bruno Mars would normally intensify their feeling of loss. So really, is it that the initial pain we experience after having our heart torn to shreds is so intense that it makes us sadistic enough to endure listening to a sad song? The comforting idea that someone else feels exactly the same as you do, or is in the same situation, is all too appealing. That possibly why we are drawn to certain songs, more than others, depending on the way you feel at the time. Or is it that we listen to the sad song and it somehow makes the pain more intense because the song itself is so sad?

The protagonist goes on to say that many people in today’s society worry about children playing violent video games and the effects it can have, but not the influence of music on a person. How a few lyrics and a bit of music put together can have such an effect on a person and the way they are feeling. In this day and age though, music has become more extreme and has a tendency to become the scapegoat for people’s actions. That’s why a line has to be drawn. Music is powerful enough to intensify a person’s feelings of loneliness, loss, pain, or even happiness, but could it also drive people to do things that they usually wouldn’t do?

Why exactly do we listen to music? Do we simply seek out a tune to compliment the way we feel at the time, or is there another reason? Does it give a person the extra ammunition to act out, because “that’s what the song told them to do,”? Music has that kind of power, most people just don’t realise this. We could spend forever trying to decipher the connection between the song and the listener, without coming to any real conclusion. The protagonist’s question still remains, however. So next time you are happy or sad and you are searching for a song to play, stop and think about why you want to play a certain song. Will it make you happier? Will it comfort you? It all comes down to what you expect when you play it. Choose wisely.