It’s only fitting for the 30th post, just after my 30th birthday, that I should share 30 of my favourite “happy-sad” songs. In listening to this playlist, I hope you hear what I mean by happy-sad: the harmonies often flit between major and minor, augmented and diminished chords.
To me, these tracks speak to the complexity of human experience, and express what cannot be said in simple words.
context/interpretation
In retrospect, I spent high school crafting my identity through my music taste. I marched to the beat of my own drum, if that drum were some medium-popular indie band like Metric, Franz Ferdinand, or Modest Mouse. My most prized possessions (aside from my computer or video game consoles) were Keane and Feist tote bags bought at concerts, and a blue iPod mini.
Neuroscience research tells us music is most emotionally-charged in puberty, explaining why we have extra nostalgia for the songs of our youth. Of course, a few of mine feature in this playlist.
Furthermore, as an auditory stimulus, music not only activates the brain, but also strengthens and connects regions of the brain depending on the pattern and tonal registers of sounds. So I wonder if, the more often I listen to these happy-sad harmonies, the more I’m conditioned to recognize and enjoy them? In any new song I hear, I recognize whether it meets my happy-sad criteria, which tends to predict my long-term enjoyment of the song.
This happy-sad inclination might stem from my dad’s Irish heritage, a culture steeped in sardonic wit, or my piano teacher’s penchant for writing songs in complex minor keys. Regardless, I think this is symbolic of a larger preference when it comes to any piece or art, or even any intellectual argument. I don’t like anything too straightforward. I am drawn to complexity and contradiction, because those qualities force me to break apart binaries. I’d rather analyze the essence of the piece, unmoored from oversimplification or bias. Perhaps I make life more complicated than it needs to be, turning things over and over in my head, but then it also feels more interesting.
Although I studied for music theory exams, I regrettably never picked up the talent for writing harmonic progressions from scratch. Because songwriting ability is beyond me, and because I am stubbornly drawn to complexity, I believe I’ll always be fascinated by the happy-sad quality of music and art.
Do you have a favourite happy-sad song, or a favourite song in general? Feel free to share in the comments!