Sad Songs Say So Much

 

Nokia UK commissioned music and physiology "expert" Dr. Harry Witchel to scientifically determine the world's saddest, happiest, and most exhilarating songs. (This shouldn't piss people off.) So, Dr. Smarty Pants, how did you "scientifically" measure sadness? Witchel determined listeners' "'tune trigger quotient,' measuring heart rate, respiratory response and skin temperature to find the saddest, happiest and most exhilarating tracks" (via). To measure "happy," Witchel wanted a high number of sighs and a low level of boredom. "Sad" tunes were identified by decreased heart rate, and "exhilarating" by a spike in breaths per minute. And the good doctor let us in on the recipe for an emotional tune:

 

Music is undeniably powerful at triggering different emotional states. Changes in tempo and frequencies induce profoundly different emotional states.

Here are his laboratory results:

 

Happy

1. "LDN" - Lily Allen

2. "Dancing Queen" - ABBA

3. "Shiny Happy People" - R.E.M.

 

Exhilarating

1. "Song 2" - Blur

2. "Love Machine" - Girls Aloud

3. "Somebody Told Me" - The Killers

 

The findings on the sad songs were more thoroughly reported. Said Witchel:

A slow tempo song like the Verve's The Drugs Don't Work slows down the heart compared to most of the other songs and compared to white noise - in other words, it works like the emotional state of sadness.

Here's the Top 10 (via RS):

 

Sad

1. The Verve - "The Drugs Don’t Work"

2. Robbie Williams - "Angels"

3. Elton John - "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"

4. Whitney Houston - "I Will Always Love You"

5. Sinead O’Connor - "Nothing Compares 2 U"

6. Will Young - "Leave Right Now"

7. Elvis Presley - "Are You Lonesome Tonight"

8. Christina Aguilera - "Beautiful"

9. James Blunt - "Goodbye My Lover"

10. Radiohead - "Fake Plastic Trees"

We vote James Blunt for the top of that list, but our criteria for "sad" -- and it's resultant effects on our physiological state -- are entirely different. But we've never been good at science. All time saddest tunes? Go.

Gravity alone is a sadder song than id say all of those but i havent heard them all...

The sad radiohead's song I would say is "creep" though radiohead have the most songs are sad

I'd say Radiohead's songs aren't sad....they are actually very chilling and stirring.....they give me overwhelming shudders of haunting pleaure.

Their changes in chords/music and dynamics (volume, frequencies, tones etc.) along with lyrical imagery are devistatingly overpowering and just make me wish I had written the music.

 

^ This is and should not to be confused with and attributed to the far too broad term "sad". Which I have found gets used by far to many people who just don't want think abot music.....I bet Radiohead fans here have heard people say to them in the past "oh, Radiohead are just depressing music for sado's" or somthing similar. Really gets on my tits!!

 

(PS. Creep isn't a track I like or listen too really, I must admit....THAT makes me an irritated kind of 'sad')

Angles doesn't make me sad!

Happy songs?

 

1. "LDN" - Lily Allen

 

Makes me want to kill her more and more, as she is crap. Completely shit live when I saw her at cardiff calling.

Hmph.

 

I guess this is true.

But I'd say the saddest song I've ever heard's one from a cd where piano's infused with sounds of the nature. I love it, of course. But the saddest song from that cd'd be Night.

 

No words.

Simply piano.

And wind.

 

:mellow:

What would that CD be called by the way?

Lilly Allen's song "Little Things" or something, she just released it, is the most depressing song I've heard lately.

 

It just kindof affects me for some reason.

 

Nothing Compares 2 U sums up every possible angle of love for me, and that is astonishing.

Yes, Nothing Compares 2 U is one of my favourite 'sad' songs. I wish I didn't identify with it though!