High Fidelity: Music or Misery?

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High Fidelity is one of those great little gems that deserves more recognition than it has achieved. And that is despite the fact that Jack Black is in it.  If you ever stumble across it whilst channel hopping, it's one of those films that has the ability to always keep you watching until the end, even if you've seen it 23 times, it's 1:00AM and you have work in the morning.

In it, hopeless romantic Rob Gordon (John Cusack) poses an interesting question: which came first, the music or the misery?

To quote him in full:

"What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

If you're unaware, the other great questions in life have already been answered.  The chicken came before the egg.  Yes, there is a God.  And since I don't think anybody really cares who let the dogs out, I'm going to attempt to answer Rob Gordon's question.

I was tempted to answer in a slightly facetious way by examining the pop music of today, lamenting how it's not what it used to be and that the sad but inevitable decline of what is called pop music over the course of a generation is enough to make anyone miserable.

Even when treating the question in a serious manner though, my initial thought was that it's just a perpetual cycle of life imitating art and vice-versa.  In a circle, there is no beginning and no end.

But if science has now finally provided an actual answer to the chicken and egg question, surely it shouldn't be too hard to answer a philosophical question about music.  I won't bore you with all the introspective thoughts that flashed across my mind in the journey to track down the seemingly elusive answer, but will share the train of thought that led me to what I believe is the correct answer.

Whenever a question seems this slippery, the answer can sometimes be found by shifting the focus onto the exact opposite and then see what truth that reveals about the original question.

So, if I can't decide whether people listen to sad songs because they are miserable, or are miserable because they listen to sad songs, perhaps it is easier to examine whether people listen to happy songs because they are already joyful or are joyful because they listen to happy songs.

I can only respond based on my own experience, and have no idea whether the same truth is universal though I suspect it just might be.

I listen to music a lot, and often will match the music to my mood.  But here's the odd thing I noticed when I really thought about it.  If I'm happy, then in order to sustain that happiness I'm uninterested in listening to anything that might ruin my disposition.  But conversely, if I'm feeling a bit down, I'm unlikely to be inclined to intentionally exacerbate those feelings of gloom.  So the end result is the same, that I would put on some music that I hope might lift my spirits.

So, whether I'm happy or sad, if my choice of music is in any way a considered decision, rather than just random selection, it will always be for something that either feeds my existing good mood, or helps to create one.  I can't recall a time when I would have intentionally chosen to listen to music that would make me miserable, since misery is not a goal that I have.

Of course there might be exceptions.  If someone is clinically depressed, perhaps there is some comfort found in sharing that feeling with the musician.  And then there are Emos, whose motivation baffles me, so I won't attempt to explain.

It seems to me then that for most people, who generally desire to be happy in any given situation, wouldn't purposely choose to listen to music that would alter their mood in a negative way.  So, pop music, or indeed any music which might trigger misery, is listened to for other reasons, and any resulting misery is inadvertent.

Rob Gordon, then, is miserable because he listens to pop music.  But then again, it might be from spending too much time with Jack Black.  I guess we'll never know.