Sadness is underrated.
I’m not saying I enjoy being sad, but it can be a useful emotion. If we were happy all the time, we’d never be motivated to make changes to our lives. Nobody ever turned over a new leaf after a month of giddy happiness. A good cry and a full tub of ice cream can be the low point from which we really start to turn things around.
I’m not talking about clinical depression here. I’m talking about those Sunday-afternoon blues, those ruts you find yourself in after a spectacular failure at work, or after a day when nothing seems to go right. That kind of sadness is, it turns out, actually kind of good for you.
Smart people at UC Berkeley have found that sadness can improve memory, judgment, motivation, and even social interactions in some cases.
So the next time you’re at one of those low points, enjoy it. Wallow in it for a while. Ignore people who tell you to turn your frown upside down. Get to know your frown. Enjoy your ice cream, watch some terrible TV, listen to some sad music.
Your sadness won’t last forever, and you’ll come out the other side better for it.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The tremolo guitar. As we all learned in music class, “sad” songs usually dwell on minor chords. But neither of the two repeated chords in the guitar are straight-up minor chords; one has an added sixth, and the other has an augmented fourth. If that means nothing to you, it’s okay. The point is, the overall effect is not plain sadness, but something deeper and more whimsical.
2. The combination of light jazz samples and heavy percussion that Hashfinger is so, so good at.
3. The sudden and brief switch to a major key at 1:23 and 2:34, along with the plinking piano, gives just a hint of light at the end of the tunnel.
Recommended listening activity:
Going for a late-night walk even though you have to be up early the next day.