Memes? Or good music?

[Magnatolia]

Hi all,

I'm reading the social intelligence book and it made me realise that music and lyrics can change our mood even if we don't realise it. I listen to loud rock (at a reasonable level though) and thinking of changing.

What songs are known to actually improve our personality, magnetism, or even just make us look happy? Apparently songs and their lyrics can even adjust our facial expressions.

Just looking for songs that are known to make this change.

Thanks

[Dave Kaminski]

I believe whatever songs resonate with you and your path is what you should listen to. I find myself listening to classic rock and indie music and very little of anything else.

I pick up on lyrics very quickly, though, and I find myself disgusted with the message a lot of artists are putting out there.

[PianoManGidley]

I don't think any one song will ever be scientifically proved to increase happiness or whatever, because different people can attach different connotations to any given song based on their own life experiences. Even the happiest, innocent song can become torture to listen to if it happened to be playing when your spouse got hit by a car in front of your eyes and died on the spot.

But if you want to learn more about music and its effects on the brain, check out the book "This Is Your Brain On Music" by Daniel J. Levitin. He explains it in ways that the layman can understand, yet at the same time gives light to many things that even studied musicians such as myself never knew.

[Rockchick26]

Originally Posted by PianoManGidley

But if you want to learn more about music and its effects on the brain, check out the book "This Is Your Brain On Music" by Daniel J. Levitin. He explains it in ways that the layman can understand, yet at the same time gives light to many things that even studied musicians such as myself never knew.

I am in the middle of reading this book right now! It's pretty good,isnt it! It's about time a book was written about music AND the human brain. I love understanding why i love something!

[elisabeth]

Hmmm. That book does sound interesting I may check it out. I too get a kick out of understanding things like that.

On the happy songs topic: I just posted a long list of songs that make ME happy(er). No guarantees that they'll work for you, but maybe food for thought, and who knows, maybe a few of them are just what the doctor ordered.

Find them at http:/www.myfavoriteselfhelpstuff.com (scroll down a few entries). If they have rolled over to a new page by the time you get there, you can also find them under "Resources."

Some of my favorites: "Joy to the world" by Three Dog Night, "Joy, Joy, Joy" by Francine Jarry (in collaboration with Abraham-Hicks), and (don't laugh!) "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees. Also a lot by the Beatles, some Stones, and the Tschaikowsky Violin Concerto.

[jonarmis]

Your choice of music is your personal preference. Some people listen to rock when they are gloomy, or just want to let the angst out. Some listen to pop, or disco songs when they are euphoric. But, studies reveal that music can attack the subliminal.

The beat and rhythmn, even the lyrics sends subliminal messages to the brain that can either help us react accordingly or even affect our state of mind or feelings. One good example is a rock concert, organizers have a way of setting up the playlist to be performed as when they continuously play upbeat and angry music, the crowd gets violent and destructive. On the other hand, if they plug into the playlist some slow songs or singles, it has a calming effect that sends people in a state of calm.

I agree that music can be therapeutic as well.