I’ll admit it: I’m always curious to check out the results of the latest medical study from an academic institution. (Consuming more than eight pounds of red bean curd per year can enlarge my nipples? Color me surprised!) And this week brings news of a stunner: A University of Maryland study suggests that listening to your favorite “joyful” music can be beneficial to your cardiovascular system by promoting good blood flow, while “anxious” music can cause constriction of one’s arteries. Most participants in this study (and granted, there were only 10 test subjects), selected country music as their “joyful” music, while heavy metal caused anxious feelings.
As one who enjoys his fair share of the devil’s music, I was immediately perplexed. First of all, I love nothing more than to unwind with a glass of white wine and a copy of Back in Black. And most times I listen to country music, I find myself getting tense like a cat that you pick up but it doesn’t want to get picked up and then it starts squirming and scratching until you let go of it. But was I gravely mistaken? Every time that I rocked some Killswitch Engage, was I actually rocking myself to death? To get some perspective on this potentially alarming situation, I sought immediate medical help in the form of an old friend, Dr. Alan League. He’s technically an orthopedic surgeon, but we listened to a lot of Metallica back in college, so that makes him qualified to weigh in here. "Clearly an adrenergic cascade can be triggered by listening to ‘anxious’ music, resulting in arterial narrowing and even elevated blood pressure,” Dr. Al told a mostly confused me. “But let’s be clear, what is more stressful and disturbing: an honest heavy metal sound with satisfying power chords or a twangy little number about cheating wives, broken-down trucks, and crying in your beer? The relationship between stress levels and music clearly lies within the ear of the beholder…. An interesting follow-up study should be planned to explain the longevity of such performers as Ozzy Osbourne and Jimmy Page."
A provocative thought, Dr. Al! So, what say you, PopWatchers? Does a dose of Megadeth or other aggressive music make you physically ill? Are you the model of good health after a nice John Denver ditty? Which genre of music has which physiological effect on you?
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John Denver’s music is awesome. I took it for granted in my childhood, but now love it in adulthood. And yes, any song that touts the wonders of getting high on simple sunshine is okay in my book and in my cardiovascular system.
How did they even get this published? Ten individuals isn’t a study, it’s a conversation in a bar.
You mom may be hazardous to your health:
http://www.entertonement.com/clips/35197/Your-mom-goes-to-college
Country music I believe has caused many people to grab a gun and swallow a bullet!I know a few,who did this.When there bodies were found country music was heard coming from there stereos.Along usually with an empty bottle of hard stuff or many empty beer cans.When I am ate up with stress and so tense I could strangle the dog,I jump in my car and put in Rob Zombie and go cruising.This really helps with stress reducing!The louder,the better.However there are quiet times I just want to listen to something soft like Enya,she is wonderful.As a whole though I must have hard,heavy metal some call death metal.I don’t care what you call it I call it a blessing when it helps the grind of a bad day be put in it’s place.Country music makes me want to pull my hair out .1 strand at a time.There are some exceptions to this like maybe Merle Haggarad,Gene Watson,or Lefty frizzle but even some of their stuff I can’t get into.Everyone has there own taste so,listen to what makes ya happy not what I say!!
Aww..it’s an interesting concept. I do runs of music in the car on the way to work and there are those songs that just need to be played to ecourage and sooth. XTC “Mayor of Simpleton” “King for A Day” are two songs that always mood me up. What eats away at me is having my son blare Slipknot and Cradle of Filth (which is supposed to piss me off and it does) but then he puts on Weird Al and he’s my baby again.
There are a lot of country fans who resented the fact that John Denver was considered to be “country.” I, for one, have very fond memories of my mom playing JD’s greatest hits. I encourage anyone to put on “Rhymes and Reasons” and not tear up a little and think everything is right with the world. However, I still rock out to NIN (any Halo is good with me), and it has never made me angry. It has always put a big smile on my face and bounce to my step. So, basically, what I am saying about this “study” from an “academic institution” is, “Whatev’.”
Am I really he first person to correct you on the spelling of Megadeth? I don’t even really like the band that much, but that jumped out at me immediately.
More on topic, I don’t really listen to country music, but I do find heavier stuff (in my case Alexisonfire, A Wilhelm Scream, old AFI and the like) to have a cathartic element to it. I definitely feel like it releases tension more than creates it.
Most would argue that I am a calm and Zen-like individual. I thank my agro-rock for that. I agree with many of the posters–John Denver rocks…in a totally laid back and groovy way. “Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy”. Yes it does, John, yes it does. RIP and say hello to Kurt Cobain for me.
John Denver’s music is considered folk music, not country music. And I tell ya what. Rocky Mountain High ALWAYS brings joy to my heart, a fullness to the spirit, and a tear to my eye.
Now he walks in quiet solitude the forest and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake
And the Colorado rocky mountain high
I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky
You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply
Rocky mountain high
Now his life is full of wonder but his heart still knows some fear
Of a simple thing he cannot comprehend
Why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more
More people, more scars upon the land
And the Colorado rocky mountain high
I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky
I know he’d be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly
Rocky mountain high
I would much rather listen to John Denver than heavy metal (I’d rather listen to almost anything than heavy metal, honestly.) Denver’s voice is so clear and calming. “Perhaps Love” and “For You” are two of my favorites. His “Ave Maria” gives me goosebumps, and I don’t even like that song.
Once while I was looking at some CDs, I had a guy ask me if I’d ever listened to the new CD of some hip hop/R&B artist. I told him that I hadn’t, and prefer the Carpenters and John Denver. He said, “Oh, you have the same taste in music as my mom.” LOL
I won’t listen to stuff I don’t enjoy period. If I happen to be someplace where there is un-Snarfable music, I simply tune it out.
I’m going to be serious and sad for once. Heavy, thumping bass activates my panic response. It doesn’t matter what genre it is, but obviously hip-hop and dance are more prone to having a major throbbing bass line. I freak out and think I’m having palpitations and then I have to run out of the room. I told you–sad, and I’m totally serious.
If I, you know, like the music it makes me happy. I think the real point is that being happy is good for your health. I don’t think anyone can argue that.
Both have the right songs for the right times. For example, last summer I was on a bus tour of D.C. and Western NY (yes, the trip went from NY to Philly to D.C. to Maryland to Western NY in three days.). As I was on the bus I heard on the radio “Fast Forward” by Kenny Chesney. For some odd reason, it felt like the right song to play.
Metal/Hard Rock music is good when you are in a very energetic or pissed off mood. You hate your boss. The guy is a big fat simian. Instead of saying that to his face, you crank up something like Skid Row’s “Slave to the Grind”. If you are in an energetic mood, Motorhead or AC/DC. It works both ways.
I think metal works out the stress and things going on inside me whereas country just gets me anxious because they never stop whining, even their voices are whiny and it makes me have an instant headache.
I’d fair to say that the basis of this study is that music that is “joyful” to each individual is what helps, where as music that makes us stressed doesn’t. It’s not necessarily country and metal. Country sucks btw.
I like any kind of music no matter what the mood. It doesn’t matter if it’s happy,angry, dark, emotional or personal. These artists are expressing what they’re feeling in their songs and music.
Rock and Roll!!! I also like Bear McCreary. Anxious music to me are Country and Rapp.
John Denver relaxes me and makes me happy just as (dare I say it) Barry Manilow does. I also love me some Bon Jovi and Def Lepard. It all depends on my current mood. Do not like “head-banging” music ever.
Music is music, perhaps the results here are due to the clinical experiment and the dangers inherent in contaminating results. !0 participants is hardly enough to weigh in on such a lightning rod topic. I like various types of music as my mood dictates. I listen and play all types of music, from Jazz and (old) country to metal and punk, as well as classical. Not a very scientific study to say the least, do it again on a larger scale and then I will be more impressed with the “results”. It could be that participants in the study were uneasy or uncomfortable in the process of study.
Just a thought. Music is in the ear of the listener, no one can say otherwise.
mage?!
BTW, Dan, did you read the whole article, cause I have a quote that takes the wind out of the controversy.
“You can’t read into this too much, although you could argue that country music is light, spirited, a lot of love songs.” says Dr. Miller, who enjoys rock, classical, jazz and country music. He says he could have selected 10 other individuals and the favorite could have been a different type of music.”
This is from the original study. Reading is good for you, read well before you write, after all you are getting a paycheck for this buddy.
Now I have to get some John Denver from iTunes. I used to love those records when I was kid, and my brother and I would jump up and down and dance to “Grandma’s Feather Bed.” Now that is joyful music!
Dance music takes me to my “happy place”, even though the subject matter is often depressing. I never got into grunge because I am not a cutter. Kurt Cobain was never happy and that’s what killed him. I love The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Blood Sugar Sex magick always worked when I felt like killing somebody.
There is some evidence that high earners tend to prefer upbeat, uptempo music while lower earners prefer slower songs. I can think of a lot of caveats for this claim, but it’s certainly an interesting statistic.
I’m in my 50’s and I can’t get enough heavy dark crunching metal! I find it invigorating to the point where I actually get off my duff and do stuff! If I sit around listening to easy rock, I would probably go nuts and bored to the point of deep depression! Metal is the ideal workout music, kind of like flash dance with testicles! And when the days are really rough, nothing’s like a good dose of Buckethead!
Music never pulls me OUT of the mood I’m in, it just makes me feel a bit better about being in that mood. So if I’m energetic, I want pop-y, top-40 bouncy stuff to bop my head to in the car or while I’m working; if I’m tired or just serene, then on goes Dido and the like; if I’m seriously t’d off or having a miserable day, then Green Day’s American Idiot and My Chemical Romance’s Black Parade are bar-none the best things for me to listen to at that point. If I feel like screaming, I want my music to scream with me; it makes me feel okay about having a horrible day. If I tried to put some quiet indie-folk on while I was angry or miserable, all the music would do is reinforce how much I DON’T feel that way, and my heart rate would go right up. Seriously, it’s happened. I have to say, though, that jazz, death metal, and country all make me feel horrendous. They’re the only kinds of music that can forcibly change my mood for the worse.
Just wanted to say you’re way off with your “cutter” comment, dude. Waaay off. And I wouldn’t call Anthony Keidis (of the RHCP) the pinacle of happiness, seeing as how he nearly killed himself with drug addictions, and correct me if I’m wrong, but happy people tend not to become drug addicts. Great music, though. But seriously, cutting’s a horrid practice sprung from a weird combo of anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsiveness, and phobias, and has no direct correlation with grunge music, so your perception is a bit skewed and biased. The vast majority of grunge listeners were people who were sick of the head-banging rock of the 80’s, not people with severe mental disorders (as Cobain, unfortunately, was), and I’ll bet you’ve met a couple of “normal, non-grungy” folks in your lifetime who, completely unbeknownst to you, were or had been cutters. Keep an open mind and show some empathy, my friend.
country makes me die a little inside. what does that say about me? where do i sign up to be part of the next study?
That’s funny, because I love and can relax while listening to country AND metal. Just depends on the mood.
Rap, however, is garbage, and I definitely cringe and tense up when I hear that kind of “music.”
Neither genre falls under music I would consider “joyful”. I rather listen to 1960s Bob Dylan and Rolling Stones or Beach House, The Mamas and The Papas, The Kills, Cat Stevens, David Bowie, Serge Gainsbourg, Joy Division, T. Rex or lots of other music I like. Country music just makes me feel annoyed. No offense meant towards country fans, but it’s not enjoyable for me.