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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Pramod Ninan:

Here something to chew over. After going through half of the songs submitted, i can't count the number of times i've thanked God I was born here in India - where the stories of love forsaken, love rejected, families breaking up, thoughts of how hopeless life is, once-upon-a-time-lovers leaving for other loves...such stories are so much more rare.
In all, i think that of the songs submitted, there are more songs written on a depressing note than there are songs of the happier type. Even the songs that try to look beyond the depression seem to be struggling to find that silver lining, vainly claiming to clutch on to a hope that they themselves don't really believe to be in existence. I know, from experience, that dark thoughts make for good poetry, but i have decided that these are not lines i would pick up again. Cheer up, people!! If life can be there the way it is here, why don't you quit complaining and get with the groove?

Pramod</font>


Hiya, Pramod,
I enjoyed your honesty here!
I chewed over all your points, and this is the one that mystifies me just a bit (perspective-wise). Lyrics about painful realities may [sometimes] elicit empathy or compassion, and (hopefully) make us more in touch with what folks other than ourselves have to deal with (or "have had" to deal with). I just don't find a [GOOD] lyric in that kind of vein to be depressing [per se].
Yes, there is a vast difference between self-absorbed wallowing in misery versus a thoughtful treatment of an "unpleasant" subject matter. I think it's one of the small things we Americans do to put our public in mind of societal ills and dangerously detached attitudes. (Throw the US version of the "enlightened self-interest" oxymoron in there and you get the picture. [Linked Image] )

Hey, it's cathartic too! That's why we like singin' them blues! [Linked Image]

This is not to say that I don't have some "happy-happy, joy-joy" tunes on my short list (as well as a couple downright silly ones). A good lyric does the deed of moving me, even if it's to giggle.

See there, Pramod? You made me think a bit! [Linked Image] (Ouch! That hurt... I'll try and avoid it in future! [Linked Image] )

Ozone
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/1/ozonepetemusic.htm