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Study: Listening to the Blues Actually Helps

Filed under: Personal Tagged: John Lee Hooker, music, science

If you are blue, says a leading study just released by a prominent researcher in this field, letting a gigantic boxed set of John Lee Hooker (a.k.a., on these discs, Texas Slim, Johnny Williams, and John Lee Booker) play through on your iTunes can in fact pick up your spirits to a remarkable degree. Although you very likely aren't experiencing the very set of root causes that led the form's originators to construct their melancholy melodies, you may still be surprised by the songs' effectiveness on your sorry Weltschmertz or just plain old peevishness. The study cites one tune, entitled "Sally May," that may be about a no-good woman, but could just as easily be about a knee-breaking student-loan collective.

Additional note: The study was conducted on myself, by myself. As everyone secretly knows, this is a rock-solid indication of applicability to all.

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Additional research indicates: Listening to the Moth podcast makes a serious difference, too.

EmdashesJune 08, 2008

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Emdashes, founded December 2004, is a place where keen and dedicated readers of The New Yorker, past and present, can find related news and commentary: about people, subjects, and ideas within the magazine, and events and conversations outside its pages. Learn more about us and our contributors.

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