Calling out Sad Song Supremacy

Mental health has been talked about a lot over the last decade. Musicians (and other prominent figures) have started to open up about their struggles in an effort to destigmatize getting help. You may be thinking, "We already have enough blogs on mental health. Why are you writing this one?" While it's true that there is a lot out there about it, I'm not sure that people fully understand the weight of these struggles. There is still this romanticization of the tortured artist. The idea that someone's best work comes out of their deepest heartbreak. Whenever an artist goes through a terrible tragedy, the first thought that most people have (including me, I'll confess) is "The next album is going to be fantastic". While music is a great way for people to work through their struggles and make sense of their emotions, we should not be happy that something bad happened to someone. There is a fine line between relating to the "negative" emotions in a song and celebrating them. When we relate to the "negative" emotions, we appreciate the song for what it is. When we celebrate the emotions, we want more. This could lead artists to believe that they only have value when they're sad. Specifically in songwriting spaces, I have found that sad songs get celebrated and appreciated, and happy songs are deemed as cheesy and, for lack of a better word, stupid. If you write a sad song, you are thought to be smart and understanding. If you write a happy song, you are silly, and no one takes you seriously. As humans, we experience a wide range of emotions, and we need songs that represent all of these emotions. Not just the sad ones. Crafting words and putting them to melody is always an art. Let the people be happy!