" What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss.
Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?" - John Cusack in High Fidelity
These two questions were ones that made me stop and think. When I am in a down mood, usually I am not listening to a happy song with many uplifting lyrics or melodies. But, when I am in a good mood, I am also not listening to sad songs that don't make me feel much better. So, obviously, I am going to listen to the type of music that suits my mood at the time.
Then again, there have been times when my mood did go from happy to not-so-happy because of what I was listening to. As I stated earlier in a comment, I usually take late night walks with a good friend of mine.
Starting out the walk I could be listening to a song that is impossible to be in a bad mood to listen to such as "Hold Music" by Architecture In Helsinki.
Almost as soon as I change the song to something like "Hello, I'm in Delaware" or "Like Knives" by City and Colour, my mood changes.
So the questions stand;
Did we listen to music because we were miserable? Or were we miserable because we listened to music?
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Its funny how we listen to music when we are miserable. For women, when we have just broke up with a boyfriend or husband, we listen to music that talks about break ups or how we don't need HIM in our lives. With guys, when they are angry, they listen to angry music about stuff they wish they could do in real life. I just think that we as people try to run to music for relief when we feel a certain way. It seems to be the next best thing besides telling our best friend or relative.