being young is hard, you’re full of intense and volatile emotions, the world is an overwhelming and scary place, adults often lack patience or compassion for the intense experiences of youth, and music makes people feel less alone.
when i was in middle school/high school, people would make fun of me for listening to “wrist cutter music” (this was over 10 years ago). emo/alt rock/pop punk was pretty big then and a lot of it was pretty angsty and/or sad.
grunge was huge with young people in the 90s, and that was a pretty angsty/disillusioned movement too.
i’m not sure i see this as a new trend? i think the music itself changes but the appetite for art that speaks to these big feelings remains.
Apr 21, 2024
Related Recs
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in a 1907 dissertation about general complaints by the ancient Greeks by student Kenneth John Freeman
“The counts of the indictment are luxury, bad manners, contempt for authority, disrespect to elders, and a love for chatter in place of exercise. Children began to be the tyrants, not the slaves, of their households. They no longer rose from their seats when an elder entered the room; they contradicted their parents, chattered before company, gobbled up the dainties at table, and committed various offenses against Hellenic tastes, such as crossing their legs.”
See? the complaints and observations about certain cultural cornerstones like apathy or depression or rebellion have always existed
This really has nothing to do with sad rock music or depression being perceived as a “cool trend” but think of another example like Sylvia Plath writing very depressing and confessional poetry and prose about her life and killing herself tragically or Kurt Cobain, or any other large cultural figure that deals with depression as a theme of their work
Apr 21, 2024
I think I am on board with your assessment @ACTUALLYASLEEP
Four reasons:
* stylistic diversity: punk was born and commercialized at one end, hip hop at the other. We take this for granted today but at the time the jaggedness of going from the Clash to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the Treacherous Three, and ESG (all of whom they collaborated with at one point) was exhilarating. The sheer confluence of everything was unprecedented.
* MTV as a cultural force: I mean, it was called Music Television 😉 and this was its finest hour. The assumption was that music mattered more than everything else, otherwise why would you watch it?
* legacy icons: Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bruce, Bowie. I could go on. You may not like them all but you’ve gotta respect the bodies of work over decades.
* the roots of indie culture were born then: bands like R.E.M., Husker Du, Replacements, the Smiths and a million others were blazing a trail (radio, live DIY tours, etc) that created “College Rock” and ultimately indie and here we are today staring in awe at what they made from scratch.
The Reagan era sucked to live through but a lot of great music came out of the struggle.
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Mar 14, 2025
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are people jumping on a depression trend, or have we created such a harsh environment for people to live in and navigate that they seek relief from media to cope with issues they have no power over?
Apr 21, 2024
Top Recs from @trappedinabody
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felt the same way, was sick of it. got a flip phone i could slip my sim card into, activated it. first two weeks i was kind of itching for the smartphone and the little dopamine hits. after a while things started changing. i started reading for fun again, my attention span improved significantly, i carried a little journal everywhere to jot down my thoughts. in every room where everyone was on their phones, i felt like i was the only person actually present, paying attention. i found so many beautiful ways to fill the time. strangers praised me for my bravery lol. when i had to drive or go somewhere i didn’t know how to get to i would write down the directions on a post it note and carry it or stick it to the dashboard. you will literally feel smarter for relying on your brain to figure things like this out instead of being on autopilot all the time. you can carry your smartphone around to use as an ipod/pocket camera and in an emergency it will still work on wifi. i asked friends to look things up for me (business hours, weather, traffic, phone numbers) when i was out and about. if people texted me id tell them to call me if they wanted to talk. it was a great decision that only ended bc i did an extended trip abroad where i needed my phone to get by, but i am going to go back to the flip again soon. i highly recommend! nothing compares to flipping a phone shut to hang up a call. it taught me how to enjoy true solitude again. do it!!!
Feb 27, 2024
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after being raised in a context where you were taught to be hard on yourself, leaning into self-compassion as a way of life in adulthood is truly powerful. hold yourself accountable and give yourself grace when you flounder, both are needed.
Mar 3, 2024
“wow i am in so much pain, i feel so ALIVE”
“i am grateful to know that i have loved, truly loved”
“may i never grow too guarded to feel into the depths of my soul”
“all my favorite artists have felt this feeling, i am bound by heartbreak to my fellow humans”
“this grief is a process of me returning to myself”
if all else fails, watch the clip from call me by your name where the dad talks to his son about heartbreak (linked)
keep a journal, be patient, show yourself as much compassion as you possibly can
Mar 16, 2024