BBC Learnings · Section 9

Why do people like sad music

Do you like sad music, Neil? Well, when I was younger,

Level: B2 · 120 sentences

Transcript

  1. Do you like sad music, Neil?
  2. Well, when I was younger,
  3. if I had a break-up with a girlfriend,
  4. I would listen to sad songs.
  5. Songs which reflected my mood.
  6. And do you still listen to those songs now?
  7. Not so much, but I do still like them.
  8. Well, it seems as if there might be a biological reason
  9. why some of us do like sad songs.
  10. We'll look at this topic a little
  11. more after this week's quiz question, which is about music videos.
  12. The music video has been around
  13. for a while, but in what year was MTV,
  14. the first dedicated music video channel, launched in the US?
  15. Was it a 1981, b 1982 or c 1983?
  16. Well, I'm going to have a guess.
  17. Is it the early 80s?
  18. Well, yes. Care to be more specific?
  19. Well, it was a long time ago.
  20. I was just a small boy.
  21. I'm going to go for 1982.
  22. OK.
  23. I will have the answer later in the programme.
  24. But first, more about sad songs.
  25. Professor David Huron from Ohio State University has conducted research
  26. in this area and he discussed it recently
  27. on the BBC World Service radio programme The Why Factor.
  28. He was looking at why some people like
  29. sad music and other people really don't like it at all.
  30. As he says, they just can't stand it.
  31. He believes it's to do with a hormone.
  32. A hormone is a natural chemical in our bodies
  33. which can have an effect on various systems and also emotions.
  34. Listen out for the name of the hormone he mentions.
  35. One of the things that we were interested
  36. in is what's the difference between people
  37. who listen to sad music and who love it?
  38. and people who listen to sad music
  39. and who just can't stand it.
  40. In our research, it started pointing towards a hormone called prolactin.
  41. Now, prolactin, as you might guess
  42. from the name, is associated with lactation, breastfeeding.
  43. When people cry, they also release prolactin.
  44. And there are circumstances in which prolactin
  45. seems to have this comforting effect.
  46. So, which hormone did he mention?
  47. He talked about the hormone called prolactin,
  48. which he said was connected to lactation.
  49. This is the production of milk
  50. by mammals to feed their young.
  51. What he noted was this hormone
  52. can be released when people cry
  53. and in some cases this hormone has a comforting effect.
  54. When something is comforting, it makes you feel better.
  55. It calms your emotions. Let's listen again.
  56. One of the things that we were interested
  57. in is what's the difference between people
  58. who listen to sad music and who love it and people
  59. who listen to sad music and who just can't stand it.
  60. In our research, it started pointing towards a hormone called prolactin.
  61. Now, prolactin, as you might guess
  62. from the name, is associated with lactation, breastfeeding.
  63. When people cry, they also release prolactin.
  64. And there are circumstances in which prolactin
  65. seems to have this comforting effect.
  66. So what conclusions did he make about this hormone
  67. and how it might be working?
  68. Professor Huron explains.
  69. So the thought was that perhaps
  70. what's going on is that the people
  71. who are enjoying listening to sad music
  72. are receiving some sort of excess of prolactin,
  73. and people who are listening to sad music and they
  74. just find it incredibly sad and unhelpful and they
  75. don't want to listen to it,
  76. maybe they're not getting enough prolactin
  77. when they listen to the music.
  78. So what's happening?
  79. Or as Professor Huron said, what's going on?
  80. Well, it seems quite simple,
  81. though I'm sure it's very complicated.
  82. People who like sad music are maybe getting too much prolactin,
  83. or more than is normal.
  84. He describes this as an excess of prolactin.
  85. And maybe people who don't like sad music aren't getting enough.
  86. So the idea is that prolactin
  87. is a hormone which we find comforting.
  88. If our bodies release it when we hear
  89. sad music, it gives us a good feeling.
  90. But if prolactin isn't released or there isn't enough of it,
  91. we just find the sad music sad
  92. and it doesn't help to cheer us up.
  93. I guess so. But you know, emotions are funny things.
  94. It's weird to think that our feelings are caused
  95. by different natural chemicals that run around the body.
  96. Absolutely.
  97. Okay we're going to take another look
  98. at today's vocabulary but first the answer to this week's quiz.
  99. The music video has been around
  100. for a while but in what year was MTV,
  101. the first dedicated music video channel, launched in the US?
  102. Was it A 1981, B 1982 or C 1983?
  103. And Neil you said...
  104. I said it was definitely the early 80s.
  105. Well, you're not wrong there. But which year exactly?
  106. 82?
  107. Well, you'll need to dig out a sad song to make
  108. you feel better now because the answer was 1981.
  109. Oh dear. I can feel my prolactin levels dropping already.
  110. I'm sure you can't.
  111. But let's move on to vocabulary.
  112. If you can't stand something, it
  113. means you really don't like it.
  114. A hormone is one of the body's natural chemicals.
  115. And the hormone prolactin is connected with lactation,
  116. which is the production of milk by mammals.
  117. Something that is comforting makes you feel better emotionally.
  118. The phrase what's going on has a very similar meaning to what's happening.
  119. And an excess of something is too much
  120. or a more than normal amount of that thing.