Look at me! LOOK AT ME!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/science/26tier.html
QuoteA Generation's Vanity, Heard Through Lyrics
By JOHN TIERNEY
Published: April 25, 2011
A couple of years ago, as his fellow psychologists debated whether narcissism was increasing, Nathan DeWall heard Rivers Cuomo singing to a familiar 19th-century melody. Mr. Cuomo, the lead singer and guitarist for the rock band Weezer, billed the song as "Variations on a Shaker Hymn."
Where 19th-century Shakers had sung " 'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free," Mr. Cuomo offered his own lyrics: "I'm the meanest in the place, step up, I'll mess with your face." Instead of the Shaker message of love and humility, Mr. Cuomo sang over and over, "I'm the greatest man that ever lived."
The refrain got Dr. DeWall wondering: "Who would actually sing that aloud?" Mr. Cuomo may have been parodying the grandiosity of other singers — but then, why was there so much grandiosity to parody? Did the change from "Simple Gifts" to "Greatest Man That Ever Lived" exemplify a broader trend?
Now, after a computer analysis of three decades of hit songs, Dr. DeWall and other psychologists report finding what they were looking for: a statistically significant trend toward narcissism and hostility in popular music. As they hypothesized, the words "I" and "me" appear more frequently along with anger-related words, while there's been a corresponding decline in "we" and "us" and the expression of positive emotions.
"Late adolescents and college students love themselves more today than ever before," Dr. DeWall, a psychologist at the University of Kentucky, says. His study covered song lyrics from 1980 to 2007 and controlled for genre to prevent the results from being skewed by the growing popularity of, say, rap and hip-hop.
Defining the personality of a generation with song lyrics may seem a bit of a reach, but Dr. DeWall points to research done by his co-authors that showed people of the same age scoring higher in measures of narcissism on some personality tests. The extent and meaning of this trend have been hotly debated by psychologists, some of whom question the tests' usefulness and say that young people today aren't any more self-centered than those of earlier generations. The new study of song lyrics certainly won't end the debate, but it does offer another way to gauge self-absorption: the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The researchers find that hit songs in the 1980s were more likely to emphasize happy togetherness, like the racial harmony sought by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder in "Ebony and Ivory" and the group exuberance promoted by Kool & the Gang: "Let's all celebrate and have a good time." Diana Ross and Lionel Richie sang of "two hearts that beat as one," and John Lennon's "(Just Like) Starting Over" emphasized the preciousness of "our life together."
Today's songs, according to the researchers' linguistic analysis, are more likely be about one very special person: the singer. "I'm bringing sexy back," Justin Timberlake proclaimed in 2006. The year before, Beyoncé exulted in how hot she looked while dancing — "It's blazin', you watch me in amazement." And Fergie, who boasted about her "humps" while singing with the Black Eyed Peas, subsequently released a solo album in which she told her lover that she needed quality time alone: "It's personal, myself and I."
Two of Dr. DeWall's co-authors, W. Keith Campbell and Jean M. Twenge, published a book in 2009 titled "The Narcissism Epidemic," which argued that narcissism is increasingly prevalent among young people — and possibly middle-aged people, too, although it's hard for anyone to know because most of the available data comes from college students.
For several decades, students have filled out a questionnaire called the Narcissism Personality Inventory, in which they've had to choose between two statements like "I try not to be a show-off" and "I will usually show off if I get the chance." The level of narcissism measured by these questionnaires has been rising since the early 1980s, according to an analysis of campus data by Dr. Twenge and Dr. Campbell.
That trend has been questioned by other researchers who published fresh data from additional students. But in the latest round of the debate, the critics' data has been reanalyzed by Dr. Twenge, who says that it actually supports her argument. In a meta-analysis published last year in Social Psychological and Personality Science, Dr. Twenge and Joshua D. Foster looked at data from nearly 50,000 students — including the new data from critics — and concluded that narcissism has increased significantly in the past three decades.
During this period, there have also been reports of higher levels of loneliness and depression — which may be no coincidence, according to the authors of the song-lyrics study. These researchers, who include Richard S. Pond of the University of Kentucky, note that narcissism has been linked to heightened anger and problems maintaining relationships. Their song-lyrics analysis shows a decline in words related to social connections and positive emotions (like "love" or "sweet") and an increase in words related to anger and antisocial behavior (like "hate" or "kill").
"In the early '80s lyrics, love was easy and positive, and about two people," says Dr. Twenge, a psychologist at San Diego State University. "The recent songs are about what the individual wants, and how she or he has been disappointed or wronged."
Of course, in an amateur nonscientific way, you can find anything you want in song lyrics from any era. Never let it be said that the Rolling Stones were soft and cuddly. In "Sympathy for the Devil" the devil gets his due, and he gets to sing in the first person. In 1988, Bobby Brown bragged that "no one can tell me what to do" in his hit song about his awesomeness, "My Prerogative."
Country singers have always had their moments of self-absorption and self-pity. But the classic somebody-done-somebody-wrong songs aren't necessarily angry. When Hank Williams sang "Your Cheatin' Heart" he didn't mention trashing his sweetheart's car, as in "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood: "I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights."
Some psychologists are skeptical that basic personality traits can change much from one generation to the next (or from one culture to another). Even if students are scoring higher on the narcissism questionnaire, these skeptics says, it may just be because today's students are more willing to admit to feelings that were always there.
Dr. Twenge acknowledges that students today may feel more free to admit that they agree with statements on the questionnaire like "I am going to be a great person" and "I like to look at myself in the mirror." But self-report bias probably isn't the only reason for the changing answers, she says, and in any case this new willingness to brag is in itself an important cultural change.
The song-lyrics analysis, published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, goes up to 2007, which makes it fairly up-to-date by scientific standards. But by popular music standards, 2007 is an eon ago. Could narcissism have declined since then?
It would take a computerized linguistic analysis to be sure, but there are reasons to doubt it. In 2008, the same year as Weezer's "Greatest Man That Ever Lived," Little Jackie had a popular song titled "The World Should Revolve Around Me."
The current Billboard chart includes the Cee-Lo Green comic ode to hostility with its unprintable refrain (for the Grammy television audience, he changed it to "Forget you") as well as Keri Hilson's paean to her own beauty: "All eyes on me when I walk in, no question that this girl's a 10." Regardless of whether the singers really mean it, there's obviously a market for these sentiments.
"The culture isn't going to change wholesale overnight, and neither are song lyrics," Dr. Twenge says. But she has some time-honored common-sense advice for people who want to change themselves and their relationships.
"As much as possible, take your ego out of the situation," Dr. Twenge says. "This is very difficult to do, but the perspective you gain is amazing. Ask yourself, 'How would I look at this situation if it wasn't about me?' Stop thinking about winning all the time. A sure sign something might not be the best value: Charlie Sheen talks about it a lot."
Everybody should light a joint, listen to more Dave Matthews and chill the fuck out.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 26, 2011, 08:35:02 PM
listen to more Dave Matthews
Yeah if they want to off themselves. :bleeding:
I wonder what these "researchers" would think of Destiny's Child's "Me, Myself and I".
I blame reality tv
In other news, researchers find out that "Youths today are worse than when we were young" and "Everything is going to hell in a handbasket". :rolleyes:
Anyway, this is retarded. They take some random songs from today and the past to support their "thesis". :lol:
Quote from: garbon on April 26, 2011, 11:42:23 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 26, 2011, 08:35:02 PM
listen to more Dave Matthews
Yeah if they want to off themselves. :bleeding:
You know, I like DMB and all, but my first reaction to that was still "What's up, Grandpa?"
Anyway, if it's a phenomenon at all, it's rap music, which has always been individualistic, sometimes (oftentimes) to a fault. I mean, if you want narcissism, listen to "Fuck The Police"--individuals doing verses about how they will, individually, fuck the police, basically as a band of self-interested supervillains. Thus the pattern is already well established in 1988. As that genre expanded, it's elementary that the number of examples of artists' lyrical masturbation was going to increase.
Also, doesn't music about being lame, which is the majority of modern rock output, counterbalance this quite effectively?
Quote from: jimmy olsen on April 26, 2011, 08:23:17 PM
For several decades, students have filled out a questionnaire called the Narcissism Personality Inventory, in which they've had to choose between two statements like "I try not to be a show-off" and "I will usually show off if I get the chance." The level of narcissism measured by these questionnaires has been rising since the early 1980s, according to an analysis of campus data by Dr. Twenge and Dr. Campbell.
That question is a terrible indicator for narcissism. The greatest narcissists wouldn't feel the need to be validated by others.
Quote from: Martinus on April 27, 2011, 12:22:21 AM
Anyway, this is retarded. They take some random songs from today and the past to support their "thesis". :lol:
But they are right. Most of what passes for modern rock these days is whiny emo egoistic whinefest.
Quote from: garbon on April 26, 2011, 11:43:50 PM
I wonder what these "researchers" would think of Destiny's Child's "Me, Myself and I".
They would instantly switch to the older and infinitely better Me, myself and I by De La Soul
Quote from: syk on April 27, 2011, 03:11:14 AM
Quote from: garbon on April 26, 2011, 11:43:50 PM
I wonder what these "researchers" would think of Destiny's Child's "Me, Myself and I".
They would instantly switch to the older and infinitely better Me, myself and I by De La Soul
Unlikely, as I don't think the songs are related (excepting name) and that wouldn't help their thesis.
I tried to listen to that "Friday" song that people keep blabbing about. I had to shut down the video like 30 seconds in because the song was so annoying it was literally giving me a flashover migraine. :bleeding:
Quote from: Caliga on April 27, 2011, 07:13:06 AM
I tried to listen to that "Friday" song that people keep blabbing about. I had to shut down the video like 30 seconds in because the song was so annoying it was literally giving me a flashover migraine. :bleeding:
I think that's why some have dubbed it the worst song ever - even though that title is too weighty for that song.
Also, IMO the girl singing it is ugly. :)
*Is confused about you kids and your music*
GET OFF MY LAWN
QuoteThe PhD's Vanity, Heard Through Publish or Perish
By Ima Dork
Published: March 32, 2011
In the today's world of change and uncertainty, one thing stands out: The research institutions churning out inane and idiotic papers to justify whatever it takes to gain pseudo-respect in the mainstream world.
In days gone by, researchers were happy in their nest of isolated gibberish, free of constraints of logic and actual experience. Titles of papers like "The Post-War Antithetical Constraints of Neo-Marxist Economic Theory and Diaphram Usage" have become, sadly, things of the past. In the new model of relevancy, researchers now struggle to find that topic that will both show them as serious members of the field and yet touch a broader public nerve that might allow them access to the lucrative public speaking circuit.
Playing on tried and true topics: Family Values, Teenagers, Dreadnaughts, these nearly worthless doctorate holders fight with one another to achieve that holy grail of academia. Relevance. Given the short attention span of the general public, reckoned in one recent Sociological study as "below that of diabetic hamsters", this tast is daunting.
Still, the enormous drive to achieve this position in the acedemic world, that of near-acceptance and mild scorn, propels them to reach out and connect with the real world.
This researcher expects more studies on such topics, and it can be read about in my latest book.
Quote from: Caliga on April 27, 2011, 07:13:06 AM
I tried to listen to that "Friday" song that people keep blabbing about. I had to shut down the video like 30 seconds in because the song was so annoying it was literally giving me a flashover migraine. :bleeding:
Lol, it gets way worse than that. At first I was like "this is bad, but it's not epically William Hung bad." It went beyond that though. God it's awful.
Quote from: Martinus on April 27, 2011, 12:22:21 AM
Anyway, this is retarded. They take some random songs from today and the past to support their "thesis". :lol:
Anyway, it is retarded to epic-fail at reading and then blame the writer for your ignorance. :lol:
Quote from: garbon on April 27, 2011, 07:31:14 AM
Quote from: Caliga on April 27, 2011, 07:13:06 AM
I tried to listen to that "Friday" song that people keep blabbing about. I had to shut down the video like 30 seconds in because the song was so annoying it was literally giving me a flashover migraine. :bleeding:
I think that's why some have dubbed it the worst song ever - even though that title is too weighty for that song.
It's terrible, but its "worstness" is certainly not accurate. I've heard far more awful songs from major talents.
Quote
When you looked into my eyes
I stood there like I was hyp-notised
You sent a feeling to my spine
A feeling warm and smooth and fine
But all I could do were stand there paralyzed
When we kissed, ooh what a thrill
You took my hand and, ooh baby, what a chill
I felt like grabbin' you real tight
Squeeze and squeeze with all my might
But all I could do were stand there paralyzed
Oh yeah lucky me, I'm singing ev'ry day
Ever since that day you came my way
You made my life for me just one big happy game
I'm gay ev'ry morning
At night I'm still the same
Do you remember that wonderful time
You held my hand and swore that you'll be mine
In front of preacher you said
"I do" I couldn't say a word for thinking of you
All I could do was stand there paralyzed
God damn kids & their emo songs!
:bleeding: I remember listening to that Weezer song they mention in the article. Maybe it was supposed to be a parody, but it was so stupid and unfunny that that is *the* song I think of when people mention abrasive or narcassistic lyrics.
Quote from: Ideologue on April 27, 2011, 08:11:12 AM
It's terrible, but its "worstness" is certainly not accurate. I've heard far more awful songs from major talents.
:yes:
It isn't substantial enough to be the worstest.
Quote from: Caliga on April 27, 2011, 07:42:03 AM
Also, IMO the girl singing it is ugly. :)
Make it sung by Nicole Scherzinger feat. "any nigg' still remotely popular these days", and it might become an absolute top40 killer.
Quote from: Drakken on April 27, 2011, 08:39:48 AM
Quote from: Caliga on April 27, 2011, 07:42:03 AM
Also, IMO the girl singing it is ugly. :)
Make it sung by Nicole Scherzinger feat. "any nigg' still remotely popular these days", and it might become an absolute top40 killer.
:rolleyes:
Quote from: Drakken on April 27, 2011, 08:39:48 AM
Quote from: Caliga on April 27, 2011, 07:42:03 AM
Also, IMO the girl singing it is ugly. :)
Make it sung by Nicole Scherzinger feat. "any nigg' still remotely popular these days", and it might become an absolute top40 killer.
:yeahright:
No fucking way.
And what the hell is with the racial slurs, they're getting way out of hand here these days.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on April 27, 2011, 06:46:46 PM
Quote from: Drakken on April 27, 2011, 08:39:48 AM
Quote from: Caliga on April 27, 2011, 07:42:03 AM
Also, IMO the girl singing it is ugly. :)
Make it sung by Nicole Scherzinger feat. "any nigg' still remotely popular these days", and it might become an absolute top40 killer.
:yeahright:
No fucking way.
And what the hell is with the racial slurs, they're getting way out of hand here these days.
Your dainty ears might bleed.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on April 27, 2011, 06:46:46 PM
Quote from: Drakken on April 27, 2011, 08:39:48 AM
Quote from: Caliga on April 27, 2011, 07:42:03 AM
Also, IMO the girl singing it is ugly. :)
Make it sung by Nicole Scherzinger feat. "any nigg' still remotely popular these days", and it might become an absolute top40 killer.
:yeahright:
No fucking way.
And what the hell is with the racial slurs, they're getting way out of hand here these days.
D wants to join the cool kids.
Since when is Seedy and Caliga cool kids?
Quote from: katmai on April 27, 2011, 07:09:18 PM
Since when is Seedy and Caliga cool kids?
When your normal crew is the seduction community.
Quote from: garbon on April 27, 2011, 07:22:43 PM
Quote from: katmai on April 27, 2011, 07:09:18 PM
Since when is Seedy and Caliga cool kids?
When your normal crew is the seduction community.
Leaving aside the question of cool, those guys are like me in that the haven't been kids for a long, long, time.