There are many, many times when you find yourself in a state of utter bliss, floating on a cloud of absolute joy, and then all of a sudden you feel you are going down, down, down, down, down, down! Jay Sean much? It can be something as trivial as your best friend talking behind your back or something as serious as a fight with your parents or girlfriend (the latter costs money).
All you need to do to get out of that well of sadness is to listen to a song – an instant musical uplift that creates a surge of serotonin in your veins and relaxes you to the ultimate bit.
Dr. Jacob Jolij is a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Gronigen in the Netherlands. And apparently, he has compiled a list of 10 such songs which help you reach that ultimate stage of hormonal happiness. He is a scientist. So, there needed to be reason for the songs to be uplifting. And to support that claim, to quote Dr. Jolij-
“The formula I came up with takes the number of positive lyrical elements in a song, and divides that by how much a song deviates from 150 bpm and from the major key”
And Voila! After he presented the list on request of U.K. electronics brand Alba, his songs were heard and re-heard! Here is a list of them in order of their ranking:
- “Don’t stop me now” by Queen: Like the lyrics of the song, the title justifies it. The song goes on encouraging you to do things, to cross every obstacle you face, to feel al-i-i-ve.”
- “Dancing queen” by Abba: I thought keep on dancing till the world ends (by Britney Spears) would be instead of this one. But Alba pushes you to dance and jive all the way round, all the time. After you listen to this one, you will start shaking your leg too.
- “Good Vibrations” by Beach Boys: It’s the song of hippies! It’s about feeling good and vibrating with the music, grooving as the night passes by. It definitely gives you some good vibes!
- “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel: Joel dedicated this song to Christie Brinklie, whom he eventually married. Now is there anything more uplifting than that? You sing a song for the woman you love and then get married. Happy faces everywhere!
- “Eye of the tiger” by Survivor: The most evergreen song when the stakes are high. It is like the trumpet dropping a sick beat and everyone jostling in to watch how the contenders fare. You must have heard them play this while you go for any NBA match. It is about loss, and then the triumph over loss. It’s about the danger of taking risks. It’s hard to un-hear it!
- “I am a Believer” by Monkees: It’s all about being confident and determined while facing a challenge. If you are walking into a meeting, you can hum this along and feel good about your starting pitch.
- “Girls just wanna have fun” by Cyndi Lauper: ‘Let’s shake our booty’- that’s the feeling you get when you watch the video of this song. It’s a retro disc version of pop music. And it is phenomenal.
- “Livin on a prayer” by Bon Jovi: It’s the anthem of businessmen and VCs alike. You take the boat through the storm and find the island, while you are still alive. Every day is full of risks. You are a living prayer. That’s the feeling you get after you listen to this song. Definitely soothing!
- “I will survive” by Gloria Gaynor: You will be surprised by the fact that how many of these songs are about survival. It’s amazing! Then the beat picked up and suddenly you were back from outer space. How can’t it be uplifting?
- “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves: This song is about a lady who is waiting for her lover’s letter to arrive. It’s all about feeling good and walking on sunshine. This is amazingly uplifting.
Go ahead, start your Youtube search!
