Beautiful/Sad - A Rambling by Mikey Amistoso AKA Sadness Is an Unfortunate but Beautiful Emotion
A substantial number of people have been telling me lately that my latest set of songs (namely the album "Bring Your Friends" and a few scattered unreleased demos) are really sad and depressing.
Now I'm actually concerned that their perception of Mikey circa 2006-present is a depressed person.
The answer is no. Haha. I'm generally a happy person. And I couldn't be in a happier state right now, thanks to all the fortunate events and boundless love I'm getting lately. (Hi Marian. I love you! yikee...)
It's just that I have this love for beautiful/sad songs, and you don't have to be literallly sad to enjoy or create those kind of songs. I don't know, maybe it started with Ben Folds or Elliott Smith (whose 5th Death Anniversary is today). But beautiful/sad songs stir something unique inside your heart and mind that no happy song could ever do.
I mean "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang could be as equally good as let's say, "Everything Means Nothing To Me" by Elliott Smith. But the high feeling you get from listening to the former is nothing compared to the plethora of emotions you suddenly gush out with when listening to a really beautifully-executed sad song like the latter. Call that a sadness-induced high, if there's such a thing. Hahaha.
I used to write happy songs, with lyrics like "Snot is for the supermen, they use it for their specimens." or "My teacher's a monster, she is a wanker." Nowadays I write things that go like "Silence will not give me back answers, it's just always complicating matters." or "Come out in circles because I love you more than I should." Hahaha. I don't know, you be the judge on which is more meaningful and has more substance.
But anyway, so there. I'm not sad. However though, those "sad" songs I wrote still remain true and honest and sincere even if they came from a "generally happy person."
My goal is not to put people down and make them feel sad and inadequate. (I'll leave that to the emo kids.) I just want people to be able to relate, and then form a thin layer of tears in their eyes, and at the same time, smile, because hopefully they found it unfortunate but beautiful. Believe it or not, there's a tinge of hope in those songs.
So smile! :)
Now I'm actually concerned that their perception of Mikey circa 2006-present is a depressed person.
The answer is no. Haha. I'm generally a happy person. And I couldn't be in a happier state right now, thanks to all the fortunate events and boundless love I'm getting lately. (Hi Marian. I love you! yikee...)
It's just that I have this love for beautiful/sad songs, and you don't have to be literallly sad to enjoy or create those kind of songs. I don't know, maybe it started with Ben Folds or Elliott Smith (whose 5th Death Anniversary is today). But beautiful/sad songs stir something unique inside your heart and mind that no happy song could ever do.
I mean "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang could be as equally good as let's say, "Everything Means Nothing To Me" by Elliott Smith. But the high feeling you get from listening to the former is nothing compared to the plethora of emotions you suddenly gush out with when listening to a really beautifully-executed sad song like the latter. Call that a sadness-induced high, if there's such a thing. Hahaha.
I used to write happy songs, with lyrics like "Snot is for the supermen, they use it for their specimens." or "My teacher's a monster, she is a wanker." Nowadays I write things that go like "Silence will not give me back answers, it's just always complicating matters." or "Come out in circles because I love you more than I should." Hahaha. I don't know, you be the judge on which is more meaningful and has more substance.
But anyway, so there. I'm not sad. However though, those "sad" songs I wrote still remain true and honest and sincere even if they came from a "generally happy person."
My goal is not to put people down and make them feel sad and inadequate. (I'll leave that to the emo kids.) I just want people to be able to relate, and then form a thin layer of tears in their eyes, and at the same time, smile, because hopefully they found it unfortunate but beautiful. Believe it or not, there's a tinge of hope in those songs.
So smile! :)