Science Has Spoken: Country Music Makes You Sick

An important item from Nature, the prestigious science journal, discusses an IgNobel Prize given to research on country music (not to mention flatulent fish). According to the news from Nature:

Country music often conveys a sense of fatalism and hopelessness, notes
James Gundlach from Auburn University, Alabama, who co-authored the
research. The song themes commonly revolve around relationship problems
that are solved by drink, desertion, and sometimes, death.

Gundlach compared the suicide rates in 49 US cities with the frequency
of country music played on local radio stations. Suicide is more common
in places where country music is prevalent, he concluded in a 1992 paper
in Social Forces.

Today, Gunlach is concerned about the impact of Brad Paisley's current
country hit, Whisky Lullaby. The song is played up to 50 times a week on
some US radio stations, and tells of unrequited love, alcoholism and
suicidal thoughts. Gundlach is planning a follow up study in five years
to assess whether the song has influenced suicide rates.

My, this must be depressing news for many people. It's enough to drive a country fan to drink....

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