Can death metal bring you joy? 6 Minute English

Neil: Hello, and welcome to 6 Minute

English. I'm Neil.

Rob: And I'm Rob.

Neil: Rob, do you like metal?

Rob: Er, that's an odd question. I've never

really thought about it. I mean, I use metal

things every day - my toaster, my bike,

the underground...

Neil: No, no - not that kind of metal,

this kind of metal.

[Death metal music]

Rob: Oh, that kind of metal.

The musical genre, the type of music...

Neil: Yes, and in particular, death metal.

Rob: That fast, loud, aggressive sounding,

guitar-based music style?

Neil: Yep, that's the one.

Rob: Nope. Not my cup of tea at all.

What kind of person do you think I am?

Neil: Well, that's the point. The type of

person who likes death metal may not be

the kind of person you think they are.

More on that shortly, but first,

a quiz. The electric

guitar is an essential element

to death metal music. In which decade

were the first electric

guitars produced? Was it: a) the 1920s,

b) the 1930s, or c) the 1940s?

Rob: I think quite early, so

I'm going to say the 1920s.

Neil: Well, we'll see if you're right later

in the programme. Does violent music

give people violent thoughts?

Recent research claims to have found

the answer. This is how the

topic was introduced on BBC News.

What was the conclusion?

BBC News Presenter: A psychological

study of fans of death metal

suggests that they are not

desensitised to violence despite

the genre's association with

growling, often graphically

violent lyrics including depictions

of cannibalism. Researchers found

that the main response of fans

to the music they love was joy,

not violence. Adding that most

are very nice people who

wouldn't dream of hurting anyone,

let alone eating them.

Neil: So what conclusion did

the researchers come to?

Rob: Well, they found that the response

to the music was joy,

not anger or violence.

It made people happy.

Neil: There was a fear that listening

to music with violent lyrics,

which means violent words,

would make people

desensitised to violence.

Rob: If you are desensitised to something,

you don't see it as unusual

or unacceptable,

it doesn't bother you.

Neil: The newsreader also said that

the lyrics of death metal include

topics such as cannibalism,

which is the practice of eating

human flesh. Listening to someone

singing about eating

people apparently didn't make them feel

like snacking on their neighbours.

Let's hear the introduction again.

BBC News Presenter: A psychological

study of fans of death metal

suggests that they are not

desensitised to violence despite

the genre's association

with growling, often graphically

violent lyrics including depictions

of cannibalism. Researchers found

that the main response of fans to

the music they love was joy, not violence.

Adding that most are

very nice people who

wouldn't dream of hurting anyone,

let alone eating them.

Neil: Professor Bill Thompson from

Macquarie University in Sydney

conducted this research.

What does he say people don't feel

when listening to this kind of music?

Professor Bill Thompson: Most fans

are not angry. Most are actually

musically trained people

who really get a lot of empowerment

and aesthetic interest out of

the music. They feel joyful.

They feel transcendent they

feel empowered. But what they

don't feel is angry.

Neil: What don't people feel?

Rob: They don't feel angry!

What they do feel is joyful,

the adjective from joy. They feel

happy. Something else they feel

is empowered. This is a feeling of

being in control of your life,

that you can make and follow

your own decisions.

Neil: Music is certainly a powerful

art form. Professor Thompson

also said that fans have

an aesthetic interest in it. This means

that they appreciate it as an art form.

Let's hear Professor Thompson again.

Professor Bill Thompson: Most fans

are not angry. Most are actually

musically trained people

who really get a lot of empowerment

and aesthetic interest out

of the music. They feel joyful,

they feel transcendent, they feel

empowered. But what they

don't feel is angry.

Neil: Time to review our vocabulary,

but first, let's have the answer

to the quiz question.

In which decade were the first

electric guitars produced? Was it:

a) the 1920s; b) the 1930s; c) the 1940s.

What did you think, Rob?

Rob: I took a guess at the 1920s.

Neil: Well electric guitars were early, but

not quite that early, I'm afraid. The first

ones were produced in the 1930s.

So well done if, unlike Rob,

you got that correct.

Now, onto the vocabulary.

Rob: Yes, we had a few words

connected with music. We had genre

for a style of music and

also lyrics for the words of a song.

Neil: Some of the lyrics of

death metal songs are about eating

people, which is called cannibalism.

Rob: Cannibalism is a form of

extreme violence and there was some

concern that people exposed

to such violent lyrics in songs

might become desensitised

to actual violence.

Neil: This means that they would accept

violence as normal and not be

worried by it. However, the research

showed that this doesn't happen

and fans actually feel joy, which is

another way of saying happiness.

Rob: The research also suggested

that fans have an artistic appreciation

of death metal,

described as an aesthetic interest.

Neil: The final word was for a feeling

that fans might get after listening

to the music, empowered.

Rob: Someone who is empowered

is in control of their

own life and decisions.

Neil: And I feel empowered to bring

this edition of 6 Minute English

to a close. We look forward

to your company next time. Until then,

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Bye for now.

Rob: Goodbye!