Carte blanche to Stéphane Dompierre | Four minutes of happiness

With their own sensitivity, artists present us with their vision of the world around us. This week, we give carte blanche to author and publisher Stéphane Dompierre.

I was walking the dog while listening to my compilation “Generation “Hard or classical music softens morals. » It was enlightenment.

What if music was what the world needed, right now? Because one thing is certain: the world needs to soften its morals, and not just a little. Is the recipe for happiness found in this popular proverb whose origin is sometimes attributed to Plato, sometimes to Aristotle and, all in all, very little to MC Solaar? Could it be that simple to chase away the ambient doldrums?

Yes, of course, solving climate change, inflation, the housing crisis and wars could help too, but we would be more effective in resolving all that if we first perked up with an easy, inexpensive solution. , and capable of stimulating our production of dopamine, serotonin and endorphins. So, let’s play some music! Everywhere ! Like fluoride, let’s put it in drinking water! Every time we pour ourselves a glass of water or take a shower, boom, a little music appears at the same time which recharges our morals! Let’s also play music in all the businesses and… uh. Oh.

Oops.

I got a little carried away, I think, and the problem is obvious: music softens morals, okay, but which one?

There are already some playing over and over in stores, but obviously it doesn’t have the same effect on everyone. Some people are jubilant when they hear Christmas songs everywhere from the 1st^er November, while the Halloween pumpkins have not yet been completely ravaged by rampaging squirrels (these should soften our morals). But that’s not my case. I already left my little basket on the ground, while I was waiting in line at the checkout counter at a pharmacy. I fled. I urgently went out to breathe fresh air, and above all, to spare my eardrums. I wasn’t yet mentally ready to endure oboes and bells, pa-ram-pam-pam-pam.

All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey, even on December 25, I’m having trouble.

But I am not a reference in terms of musical tastes; Nick Cave and PJ Harvey soften my morals, as do the Beastie Boys or the female punk of Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney or Bratmobile. (It will come as no surprise that it is not me who is hired to do the musical programming for grocery stores.) The pan flute version of What’s Love Got to Do with It by Tina Turner mostly makes me want to rip the speakers out of the walls and drown them in a river. I can usually hold myself back, especially if I have my headphones handy and can relax with them War Pigs or another old Black Sabbath song.

All tastes are in nature, says another proverb.

Let us therefore agree, with regret, that no song has the power to rally all of humanity. Even though I am naively inclined to believe that All Night Long can do the job. Who can act like a fool while listening to this song? Another significant point that works in Lionel Richie’s favor: he is not “cancelled”.

Because yes, there is a second downside to my hope of saving the world through music: it is an environment where many people have made gestures which mean that we no longer want to hear them talk to us. serenade. The list of these stars is so long that I could have filled this column with last names alone.

And it’s a complex subject because each person has a different level of tolerance. We sometimes have elastic ethics in our musical choices, even if it remains understandable: we cannot still google the slightest artist in our “90’s karaoke kitsch” mix, before accompanying it while whistling, to ensure that he did not commit any reprehensible actions.

How many singers I listen to are dark carrion without me knowing yet? Like many other music lovers, I straddle two options: try not to think about it too much or become obsessed with it.

I hope you find the song that softens your morals, that warms your heart, that reconciles you a little with the world, hoping that it is not too problematic. The news is bad wherever it comes from, as Stephan Eicher sings, and we all need four little minutes of happiness once in a while. Even if it’s a pan flute version.