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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/46239
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

## It tells us nothing

The phrase _Gary Jules 'Mad Mad World'_ has no emotional resonance with me whatsoever. It is not shorthand for "a specific emotional state".

**Popular music is not a universal experience.** It can signal to your "tribe": people who are the same age, gender, financial tier, and probably race – the same demographic targeted by that particular marketing campaign. An example is in **Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas** , a funny scene where characters argue about _Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit_ as if it is monumentally important because they are high, and it's a druggy song.

**I had to consult the other mood cues in the sentence** : "falling autumn leaves" and "sitting alone" – both of these are mundane, regular occurrences that everyone experiences regardless of their mood – assuming they have _seasonal trees_, _chairs_, and _occasional privacy_.

Ironically the leaves were the only mood cue that I understood (that and the context of the question), ironic because it seems the least personal. Not everyone feels melancholia at a quiet moment, if you have a small child this might sound like a dream vacation.

Working backwards, I had to figure out that _sitting alone_ and _emo-music_ are all reflecting an emotional state, but it took me extra work to get there – I think that's the opposite effect of what you're hoping a culture reference will convey.

To be honest, **radio-friendly pop songs** are also mundane regular occurrences that everyone experiences, regardless of mood (often in spite of mood). It is like an over-used cliché. Even when people get your reference it doesn't convey anything _personal_ or _unique_, so it's not doing the work. It must have been experienced _randomly_ by (hundreds of) millions of people since the autumn of 2013.

**I think it's dead weight**. It's not conveying depression. I don't really think it works as a time-place cue either since it's not connected to any particular era or news cycle that would help me pinpoint the reference (ie: hippies arguing about drug-music from the '60s).

Original score: 8