Pop Psychology Blog

What makes the perfect pop song? Music has three vital ingredients, melody, harmony and rhythm. For a track to become a hit it needs a hook, something to draw the listener in, so that the number becomes an incessant earworm, to which Kylie’s 2001 No 1 ‘Can’t Get You Outta My Head’ hypnotically attests. Songs that draw my attention have a further component. They tell a story. Succinctly capturing vignettes of life in 3 minutes. Not only observing something about the human condition but resonating deeply with it.

The concept behind each entry in this regular blog is to take the narrative from a popular song as a jumping off point to explore aspects of mental health. Hence, the title, ‘Pop Psychology’. While my blog will visit many musical genres, I confess a leaning towards country music in which I experience storytelling at its peak. I make no excuse for starting there.

David Sinclair is a registered accredited psychotherapist, counsellor and supervisor and Service Manager of WPC (Wessex Psychotherapy and Counselling CIO)