By Loud Atlas
Sigmund Freud, the 'father of psychology', loved a theory or two. This week we focused on the id, ego and superego – the theory about how our conscious and subconscious work. Rather than go into the intricacies again, please read last week's article and the community's psychoanalytical nominations to get more of a flavour.
In short, this week's topic was about the balancing act at work between our impulses and our morals – the devil on one shoulder, an angel on the other. For example, what you really want to do is scroll down impulsively and listen to the music, don't you? Has one of the tunes you suggested made either of the lists? (Don't worry if it hasn’t, taking part is the main thing.) And in which order do you listen to the lists? Conform and go top down, or go for the wildcard picks first, A-list second and B-list last? But wait – read this first. Go on, you know you want to.
I very nearly had an Uncontrollable Urge to write a paragraph on each song that I've selected from your 200+ nominations. But that'd be too easy and predictable, wouldn't it? I could write: 'I Me Mine and Me, Myself and I are two songs about the ego in all its reality-realising and self-love type of glory – examples of the perfectly-balanced psyche'. I could even throw in a fun fact or two: 'It was the Beatles' last song they recorded together, and De La Soul didn't enjoy performing this, their biggest hit, live'. Now there's some psychology to delve into!
But carrying on in that vein, it might end up like Norman Bates' stab at running a motel. So then I thought – people want to hear the psychological freakiness behind our impulses, they want a plain and obvious connection to the theme. Give them The Male Monster From The Id. So I did.
I could even spice it up, throw in some lyrics and not the song title, cor that's clever – make you feel the poetry! Okay okay, let's go with this tasty one:
'And on an inconvenient Christmas, I eat a cake / A whole cake, all for me / [...] And then I get sick and throw up and there's another memory that gets stuck.'
And then it occurred to me that I should probably mention something about our instincts and how they haven't just turned up out of nowhere. We're descended from apes and essentially We Are All Animals. We're primal beings craving the basic things in life. We're Pure Pleasure Seekers to the extreme; we'll seek fulfilment until satisfied. But seeking that satisfaction can lead to unpleasant consequences.
The other end of the scale: society's pressures, our morals and what's 'right' to do in this complicated world of ours. If an action has affected others poorly, it's likely the perpetrator is feeling Guilty.
The Beast In Me wants to do something radical, draw a picture to allude to the next track, maybe even compose a sonnet, but really I should probably just advise that you should Hang Onto Your Ego. It's all you've got. Deep, man.
The gist of Freud, I think, is to Prioritise Pleasure, but without jeopardising too much else. Be who you want to be, fight for your right to party, or whatever it is you want to do. Motivational.
A David Bowie track was selected, but which one? Yes the one in which I couldn't comfortably fit the title of the song into a sentence sneakily. I mean I could mention maths and other 2D shapes, but that'd be weird. The psychosexual fantasy epic, y'know, that one.
The tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was referenced in a few songs and I thought a couple to round things off would be beneficial to the listening experience. The story follows Dr Jekyll, his dualistic personality and the struggles with the Mr Hyde side of his life. This track's a fictional one.
But the last is autobiographical. Ren is the new artist of the week for me. What a talent!
And do you think I even checked if any of the above had already been listed in the hallowed halls of the Marconium, laughing in the face of danger, going against societal norms and with no fear of reproach? Of course I did; I'm a good boy.
Analyst’s A-List Playlist:
Devo - Uncontrollable Urge (TarquinSpodd)
The Beatles - I Me Mine (ShivSidecar)
De La Soul - Me, Myself and I (happyclapper)
Landscape - Norman Bates (MussoliniHeadkick)
The Chills - The Male Monster From The Id (vanwolf2)
Mitski - I Don't Like My Mind (TarquinSpodd)
The Rakes - We Are All Animals (Uncleben)
Moloko - Pure Pleasure Seeker (Nicko)
Randy Newman - Guilty (magicman)
Johnny Cash - The Beast In Me (ParaMhor)
The Beach Boys - Hang Onto Your Ego (SweetHomeAlabama)
Self Esteem - Prioritise Pleasure (barbryn)
David Bowie - The Width of a Circle (SongBarLandlord)
The Damned - Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Shoegazer)
Ren - Hi Ren (barbryn)
Beyond The Brain B-List Playlist:
The Chad Mitchell Trio - The Ballad of Sigmund Freud (Nicko)
Skyhooks - Ego Is Not A Dirty Word (Nicko)
Peter Gabriel - Digging In The Dirt (ajostu)
Joan Armatrading - Me Myself I (bluepeter)
The Vaselines - The Devil's Inside Me (happyclapper)
Eddie & The Hot Rods - Do Anything You Wanna Do (Shoegazer)
Echo & The Bunnymen - Angels and Devils (Shoegazer)
The Cramps - Primitive (TarquinSpodd)
Gabby Young and Other Animals - In Your Head (severin)
The United States of America - I Won't Leave My Wooden Wife For You, Sugar (Fred Erickson)
The Cranberries - Animal Instinct (Maki)
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Suburban Relapse (Carpgate)
Tom Lehrer - Oedipus Rex (Nicko)
Guru's Wildcard Picks:
Daysormay - Ego
A song about each part of the id, ego and superego. Alternative and synthy.
Ron Moody - Reviewing The Situation
Fagin, played by Moody, is one of Dickens' greatest villains. A devil of a man, at this point in the musical Oliver! (songs by Lionel Bart) he struggles with the inner turmoil of leaving his criminal life behind or staying just the way he is.
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations in response to last week's topic: Tip of the iceberg: songs about the id, ego and superego. The next topic will launch on Thursday at around 1pm UK time.
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