Welcome

Last night I read those letters, and they made me feel one hundred years old - from Stolen Car, Bruce Springsteen

I remember snow falling quietly on 14th Street in New York January 1999 and thinking it the most melancholy, yet most romantic sight imaginable.

I've long held a (completely invented) theory that one can distinguish not only people, but also places, in fact almost anything, by whether it is major- or minor- key dominant.  Here I focus on the minor, which has always felt like my spiritual home.

This is perhaps not surprising. Findings in cultural evolution suggest that negative information appears to be remembered and transmitted more than neutral or positive information.

On the other hand, it has been claimed that it is actually much harder to compose in the major key than the minor (this is the "any fool can write a sad song" theory).

See also:

• If we avoid sadness in life, why do we seek it in art?
• The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows: Uncommonly Lovely Invented Words for What We Feel but Cannot Name
• Why are pop sings sadder than they used to be?
• Why we should embrace ‘nepantla’ – the in-betweenness of life