Nü Metal may be dangerous to your health

Radios should be fitted with a warning: "May cause a change in appetite, disruption of sleep habits, poor concentration, fatigue, agitated motor function, diminished interest in daily activities and feelings of guilt or worthlessness." For the freshman readers who have not yet taken Health, these are the symptoms of depression.

A sinking sadness has settled over radio's rock music today. Alternative rock, or Nü Metal as it is now being called (which is about as Danish as Häagen Dazs), has become increasingly morose and painful. There is a new type of sadness being conveyed: abstract, self-serving sorrow.

Rock music has always been unhappy. The genre is an extension of the blues: the musical manifestation of the long suffering in black America. Most rock songs are about failed relationships, youthful angst or war. But whatever the dissatisfaction, there was always a cause. Depressing relationship songs were the result of depressing relationships, anti-war songs were in opposition to war, and songs about anger or frustration stemmed from some specific angry event or condition. Such context can give a sad song purpose, even hope. You can listen to hours of Led Zeppelin songs about broken hearts, but the beauty and power of the music will leave you with cathartic happiness.

In contrast, most Nü Metal contains disembodied melancholy, a vague but preeminent despair that exists for its own sake. Take, for example, Linkin Park's "Somewhere I Belong." The song wails about "the pain I've held so long" and "the nothingness inside of me" with no rationale for the singer's sadness. The words contain no action or specific motivation for the singer's depression, only his painful cries. "What do I have but negativity?" the song asks. Who knows?

This newly dominant style of wallowing in suffering can be blamed on Korn and to a lesser extent, The Deftones. Korn's first few albums were extremely fresh and edgy, and the group's lyrics tackled abuse and depression. But the legion of copycat bands that followed, from Limp Bizkit to Disturbed, added very little "Nü" to the sound and diluted most of the musical experimentation and lyrical innovation by magnifying the sludge and the sorrow. Even Korn's recent material features Jonathan Davis singing about abstract personal demons and suicidal tendencies. It sounds confessional, but there're no confession.

Some would argue that this depressive musical trend began with the grunge movement of the early 1990s. While grunge was certainly bleak, it was also fresh, lyrically complex, non-formulaic and sincere. Every band was doing something different: Nirvana was punky; Soundgarden was metallic; Smashing Pumpkins was progressive; Nine Inch Nails was electronic; Red Hot Chili Peppers was funky; Jane's Addiction was dirty. Back then, alternative music was actually alternative, and interesting lyrics were actually written. Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is one of the most accurate accounts of adolescent angst ever written. But Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell or Billy Corgan would never have written a song with lyrics like Evanescence's "Wake me up inside...Save me from the nothing I've become."

Today's Nü Metal is one of the most homogeneous genres of any art form ever. Instrumentally, it is almost impossible to hear any difference between Linkin Park, Trust Co., Hoobastank, Stained, Godsmack, Disturbed, Evanescence and Drowning Pool. And vocally, the main distinction is whether the singer wants to be Kurt Cobain, Jonathan Davis or Fred Durst. In the age of digital audio, sampling and Pro Tools, it is much easier to copy a sound than to develop a new musical or lyrical vocabulary. Ironically, this is the music that Pepsi thinks will get high-school students to learn about respect and responsibility in their "It's My Life" video.

To be fair, Nü Metal isn't all bad. Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory had a new two-vocalist sound and set the bar for the level of modern production. System of a Down is a wonderfully innovative and powerful Nü Metal group. Their instrumentals are varied, their lyrics are political and witty and their vocals are unmistakably unique. But even System of a Down has begun to rest on its laurels in a genre where their aren't many laurels to go around.

So if you're feeling a little sadder than usual, think back to health class. Try using positive self-talk and practice good I-statements. Get more exercise. Ask your doctor if Zoloft is right for you. Or just turn the dial.