I found myself listening to a My Little Pony Pandora station a few weeks ago which was really a collection of children’s music from popular franchises, but I quickly realized that the music on the station followed the same themes of encouragement, reassurance, and joy that religious music does. While riding in someone else's car I heard one such religious music station challenge its listeners to listen only to religious music for a week to see how it improved their moods.

I’ve never been fond of religious people claiming that only their thing can make people happy, but an idea and question occurred to me. We know that constantly listening to one type or genre of music has a high likelihood of effecting a person’s daily mood, but what does a person’s daily mood become if the music being enjoyed is all pony?

So my challenge to you is to do what I am doing and put together a playlist of pony music, official and fan made, and whenever you have a choice to listen to music, only listen to Pony Music for the last whole week of July (21-28), then share the story of how it effected you.

I can tell you a few things up front: my collection of pony music doesn’t include dance remixes as that style of music sets me on edge, but if that is your thing, I’d like to read how it effects you. Also there are a billion and two sad songs centered around Luna/Nightmare Moon. My playlist will be geared toward an uplifting theme so I'm probably going to exclude quite a bit from my list, but if someone wants to listen to only sad pony music or even playlists that have no unifying theme beyond the fact that they are pony, I would love to read about whatever theme you choose and how it effects you.

If you feel so inclined, please post your pony music playlist as a reply as it will help me to expand upon the set that I’ll be using. Also, if you share this challenge/experiment with other groups, and I hope you do, please link to them so that I may read their experiences as well.

Cross-posted in:
The Optimalverse
Faustian Orthodoxy

Interesting idea. I think I've found and downloaded few Animation Music Videos last year, but they basically contain 'popular song + pony video track".

Moskau (German Version) (PMV) - My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic

My Little Pony G1 - The Final Countdown (PMV) - bad visual quality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzi9EgQAXuY My Little Pony 'Viva La Vida' - AMV PMV

My little pony - Fantasia

Sabaton: The Final Solution PMV - also few other songs like SABATON - Resist And Bite and [PMV] Sabaton - Carolus Rex - My little pony

Strange, I can't find song on youtube, probably downloaded it from other sources :
Escapist (Nightwish) PMV-pF2oOT1YwRw.mkv - Escapist (Nightwish) PMV - 70 Mb!

So, not big at all and not very pony - but it tend to associate itself with whole theme I was reading here last year .... I think I come to conclusion I definitely like stories where pony world actually set others (even very war-loving, like WH40K) on strong ethically-upward trajectory, not other way around. And obviously, strong (psychologically) ponies are big boost for my mood.

6913750
You missed my point. When I said “pony music” I meant songs that were composed for and because of My Little Pony. All of the music that you have listed is music that was made for reasons that had nothing to do with My Little Pony.

Music composed for My Little Pony, is music that you hear in the show itself, like my favorites (for content):
Find the Music in You
A Kirin Tale
Rainbow

And music composed because of My Little Pony is fan made music, like:
The Legends of Equestria Soundtrack
Just Like You
Lullaby for a Princess
Tugging at the Heartstrings
Good ol’ Days
And my top favorites:
Long Way From Equestria
Land of Equestria
Equestria National Anthem v2

6914355 (PeachClover)
Thanks for clarification ....

also, not sure about others, but for me spoken English still not easy, so effect of those songs on me might be different than on others .....

/me just let autoplay feature "on", for now ....

6914404
Many of the songs have lyric videos, but you can also find the lyrics typed out in the comments of each video as there are many people who only know English as a written language. If you can't find the lyrics for any of the songs I have linked, let me know and I'll type them out.

6914493 (PeachClover)

Yeah, thanks a lot... . I was indeed listening to various interrelated songs all week long (it seems Youtube now pause itself after 30 minutes or so of inactivity?! so, I just used youtube-dl + mplayer) , and may be will continue to do so for some more time. It seems text (lyrics) really plays important role, especially when you have fragment of song 'playing' in your head on its own ..so, this is sort of self-programming/lifehack. So, when you hear a lot of about, um, friendship and such you started to consider it more... hopefully. I can't say listening to big MLP playlists eliminated all dark thought from me, but at least I spend this weekend a bit more productively than usual.

I can't stop myself from thinking about songs, so for example I very liked first half of (Run Away. Original song, Choices) , where song talks about more anti-authoritarian way of seeing things, yet was somewhat disappointed by individualistish end! Well, this is 'travel song', so if you 'run away' from norms and limitations of no longer applicable to you 'normal' world this doesn't mean you will continue to be alone further into future ...

especially considering this popular hit (I tend to be wary about TOO popular songs because..well, human herds not very intellectual..but in this case, and case above I think high viewcount is real reward for work well done): Join the Herd - PMV

6924428
Thanks for the update. The process of gathering the songs is just as much a part of the challenge and experiment as the upcoming week is, so I'm glad to hear about how you are collecting your music. I also use youtube-dl, but I find that almost every pony song on YT has a link to where I can download a high quality version of the song. I started writing out a rather impressive reply, but I've decided to save most of it until the challenge week is over. There is one part I feel like saying now though:

I tend to be wary about TOO popular songs because..well, human herds not very intellectual..but in this case, and case above I think high viewcount is real reward for work well done

Making one’s life’s purpose to “go against the herd” because one thinks “the herd” is unintelligent is still to act unintelligently because such a person’s actions are just reactions based on the actions of others, and what are the unintelligent people doing? Their actions are just reactions based on the actions of others… Reaction is not intelligence, so even if you feel leery of what is popular, if you are going to make a truly rational evaluation, it must be made based on your own experiences and not based on how you feel about others liking or disliking that thing.

I would also like to ask you to please use BBCode for all of your URLs as it makes the messages much easier to read.

I think it's going to be quite interesting to read about the experiences of this challenge when it's over, and of course, I'll be adding my own when the time comes.

6924775 (PeachClover)

Yeah, I understand intellectually I better to avoid my own knee-jerk reactions. But my real behavior still tend to differ.. Yes, I'll use BBcode like you for my other posts (I was thinking visible URL, even if automatic-generated, will be preferable over having to mouseover each link to see where to leads ...). Should I redo my old posts here too?

6924847
If anyone is interested in clicking the link, they have to mouseover it, and during that time the destination can be seen. I've read your posts, but if you want others to read them, then yes, cleaning up the URLs would be easier on the next person's eyes.

6924428
Now that the challenge/experiment is over, I can post what I wanted to share when this post was first made.

I came across “Run Away” a few days ago and I was flabbergasted and when I finally was able to speak again I said something like, “This is a very happy suicide song!” These are the same lyrics in the order that they were sang from the song where I have removed a few verses to really show this, “Well, if I can’t be myself that just means I don’t belong. You can count me out of this game; I refuse to play along. I can’t hold back this feeling, I don’t think I can stay. This place no longer feels like home. I wish to Run Away… Be the first to find the light of a new day… There’s no reason left to stay. I won’t shed a single tear because my life begins today… Those I love I will miss. Please forgive me for this, but I know that you are strong and you don’t need me here.”

I’m a little horrified because this would have been funny if it was done on purpose, but this wasn’t done on purpose. Songwriters need to be aware of what thoughts and emotions they DO NOT want their audience perceiving from a song, and making sure that the lyrics cannot be misconstrued for those purposes.

It seems text (lyrics) really plays important role, especially when you have fragment of song 'playing' in your head on its own ..so, this is sort of self-programming/lifehack. So, when you hear a lot of about, um, friendship and such you started to consider it more... hopefully. I can't say listening to big MLP playlists eliminated all dark thought from me, but at least I spend this weekend a bit more productively than usual.

The tone of the music helps to set one’s mind to a certain attitude. The genre of “Join the Herd” is punk-rock so it’s tone is both defensive and energetic, so although the song is singing about being part of something it also comes off with the feeling of “this is our club, like it or we’re going to fight!” Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I listen to the song that was parodied and feel a certain catharsis in knowing that I’m not alone in feeling that life can suck so bad that sometimes we just want to sit back and watch the world burn… As long as we move on from that feeling, it’s fine to feel it.

My favorite kind of tone in music is what I call invitational, which is either hated or considered childish by most people today, because it invites the listener to become the singer of the song by enacting the meaning within it. Invitational music is used in religion all the time to first make the listener feel better about life and then that they should follow their god… It’s ugly when that happens, but not all invitationals are ultimatums or meaningless promises, which is what is often the sort found in children’s music.

“The Magic Inside” from Season Five Episode 24 “The Mane Attraction” at first sounds pointless and even embarrassing when it raises up into the words “Because I know that I am just a pony”, but lately, I hear it as a quiet renunciation of arrogance and I sing it as a reminder to myself that I choose to be a pony in a world that most certainly wasn’t made for ponies. Here is how I hear it.

“I’m here to show you who I am. Throw off the veil, it’s finally time.” - I refuse to pretend that I don’t care anymore.

“For I believed what I was sold. I did all the things that I was told” - I didn’t have another teacher, so I followed the world’s way of selfish pursuit in trying to run away from pain.

“But all that has changed, and now I’m bold ‘cause I know” - I won’t run away into doing what is easy anymore, even if it hurts, because-

“I know that I am just a pony” - A pony loves, a pony tolerates, a pony is helpful, a pony does good even when no one else around them will, and all of the things that tempt to aggrandize me into something more are really trying to cover up the fact that I am this.

“I make mistakes from time to time, but now I know the real me and put my heart out on the line” - I admit that I act selfishly sometimes but now I know what’s important and I’ll continue to do what is good even though it may hurt.

“and let the magic in my heart stay true” - Acting as who I am fills me with life in a world that has so little of it.

“just like the magic inside of you” - This line has a double meaning. When it it sung to the ponies in the show, it means that the singer is thanking the ponies for helping for restoring the singer’s true nature. When it is sung to an audience, it means, “all of this is your potential – you too can open your heart and be filled with joy even in this world so devoid of magic”

Here the song basically repeats to point out that one does not make this choice one time, but has to keep reaffirming with choices made in every second of every day that one is a pony, just a pony. As long as the listener knows what “pony” means, the song has a surprisingly deep and reassuring meaning, but the meaning of “pony” is obscured a little bit as a reminder to not become prideful about it, because being pony is more important than being seen as a pony.

6939632 (PeachClover)

Well, first my big THANK YOU for this long analysis, nowadays I often skip a lot of long texts because..in too many cases they lead to nowhere. Your texts seems to come from you real concern and core (combination of logic and feelings I rarely saw in other humans).

Songwriters need to be aware of what thoughts and emotions they DO NOT want their audience perceiving from a song, and making sure that the lyrics cannot be misconstrued for those purposes.

- i think this is very hard goal, exactly because song, film, book are not passive units or signals or stimulus - they heavily depend on state of receiver .....

invitational music sounds like interesting concept, will look around for it.

. As long as the listener knows what “pony” means, the song has a surprisingly deep and reassuring meaning, but the meaning of “pony” is obscured a little bit as a reminder to not become prideful about it, because being pony is more important than being seen as a pony.

- yeah ... I think you put shorter definition of who is pony just a little earlier in this text and other texts ..

A pony loves, a pony tolerates, a pony is helpful, a pony does good even when no one else around them will, and all of the things that tempt to aggrandize me into something more are really trying to cover up the fact that I am this.

<-- this ....

So, very good post, I think you can save it for re-use in future.

PS: on somewhat suicidal undertones of "Run away .." - yeah, possible, I also feel like fool because just following some intellectual ideas in my life only showed me humans don't work/feel/behave according to their own stated ideals/parameters ...so ...suddenly simple road become basically untravelable ...... but hey, there is teapot calling, and after this my dog need walk!

Just for information, apparently at least one channel on Youtube was set to private/deleted:
Duo Cartoonist Youtube Channel Removed
scroll down for archive link ... It seems saving everything locally (and making backups, may be by sending stuff to friends) still important tactic.

I was reading comments in this thread at Stross's blog, and there was link to small illustrated popular article about how our brain respond to music.

Part of original comment (# 524):

Lower case 'l' language exists in multiple 'forms': oral/spoken, written, physical (facial/bodily) expression, sign, rhythm and probably a bunch of other ways. And that's for each 'formally recognized [upper case L] Language': English, French, Dutch, Mandarin Chinese, etc.

Each language 'form' seems to end up with slightly different rules so that knowing one form doesn't automatically mean you know any of the other forms. Especially true with French - the spoken form can get quite informal; the written is almost always very stilted and formal in comparison. Ditto for physical movement - the French-Parisian shrug and moue became 'speech/language' stereotypes because they're real, and they do convey/modify meaning.

Music - Music shares some things with language including Broca's Area: it's universal (all cultures seem to have developed music of some sort)

Article

Other interesting subthread there is Thaoism and while I definitely not read it up I think I can agree with philosophical dimension of 'If you can write it down then it will be not it" ... also, difference between practice and belief .... I like how it was formulated in #518

As far as Christianity's "pure in heart" being very Taoist, that wasn't my reading. The "beginner's mind" of Taoism doesn't really mean "beginner's luck." Instead it means you practice something so many times that it's ingrained in you, and it's something you just do without thinking about it. If people lived their Christianity this way, their works would show their faith.

- but then practicing ...not so good things may have same effect? You will do essentially bad things without noticing it? Not sure if there is enough built-in asymmetry in us, humans, to realize this intuitively, esp. in our complex and fast times ...

and #520:

With 2) (and for the other people in the peanut gallery), effectively we're arguing about what makes the magic happen in a performance, whether it's a magic spell, a prayer, a game, music, or a stage performance. Is it that touch of divine inspiration? Is it endless hours of rehearsal? If we're talking about music, the inspired crew are the punk rockers, while those who rehearse are in an orchestra. The Taoist answer (as I noted with Greg) is that *lots* of practice, done properly, enables a magical performance, and I tend to think this is the right answer. But as we know from bad punk bands and brain-dead, listless rehearsals, it's possible to screw up at either extreme. And that's kind of where philosophical arguments in religion go, too.

So, this is how I spend my time .... reading comments
with some background music ....