{"id":912577,"date":"2026-06-13T20:11:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T01:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/13\/movies-use-this-one-musical-trick-to-make-you-feel-miserable\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T20:11:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T01:11:53","slug":"movies-use-this-one-musical-trick-to-make-you-feel-miserable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/13\/movies-use-this-one-musical-trick-to-make-you-feel-miserable\/","title":{"rendered":"Movies use this one musical trick to make you feel miserable\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\tAn 800-year-old Latin chant called the “Dies irae” will hit your feels.\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tImage: Ezra Bailey \/ Getty Images<\/em>\t\t\t<\/span>
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Music <\/p>\n

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter\ud83d\udca1<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week.<\/span><\/p>\n

By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy<\/a>. You may unsubscribe at any time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

What\u2019s the weirdest thing you learned this week? Well, whatever it is, we promise you\u2019ll have an even weirder answer if you listen to Popular Science<\/em>\u2019s hit podcast<\/a>. The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week<\/em><\/a> hits Spotify<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Apple<\/a>, and everywhere else you listen to podcasts every-other Wednesday morning. It\u2019s your new favorite source for the strangest science-adjacent facts, figures, and Wikipedia spirals our editors can muster. If you like the stories in this post, we guarantee you\u2019ll love the show.<\/p>\n

FACT: This musical motif is works like an emotional cheat code\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By <\/em>Jess Boddy<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

So I played a lot of Hollow Knight: Silksong<\/em> last year. And if you\u2019ve played or even watched some of that game, you\u2019ll recognize the core motif that\u2019s embedded in the game\u2019s entire soundtrack. In fact, it might even sound familiar if you\u2019ve never played Silksong<\/em> at all. That\u2019s because that motif is actually an 800-year-old Latin chant called the \u201cDies irae.\u201d<\/p>\n

After it made the rounds in the Catholic church as a part of funeral requiems, it jumped to secular music and eventually movies. Most memorably, the opening of The Shining<\/em><\/a> copies the exact melody of this ancient church song. But composers also sneak it into less obviously menacing movie scores like Star Wars<\/em>, The Lion King<\/em>, Shrek<\/em>, and hundreds more. (Another more recent example is Frozen 2<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s also trickled into video games like Silksong<\/em>\u2014and Elden Ring<\/em>, The Witcher 3<\/em>, and many others. I was curious why<\/em> this often four-note motif is so prevalent, so I interviewed a musicology professor at the Berklee College of Music. He helped me break down why this motif sounds so sad, both contextually, psychologically, and sonically. Listen to the full episode to hear the motif and see for yourself just how sad it is! (And keep an eye out for my upcoming YouTube video essay<\/a> on the topic, too!)<\/p>\n

FACT: A roller coaster \u2018thoosie\u2019 on the latest advances in amusement park tech<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By <\/em>Grant O\u2019Brien<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

This week\u2019s episode features special guest Grant O\u2019Brien, who you\u2019ve probably seen on the streaming network Dropout<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The last time Grant joined us on Weirdest Thing<\/em>, we broke format to quiz him on weird historical gossip:<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tDropout TV’s Lily and Grant talk Presidential Possums, Napoleon’s Penis, and Split-Level Toilets\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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This time, we let Grant go wild on his favorite nerdy hyperfixation: roller coasters. Check out this week\u2019s episode to learn about the hottest new technological features in coaster design\u2014and why he has a few notes for the folks who designed Falcon\u2019s Flight.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tFalcon’s Flight Front Row POV | NEW 600 foot, 155 mph Roller Coaster at Six Flags Qiddiya City\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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FACT: This disabled bird is the alpha male of his flock\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By <\/em>Rachel Feltman<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a riddle for you: What do you call a bird with a busted beak? An alpha male, apparently.<\/p>\n

This is the story of a kea\u2014which is a species of alpine parrot from New Zealand\u2014named Bruce. Bruce made the media rounds a few years ago because of his unique methods for adapting to a lack of top beak. After losing this seemingly necessary chunk of himself, researchers found, he found new ways to incorporate tools into his grooming and eating routine<\/a>. Bruce was thriving! What a wholesome tale.<\/p>\n

A new study<\/a> sheds light on some arguably less adorable, but to my mind no less inspiring, behaviors from Bruce. To make a long story short, this disabled parrot uses his half-beak to stab his adversaries. And it works really, really well. In fact, the researchers studying Bruce say he serves as the alpha male of his flock (or \u201ccircus,\u201d to use the correct term for a group of cheeky kea) by just about every metric they could measure. Far from being shunted aside due to his undeniable handicap, Bruce has basically invented a method of fighting that\u2019s so foreign to his peers that they can\u2019t figure out how to beat him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tMeet Bruce the beak jouster\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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You can read more about Bruce\u2019s innovative fisticuffs here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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2025 PopSci Best of What\u2019s New<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n

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The 50 most important innovations of the year<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Music An 800-year-old Latin chant called the “Dies irae” will hit your feels. Image: Ezra Bailey \/ Getty Images Music Get the Popular Science daily newsletter\ud83d\udca1 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":912578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[131522],"class_list":["post-912577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business-news","tag-podcast-music"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=912577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/912578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=912577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=912577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=912577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}