I love Edvard Munch

I've been told that if I'd stop listening to dark and depressing music I might be less depressed. What? Is there supposed to be some correlation between what you listen to and your frame of mind?

Well, maybe.

But I happen to like like dark things. I love to wear black, watch dark movies, and listen to moody music. Can't help it.

And while I'm on the subject of depression, do you think Edvard Munch could have benefited from some SSRI Anti-Depressants? I think so. But if he had been properly medicated with Paxil, I doubt he would have created such wonderful paintings. Probably he would have gone for cheerful sunflowers and sappy meadow landscapes, and then the world would never have been exposed to one of the more famous depictions of all-out anxiety: "The Scream", or otherwise known as "The Cry".

Let me quote from a web site dedicated to Munch: Norwegian painter and printmaker whose intense, evocative treatment of psychological and emotional themes was a major influence on the development of German Expressionism in the early 20th century. His painting The Cry (1893) is regarded as an icon of existential anguish. That just about says it all, if you ask me.

I just love this genre of painting. What kind of a mind came up with this material? I'll bet he wasn't very popular as a child. I'll even hazard a guess that his parents stood outside his closed bedroom door constantly yelling "Hey! You've been locked in your room for hours! What are you doing in there?". I'll bet he wore a lot of black, too.