You may remember the weird “Just looking” Dvd from Japan, which was supposed to make shy men more confident by looking at different girls who did nothing but stare into the camera for 60 seconds. Now, Avex, not only one of Japan’s biggest entertainment companies but also the geniuses responsible for said DVD, have come up with a similar, psychologically deep, concept.
This time it’s a music CD, simply entitled “Stress”. But instead of mentally healing listeners, the music is supposed to scare and disturb them. There are 17 different tracks on the CD that is sold out [JP] in Avex’ official web store, including “Musical Ricercata” by Swedish pianist Fredrik Ullén, “Belkis – Queen of Sheba” by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi and various pieces performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.
That’s right, no death metal, no satanic songs, but classic music only. The point Avex tries to make here is that people enduring a period of stress by consuming unpleasant media will ultimately be rewarded by a feeling of relaxation afterwards, just like you might experience after watching a horror film. Hmmm.
The Nikkei, Japan’s biggest business newspaper, wrote that the CD actually sells very well in Japan. Good news: Non-Japanese classic music fans with a penchant for self-torture can still order it at Amazon Japan [JP] (for $17+shipping). The picture you see above is the original cover art (the writing says “stress”).