Abstract

The study of depictions of mental disorders in music are scarce, despite the fact that the reproduction of stigmatizing representations can interfere in the search for treatment. The scope of this article is to describe the extent and nature of the descriptions of madness in Spanish punk music (1981-2010) as a basis for comparisons with other countries and musical genres. For the content analysis, 3,653 song lyrics were reviewed looking for the words ‘crazy,’ ‘madness,’ or other related terms. A total of 174 works were identified and subsequently analyzed by two decoders. The code book contained 28 codes representing cuatro categories: uses, sense and meanings of ‘madness’; main topic of the song; the word ‘crazy’ in set phrases; and the crazy individual. The use of madness as unpredictability or loss of control was prevalent. In set phrases, links between madness and loss of control were recurrent too. The word ‘crazy’ was predominant as an attribute or quality. Comparisons with previous findings in the literature suggest that the senses of madness as ‘pathology,’ ‘loss of control,’ and ‘opposition to reason’ were more universal. The identity contents of Spanish punk were the backcloth for the content identified, such that the theme of madness emerges as a sign of identity and a manifestation of otherness.

Key words
Medicine in the arts; Mental health; Qualitative research