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The Motte infidelity survey

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In yesterday's small-scale questions thread, @cjet79 asks why the song "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers has had such staying power, famously staying in the UK singles charts decades after its initial release. Some explanations (including my own) point to its compositional elements; others focus on its lyrics and subject matter. @100ProofTollBooth argues that it's a very universal and relatable song, as "The experience of infidelity (to some degree) is common to many (most? idk) people."

I'm curious if this is really the case, so I decided to go Aella mode and created a simple survey to find out about people's experiences with infidelity. It consists of a few demographic questions (age, sex, sexual orientation, relationship style), then asks you if you've ever had an unfaithful partner, then asks you if you've ever been unfaithful to a partner.

Completely anonymous, and I've set it up so the form doesn't collect email addresses if you're logged in.

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Are people really listening to lyrics of songs that much? I mostly don't, regardless of what language they're in, even if I'm the one singing. I'm listening to the music.

Lyrics are often borderline incoherent and made to fit the music, not the other way around.

I agree with you, I don't think the success of "Mr. Brightside" is primarily explicable by its lyrical content.