Compliments can sometimes be tricky to navigate, as identified by a Belgian psychologist. There are several ways in which receiving compliments can make the person being complimented uncomfortable.
When someone compliments you, it might make you feel self-conscious or criticized. For instance, if a friend praises your outfit during a meet-up, you might feel uneasy due to the attention being drawn to you.
Another factor that can make compliments uncomfortable is social awkwardness or inappropriateness, such as when a boss gives you a personal compliment.
Aside from these, feelings of indebtedness, pressure to return the compliment, being misunderstood, or feeling inadequate can also arise when receiving compliments. If you’re unhappy with something you’ve done, a compliment from someone might irritate you.
One way to address these feelings is to remind yourself that the person giving the compliment likely meant well. They probably wanted to show appreciation and make you feel good with their kind words.
It’s not always easy to see compliments in this light, especially for those with low self-esteem. These individuals might yearn for understanding and feel like compliments suggest a lack of it.
Research indicates that compliments can have adverse effects on individuals with low self-esteem in romantic relationships, leading to feelings of anxiety and misunderstanding.
Recent studies have explored ways to help those with low self-esteem benefit from compliments by shifting focus from personal beliefs to situational context and relationship dynamics.
Overcoming low self-esteem might result in increased receptiveness to compliments over time.
This article addresses a question from George Alvin via email: “How can I accept a compliment well?”
If you have any questions, please send them to the email address below. For additional information, contact:or send us a messageFacebook,XorInstagramPage (be sure to include your name and location).
circleA live jazz band plays Mario Kart, Full Orchestra Sonic plays. But there's an entire subgenre of video game music artists, who are happy to describe their sound as even nerdier. “Nerdcore has been around for 25 years – it's hip hop with nerdy themes, mostly about video games,” says Nick Box, 41, from Blackpool. Box has been in all sorts of “weird, silly bands,” including an electronic horror punk band. Hot Pink Sewer“All I did was dress up as a disabled person and play some backing tracks.” Cliff Grichard And it's weirder than you might think.
“The setting is a ZX Spectrum run by an AI clone of '90s TV presenter Noel Edmonds,” he explains. “The show starts with a Spectrum loading screen, followed by a pixelated Edmonds telling the audience that he's responsible for every celebrity death, political decision and catastrophe of the last 40 years. I run around screaming about stupid celebrities and end up fucking Mr Blobby onstage.”
According to Box, they were a nerdcore rap band based in Sunderland in the 2000s. B Type are his main inspiration and are “probably the biggest nerdy rap band in the UK right now”.
“We weren't the cool kids”… Mega run. Photo: Megaran
“In the early 2000s, there was a music explosion that mixed video game soundscapes with punk rock, hip hop and rap,” says Steve Brunton, aka BType, 39. “Final Fantasy VII was the first game that got people hooked on music, which led to remixes and covers.”
BType have covered Pokémon, Final Fantasy, Mortal Kombat and Cannon Fodder. “Each track is a love letter to the original,” he adds. The band performs with modified Game Boys and live beatboxers. “I'd describe our sound as the Beastie Boys working for Nintendo,” he says. Their shows draw “a wide variety of fans, from metal fans to nerds and geeks who you can tell from their T-shirts. When we started it was a huge untapped reservoir. Now, because everyone plays video games, a lot of people self-identify as fans.”
“What we really need to talk about is Megaran“He's a former English teacher from the US who became popular rapping about Final Fantasy VII and Mega Man and will be opening for Wheatus on their UK tour. He's a really great guy,” he advises.
“Hip hop's second golden age came in the early '90s, when Snoop Dogg, Nas and Wu-Tang Clan were releasing their seminal records,” Philadelphia-born Raheem Jarboe, aka Mega Ran, 45, told me over Zoom from Los Angeles International Airport, where we were waiting for a delayed flight to London. “Some of us were like, 'Let's just write songs,' but we weren't the cool kids, so we just wrote about our lives playing video games.”
Mega Run released his first album in 2006. He quit teaching in 2011 when he received a job offer from Capcom to write music for Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. “The songs are still nerdy, but the lines are blurring. If you listen to a Kanye West song, you hear a reference to a video game. Before, you didn't think anyone would notice a reference to Marvel Comics. Now Marvel is one of the biggest franchises in the world.”
BxLxOxBxBxY. Photo: Connor Standfield
“Mega Run supported Wheatus on their UK tour in June this year, taking to the stage with the band and rapping during their set of Teenage Dirtbag. “It touches on Nintendo Power, AOL, Yahoo and all the stuff we did when we were kids in the early 2000s,” he says.
Have you heard of Mr B? [The Gentleman Rhymer] “They're British nerdcore artists, and instead of insulting each other, they're praising each other and battling each other. 'You're so cool, your fashion accessories are amazing.' Talk to them, they're fun.”
“It would be nice, especially if we get some positive press,” said the 49-year-old, from Brighton. Paul Alborough Also known as Professor Elemental. “Ten years ago, Michael Gove Mentioned He liked my music and it was in the Guardian. I had to contact him and tell him that if he came to my show, I would have the audience beat him with sticks.”
Alborough describes his character, Professor Elemental, as “a mad, optimistic but woefully incompetent eccentric British explorer and inventor”. He has been performing for over a decade and can be seen at Glastonbury this year in a rainbow suit and pith helmet, with chimpanzees and lions as backing dancers.
Like Mega Ran, Professor Elemental has written songs for Sega and Nintendo, and if you want him to write a personal song it will cost you £500 a song.
So what does he think of his nerdcore contemporaries? “Sometimes I hear people rapping about, say, Mr Blobby, and I think, 'I can't stand this newfangled rap, it's not proper hip-hop'. But then I remember what I do…”
Weirder than you'd think… Cliff Grichard. Photo: Cliff Grichard
The Mr. Blobby-themed rap leads us to Dan Buckley, 39, the leader of a Mr. Blobby-themed grindcore band. Underline.
“I'm really interested in the blend of music, comedy, surrealism and a good, healthy dose of weirdness,” Buckley says of his two decades in the industry.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
