National Mood Score
How Is America Feeling Right Now?
Mostly calm across indices. Some signs of strain may be emerging in one or two areas.
NMS = Music(35%) + Fear(25%) + Gloom(25%) + Jobs(15%)
The 4 Indices
Music Sadness
Mixed▲ +10.6
Billboard Hot 100 Valence
Market Fear
Normal▲ +4.1
VIX: 19.1
Consumer Gloom
Uncertain● 0.0
UMCSENT: 56.4
Job Anxiety
Strong Jobs● 0.0
Unemployment: 4.3%
NMS Breakdown
35 / 100
Mood Trends
All indices normalized to 0–100 (0 = bright, 100 = dark). Click labels to toggle.
This Week's Mood
Week of 2026-02-21
Hell At Night
BigXthaPlug Featuring Ella Langley
Valence: 20/100
Days Like These
Luke Combs
Valence: 85/100
Hot 100 Valence Snapshot
See All| # | Track | Valence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DTMFBad Bunny | 55 |
| 2 | Baile InolvidableBad Bunny | 35 |
| 3 | Man I NeedOlivia Dean | 65 |
| 4 | Choosin' TexasElla Langley | 25 |
| 5 | NuevayolBad Bunny | 78 |
| 6 | OrdinaryAlex Warren | 80 |
| 7 | Titi Me PreguntoBad Bunny | 78 |
| 8 | OpaliteTaylor Swift | 65 |
| 9 | GoldenHUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna & REI AMI | 85 |
| 10 | I Just MightBruno Mars | 78 |
Historical Highlights
Dot-com Peak
9/11 Attacks
Post-9/11 Escapism
Dot-com Bottom
Hurricane Katrina
Pre-Crisis Peak
Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy
Peak Escapism (GFC)
Market Bottom
Recession Pop Peak
Gangnam Style
"Happy" (Pharrell) Era
Adele "Hello" Peak
Post-Election Mood
COVID-19 Pandemic Declared
COVID Lockdown Peak Sadness
Pfizer Vaccine News
Vaccine Euphoria Peak
Bear Market + Vibecession
SVB Collapse
Brat Summer Peak
Why Track National Mood?
The National Mood Score (NMS) combines four dimensions of American sentiment into a single 0–100 reading. Music Sadness tracks Billboard Hot 100 valence, Market Fear normalizes the VIX volatility index, Consumer Gloom inverts the University of Michigan sentiment survey, and Job Anxiety scales the unemployment rate.
The counter-intuitive insight: when the economy crashes, the Billboard charts don't get sadder — they get brighter. People reach for escapist music during hard times. Lady Gaga dominated during the 2008 crisis. Dance hits surged after COVID. Economists call this “Recession Pop.”
By combining music mood with economic data, the NMS captures what no single indicator can: the gap between how people feel and how the economy performs. When all four indices diverge, it often precedes economic turning points. The strongest signal comes from VIX (r = −0.47 with BSI, 3-month lead).
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