A chorus of complaints.

• Position: MUSIC - Brief article

Got problems? Why not gather 30 or 40 people together in a public place and sing about them? That's what "complaints choirs" from Singapore to Philadelphia are doing. It all started in 2005, in Birmingham, England, and has since spread to 60 cities. (You can watch some of the performances at complaintschoir.org.) And while some issues, like dating problems, seem to be universal, there are some local trends. In Tokyo, complaints about work--"I cannot say no to work on holidays"--are more common than in other cities. In Helsinki, Finland, complaints about...