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brewbellyblueberry

[Thread] Recommend me devastatingly sad songs? Please?

https://sopuli.xyz/post/6471103

[Thread] Recommend me devastatingly sad songs? Please? - Sopuli

So I’ve always noticed when I’m as down as I can get, I find comfort is music that most people find super depressing all the way to unbearably depressing. Like slit-your-wrists depressing. Songs you’d expect to find someone hanging from a noose in their home on repeat to. These kinds of songs bring comfort because they make me feel like, ok, I’m not so alone with this shit. And for context, really happy songs just seem the saddest, most devastating songs that there are, because you don’t have that, you don’t have that happiness, love, support, that glimmer of light everyone’s so happy about you know? So gimme the saddest songs you can think of. I’m wearing Joy Division out. Some other music/songs I’ve been listening to: Ren - Hi Ren [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_nc1IVoMxc] (and some others of his), Elliott Smith, Micah P. Hinson [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx56hqDipWQ], Portishead, Swans, Lykke Li - I Never Learn, Interpol, Chelsea Wolfe, Elton John - Rocketman

Dojan Dec 1, 2023

Heard the Friends theme song in minor?

I’d never really listened to the song before, but was struck with how melancholic the lyrics are.

MAJOR TO MINOR: What Does the Friends Theme Song Sound Like in a Minor Key?

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m-p{3}Dec 1, 2023

Alter Bridge - Blackbird

Blackbird

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TheHolyChecksum Dec 1, 2023

youtu.be/egHJJlUcKdQ?si=_DvnyxZJ9fDZz2eZ

Here, try some doom black metal

At the Door to the Tenth Sub Level of Suicide

YouTube

SwingingTheLamp Dec 1, 2023

The whole album, Asking for Flowers by Kathleen Edwards, but especially the song Alicia Ross, after you read the story behind it. That’s weapons-grade sadness.

kvn Dec 1, 2023

Give the album A Crow Looked at Me by Mount Eerie a listen if you haven’t heard it yet.

lckdscl [they/them]Dec 1, 2023

have a nice life (all of deathconsciousness but specifically who would leave their son out in the sun)

a silver mt. zion (all of he has left us alone…)

Amenra (a solitary reign)

planning for burial (all of below the house)

lingua ignota (anything)

uboa (anything)

ex:re (all of S/T)

mount eerie (all of a crow looked at me)

panchiko (cut)

sufjan stevens (should have known better)

fugazi (I’m so tired)

nine inch nails (hurt)

midwife (all of like author, like daughter)

Flaky Dec 1, 2023

Was going to recommend Lingua Ignota. All Bitches Die is a great but very rough listen. Last track on it is sombre(?) and beautiful.

novibe Dec 2, 2023

Have a nice life is one of my favorite bands ever. On that note, Giles Corey by one of the guys in HANL is even more devastating I’d say.

And for Sufjan, Casimir Pulaski Day always kills me.

nul9o9 Dec 1, 2023

Rehab - It Don’t Matter

It Don't Matter - Rehab

YouTube

Candelestine Dec 1, 2023

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails’ song Hurt, as performed by Johnny Cash:

youtu.be/8AHCfZTRGiI

I think in order to get to the true depths of musical pain, you often need two people. One who has the creativity and expression to write it well, and another whose soul has been crushed by their own guilt enough to perform it well. These two people cannot be the same, because the soul crushing process kills your creativity at its most extreme levels. But that extreme level is where you can perform mournful songs the best.

So, it takes two people.

Johnny Cash - Hurt

YouTube

brewbellyblueberry Dec 1, 2023

Sometimes, yes, I absolutely agree, maybe even often. Not all songwriters, as great of a performer they might be for most of their songs, are the best performers for so many of their own songs. Good examples are Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (Cohen after the first 3-4 albums wasn’t IMO the best performer of his own songs) and Jeff Buckley’s version; lots of Isaac Hayes’ versions of other peoples’ songs, most of all By the Time I Get to Phoenix

but the best example I can think of is A Song for You, written by Leon Russell, but Donny Hathaway takes it to a completely different fucking universe and makes it his own. That song is heartbreaking performed by him, Jesus.

Isaac Hayes - By The Time I Get To Phoenix (Full Length 19:00 /HQ Audio)

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glimse Dec 1, 2023

another whose soul has been crushed by their own guilt enough to perform it well

Sorry but did you just…not listen to the original? There is such a wide range of emotions and Trent Reznor CRUSHES it. There is so much depth compared to Johnny Cash’s warbling old man voice. You hear a man hitting his breaking point as he gets louder and angrier at himself. Meanwhile there’s no evolution in the cover, he sounds the same start to finish.

I just don’t understand the massive praise of the cover. If it wasn’t Johnny Cash singing it, it would have never hit the radio. I don’t care if people like it but you’re massively downplaying the amazing performance of the original

Candelestine Dec 1, 2023

Honestly, Reznor’s rendition struck me as oddly theatrical. That’s probably just me though, different people can hear different things in the same piece of music.

glimse Dec 1, 2023

I hear heroin addiction and depression in the original and boredom in the cover. Not to mention the self-aggrandizing music video…I don’t hear pain when he’s singing someone else’s story over clips of his successful, fulfilling life

Candelestine Dec 1, 2023

Reznor heard his pain. Perhaps the fact that his successful, fulfilling life still ultimately failed him, is what he’s trying to say. Also, he was an addict too.

airdig_one Dec 1, 2023

Fleetwood Mac, Man of the World. “But I just wish that I’d never been born”. That one line alone does it for me.

sparemonkey Dec 1, 2023

"Sometimes It Snows in April" by Prince

Sometimes It Snows in April

YouTube

muse Dec 1, 2023

Sunny December by Bombadil
The Bomb by Florence + The Machine

miseducator Dec 1, 2023

Casimir Pulaski Day by Sufjan Stevens. Turns out childhood cancer makes for a beautifully gut-wrenching song.

nick Dec 1, 2023

lush - when I die

Soppai Dec 1, 2023

The album Hospice by the Antlers. I’ll just steal from wikipedia: Set in New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which the second track is named after, Hospice tells the story of a relationship between a hospice worker and a female patient suffering from terminal bone cancer, their ensuing romance, and their slow downward spiral as a result of the woman’s traumas, fears, and disease. The story of her deterioration also serves as a metaphor for an abusive relationship. Frontman Peter Silberman has been reluctant to divulge explicit details regarding the meaning of the record, and the extent to which it is autobiographical.

Love it.

Hospice (album) - Wikipedia

tychosmoose Dec 1, 2023

Blue Valentines - Tom Waits

107 Steps - Björk (this one is best after watching the movie “Dancer in the Dark”)

Gone Away - My Brightest Diamond

Gloomy Sunday - Billie Holiday Or Gloomy Sunday - Sinéad O’Connor No comparison vocally, but if you like Sinéad the second has a lot of emotion.

A Night Like This - The Cure

Traveling Light - Leonard Cohen

Tom Waits - Blue Valentines

YouTube

intelisense Dec 1, 2023

Dawn Penn - You Don’t Love Me

Dawn Penn - No, No No (Official Video)

YouTube

intelisense Dec 1, 2023

Alice in Chains - Down in a Hole

Alice In Chains - Down in a Hole (MTV Unplugged - HD Video)

YouTube

glimse Dec 1, 2023

Bryan John Appleby - Honey Jars

Bryan John Appleby - Honey Jars (Live on KEXP)

YouTube

Gingerlegs Dec 1, 2023

nick drake - parasite

angel olsen - only with you

blonde redhead - hated because of great qualities

broght eyes - something vague

starflyer 59 - fell in love at 22

smog - vessel in vain

cigarettes afters sex - sunsetz

Parasite

YouTube

smotherlove Dec 1, 2023

Dance with the Devil by Immortal Technique. A song about an up-and-coming gangster being tricked into raping and killing his own mother. It’s the most brutal, soul-crushing song I’ve ever heard.

AcornCarnage Dec 1, 2023

Lots of loss in my family in the last 10 years or so. As a result things like this are the most devastating for me. These two in particular are just gutting.

Warren Zevon - Keep Me in Your Heart

Harvey Danger - Jack the Lion

Warren Zevon - Keep Me In Your Heart Lyrics

YouTube

BraveSentry Dec 1, 2023

If you don’ t mind not understanding the lyrics, try the album Kauan by the finnish band Tenhi.

While were at finnish bands: some Nightwish songs are really great sad music: Away, Sleeping Sun and Deep Silent Complete come to my mind.

Also have a listen to Songs by John Dowland. Baroque but magnificentky sad if well sung.

brewbellyblueberry Dec 1, 2023

Lol, almost mentioned Tenhi in my OP, but I figured since they’re Finnish no-one is gonna know them either way. One of my favorite bands.

Love John Dowland as well.

Alter_Id Dec 1, 2023

Fuck, two Tenhi fans in one place (make that three now). Not something to be expected. Glad to see it though.

@BraveSentry @brewbellyblueberry

BraveSentry Dec 2, 2023

Nice coincidence. Though it makes sense that someone asking for sad songs might know and like Tenhi. Kuolesi jokeen, Etäisyyksien Taa and Saapuminen are my favourites. Now that I listened some memories arose and now I have to listen to the newer stuff they made. Thanks for reminding me Tenhi exist!

Kuolleesi Jokeen

YouTube

WilhelmStroker Dec 1, 2023

Lots of good stuff in this thread. This one immediately sprung to mind

youtu.be/d_GSS6i0gWc?si=Ih5toP2r-Q32RigG

Sophia - So Slow

YouTube

dumptruckdan Dec 1, 2023

The Cure - The Same Deep Water as You

Or just listen to Disintegration all the way through

The entire album The Final Cut by Pink Floyd

Yesterday When I Was Young (Roy Clark version, Glenn Campbell did this one too)

Tom Waits - Soldier's Things or Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis, or just throw on any Waits album and you'll find something unbearably sad among the bangers. Same with Nick Cave

Alter_Id Dec 1, 2023

Dido's Lament as performed by Simone Kermes from Henry Purcell's

Clann Zu - One Bedroom Apartment

Death - Voice of the Soul

Austere - Just for a Moment

Eikenskaden - Then I'll Erase Myself Forever

Warning - Watching From a Distance

Brahams' Ein Deutsches Requiem - First Movement

Dido's Lament - Simone Kermes

YouTube

Voroxpete Dec 1, 2023

I have been preparing my entire life for this moment!

Daughter - Shallows

Placebo - Follow The Cops Back Home

Lanterns on the Lake - Another Tale From Another English Town

Amanda Palmer - Trout Heart Replica

Joni Mitchell - The Magdelene Laundries (cw: abuse - if you’re not looking for that sad try Come in From The Cold)

Secret Machines - 1000 Seconds

Silversun Pickups - Circadian Rhythm

Mogwai - Killing All The Flies

Porcupine Tree - Heart Attack in a Layby

Death Cab For Cutie - What Sarah Said

Iron & Wine - Passing Afternoon

Jimmy Eat World - Hear You Me

Tusks - Dissolve

The Flaming Lips - Mr Ambulance Driver

Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes

Manchester Orchestra - I Know How To Speak

The Midnight - Brooklyn (not to be confused with “Brooklyn. Friday. Love” which is the exact opposite end of the emotional spectrum)

NeedingvsGetting Dec 1, 2023

My favorite genre! I see you've already got Elliott Smith, so in the vein of hauntingly beautiful:

The National - I need my girl
Sun Kil Moon - Carry me Ohio
Greg Laswell - Your Ghost (A lot of his music is like this)

Other favorites
Local Natives - Heavy Feet
Boy & Bear - Wicked Game
Hurt - Alone with the Sea

Similar feel, but a little happier
Dope Lemon - Marinade

The National - "I Need My Girl"

YouTube

Chetzemoka Dec 1, 2023

Can’t believe no one has mentioned It’s A Mad World yet:

youtu.be/4N3N1MlvVc4?si=-7kTHbNDPsNBHFuh

Also

Belly - Stay

Regina Spektor - Field Below

Tori Amos - Marianne, Twinkle, I’m Not In Love, Strange

Seether - Fine Again

Mad World - Gary Jules

YouTube

Candelestine Dec 2, 2023

The thing about Gary Jules’ Mad World, is as hauntingly sad as it is, it also has this steady, subtle thread of defiance woven through it, that imo really elevates it to greatness. Makes it slightly less sad though, there’s some steel in there, where the whole song is rebuking the world.

I’ve always really liked Alex Parks’ slightly popier cover, she pushes that defiant tone a bit harder, reminiscent of a little Sinead imo:

youtu.be/ABFQOLZlfGU

Alex Parks - Mad World

YouTube

Hephoh2 Dec 1, 2023

You should look into Eels. “Electro shock blues” is so sad and it starts with a down note on “Elizabeth on the bathroom floor”.

Random Geek in limbo Dec 1, 2023

@brewbellyblueberry even my favorite devastatingly sad songs end on a positive note. Can't help it. It's in my nature.

Doomed by Brent Amaker & The Rodeo

Doomed by Brent Amaker & The Rodeo

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Random Geek in limbo Dec 1, 2023

@brewbellyblueberry Though just about anything by Death Cab for Cutie will do if I have a real need to be melancholic.

What Sarah Said by Death Cab for Cutie

What Sarah Said by Death Cab for Cutie

Listen now on your favorite streaming service. Powered by Songlink/Odesli, an on-demand, customizable smart link service to help you share songs, albums, podcasts and more.

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mcgrew Dec 1, 2023

@brewbellyblueberry Guns N' Roses - Estranged https://youtu.be/dpmAY059TTY

Guns N' Roses - Estranged

YouTube

EssentialCoffee Dec 1, 2023

Pearl Jam - Last Kiss

uphillbothways Dec 1, 2023

Leonard Cohen - Famous blue raincoat
Queen - Under pressure

uphillbothways Dec 1, 2023

Leonard Cohen - Famous blue raincoat
Queen - Under pressure

AHorseWithNoNeigh Dec 2, 2023

Charles Bradly - Changes

Johnny Cash - Give My Love To Rose

Marty O’Reilly & the Old Soul Orchestra - Cinnamon Tree

Dave Van Ronk - Hang Me, Oh Hang Me

Richard Thompson - 1952 Vincent Black Lightning

Could probably go forever.

Charles Bradley "Changes" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

From Charles Bradley's latest album, Changes, out now!Directed by Eric Feigenbaum @egopuppetsProduced by Jessie English for Remedial Media @englishenglish @r...

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