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Most Depressing Song


Nate2112
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Nobody said dog years yet...? 1287.gif Edited by MMCXII
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QUOTE (Steel Rat @ Dec 27 2011, 10:39 PM)
Between The Wheels, too. I love how Alex tuned down for it - incredibly soul-crushing.

Between the Wheels is depressing! yes.gif

 

Also, The Light Lies Down on Broadway. sad.gif

 

 

 

 

And... Mistletoe by Justin Bieber. angry.gif sad.gif

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The Light Dies down on Broadway

Man-Erg, House with no Door, Still Life

Televators, Halo of Nembutals, Copernicus

Right in Two

3 Libras, Weak and Powerless, Orestes

Sentimental, Stop Swimming, The Start of Something Beautiful, Stars Die

Postcard

Dirge for November

 

Right now I'm really depressed by The Difference between Medicine and Poison is in the Dose by Circa Survive because of my friend who showed it to me, haha tongue.gif

 

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I had a similar thread almost a year ago:

 

http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?show...8&hl=depressing

 

Here's my list from there...

 

Last Kiss; J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers - (Pearl Jam did a remake in 1998) One of the teenage car crash songs. In it, a pair of teenage lovers are involved in a horrific car crash and she dies in his arms. You will be pleasantly depressed while listening to it and then wonder why these kinds of songs were popular at all.

My Immortal; Evanescence - To quote Mr. Reynolds: "Any song that rhymes tears, fears and years already has one foot in the pathos pit."

One; Metallica - This song is based on the book "Johnny Got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo, which is about a soldier who has lost his face, all his limbs and all his senses. That's not a promising start. The video uses scenes from the film... yes they made a film of this story! But inquiring minds want to know; how does James Hetfield sing with his teeth clenched like that?

In The Year 2525; Zager and Evans - This depressing ditty caught the national zeitgeist when it was released in 1968. It went to the top of the charts and hung there like a malfunctioning crystal ball for six weeks. The song has an annoyingly trite gimmick of modulating upward a half step every verse - there is no chorus. Between the droning vocals, the horrible predictions and the irritating key changes, this is one gloomy song.

Let Her Cry; Hootie and the Blowfish - When a song has the word "cry" in the title, I put my guard up instinctively because I know the writer wants me to do that. Cry, that is. Everybody cries in this song, their tears falling like (yep, you guessed it) rain. Not enough Xanax in the world to offset the cloud of despair this song creates. Addiction songs are tricky and "less is more" is the rule to write a good one. The Blowfish blew this one.

Without You; Mariah Carey - The history of this song is depressing enough... the writers (Peter Ham and Tom Evans of Badfinger) both committed suicide after being accused of stealing money that turned out to be a record company accounting error. Harry Nilsson recorded (IMHO) the definitive version in 1972. But then Mariah Carey got ahold of it and threw her exasperating faux-Gospel singing style at it. You know, when the singer adds an extra 20-odd notes to the one the writer put there. Please, let's leave this song as a tribute to the two men who wrote it. No more remakes of Without You, I beg! Oh, and off-limits to American Idol, too. Gah.

The End; The Doors - The Doors' guitarist, Robby Krieger, wrote this song. He gave the few lyrics he'd written to Jim Morrison ("It's called The End, man") and they performed it live at the Whiskey A-Go-Go soon after. They had no idea that the Lizard King would begin babbling halfway through. They were as surprised as the audience. Luckily, it didn't kill their burgeoning career. Why is it depressing? For one thing it sticks pretty much to a D-minor chord throughout the entire song (everybody knows this is the saddest chord). And then there's the imagery... well, the song is like an ink blot. Everyone sees something different in it. I see a song that seems longer than it is and makes me feel like I got slipped some acid.

Alone Again, Naturally; Gilbert O'Sullivan - The story of a shlimazel set to bright, bouncy music. We all know someone like this; they think Trainspotting is too upbeat. They went through life with a "Kick Me" sign on their back. Of course, getting left at the altar is a devastating experience. But you get the feeling this guy wanted it to happen just so he could say, "I knew it!" As much as you'd like to sympathize with the guy, you just can't do it. Naturally.

Prayers For Rain; The Cure - One wonders if front-man Robert Smith sleeps in a coffin. Putting a Cure song on the list is a cop-out to a degree because their entire oeuvre is depressing. But this is probably the bleakest of the bleak. The intro is soooooooooooooooooooooo long but eventually Robert starts throwing words at us; shatter, dull, rain, desolate, drab, stale, tired.... add "I" and "You" to those and other dreary words and you have the lyrics. No story, just a litany of things someone does to him and what he does in response. There's some interesting musical passages but they get overshadowed by lyrics like "I suffocate, I breathe dirt." Okay Robert, we get it! Lighten up, son.

Please Don't Ask; Genesis - It was hard to choose a depressing song from one of my favorite bands because even the sad songs are enjoyable for me. But this one... man, you can hear Phil's heart breaking as he sings it. It's a tough song to listen to knowing what Phil was going through when he wrote it (the break-up of his first marriage). The stark instrumentation, the hurt in the man's voice and the poignant words (Please don't ask me how I feel/I feel fine/Oh I cry a bit/don't sleep too good/but I'm fine) combine to make this a real heart-wrenching tune. But, as Phil himself has said; "Sometimes it's good to put on a sad record and have a wonderfully depressing time."

 

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If you are interested in this topic, I recommend I Hate Myself and Want To Die: The 52 Most Depressing Songs You've Ever Heard by Tom Reynolds. He also has one called Touch Me, I'm Sick: The 52 Creepiest Love Songs.

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QUOTE
Why is it depressing? For one thing it sticks pretty much to a D-minor chord throughout the entire song (everybody knows this is the saddest chord).

 

 

yes.gif

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