Obscenely depressing albums
- Thread starter UnforgettableLemon
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Mac Phisto
The Fly
If you shout... said:
Explain...IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!! Weezer, too.
MooMoo!
New Yorker
leonard cohen . all of his albums. 
lmixristhebest
The Fly
Rufus Wainwright - Want One
Not depressing exactly, but very moody and contemplative. Terrific album, and I love it.
Not depressing exactly, but very moody and contemplative. Terrific album, and I love it.
If you shout...
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
"Mac Phisto," you wanted me to explain my listing Weezer and Boston; I'll do my best!
Weezer's first album is NOT what I would call a typically "sad" album or anything like that. I mean, it isn't anything like Blood On The Tracks or something...not even close! It isn't really the music that burns me, specifically--I just have a very sad reaction to the album due to personal associations with it. It reminds me of the past (two periods, really: the first when it came out in '94 and the second when their crappy third album came out in the Spring of '01) and really carries with it some of the best memories of my entire life...THE best, actually. Even so, it just kills me to listen to it. First of all, I'm one of those people for whom nostalgia=depression, basically; no matter WHAT I'm looking back on, it will depress me if more than a year or two have passed by. It's just how I roll. The main reason, though, is that the memories I forged with the album in '01 were just so beautiful and amazing and wonderful...but much of the foundation on which those memories were built has since crumbled. I would almost rather never have had that happiness because remembering it without being able to feel it is just so damn hard... So there you go. The album is like a knife in my heart; I've actually read other people post similar things (though for different reasons, I'm sure), and I'll second them: when I hear the opening strains of "My Name Is Jonas," I am taken to another place....a place so beautiful and warm that I don't ever want to go back.
As for Boston....well, I dunno'. There is something about the album's production and general sound--I can't really articulate it any better, unfortunately--that really seems to sound like heartbreak, if that's possible. The subject of a lost love which isn't coming back in a song like "More Than A Feeling" ("I closed my eyes, and she slipped away") just kills me inside, you know? I also thing that "Long Time" is one of the more heartbreaking songs that I've ever heard; songs like that one and sounds like the one that song (and the whole album, really) have are always tough for me. Much of the figurative language in that song is informed by the same sort of feelings in a song like Beck's "Guess I'm Doing Fine;" that stuff hurts me a lot, is all. While Boston's debut doesn't sound conventionally down-beat or sad, I still associate that sort of sound/style with a kind of sadness. An air of loss (especially the loss of youth and innocence....it's a subtle thread, but it runs through the whole album, in one way or another) permeates the mood of the whole piece, and I find it quite depressing. The basic topic of "loss" is in there...loss hurts, I guess.
So there it is. I could easily articulate my feelings a LOT better if I was speaking more bluntly (especially with the Weezer album), but I'm not really comfortable doing so. Some things hurt a little too much, is all. A lot of the songs on these albums remind me of being younger (just like "Summer of '69," which is one of the saddest songs I've ever heard--I also like/am hurt by that conflict between up-tempo, major sounds and down-key, wistful subject matter), and it has a tendency to just kill me, emotionally.
That said, I'll also toss on two more albums...
In/Casino/Out by At The Drive-In
Month Of Sundays by The Chamber Strings
More Spring '01 albums. More hurt. More everything...
Weezer's first album is NOT what I would call a typically "sad" album or anything like that. I mean, it isn't anything like Blood On The Tracks or something...not even close! It isn't really the music that burns me, specifically--I just have a very sad reaction to the album due to personal associations with it. It reminds me of the past (two periods, really: the first when it came out in '94 and the second when their crappy third album came out in the Spring of '01) and really carries with it some of the best memories of my entire life...THE best, actually. Even so, it just kills me to listen to it. First of all, I'm one of those people for whom nostalgia=depression, basically; no matter WHAT I'm looking back on, it will depress me if more than a year or two have passed by. It's just how I roll. The main reason, though, is that the memories I forged with the album in '01 were just so beautiful and amazing and wonderful...but much of the foundation on which those memories were built has since crumbled. I would almost rather never have had that happiness because remembering it without being able to feel it is just so damn hard... So there you go. The album is like a knife in my heart; I've actually read other people post similar things (though for different reasons, I'm sure), and I'll second them: when I hear the opening strains of "My Name Is Jonas," I am taken to another place....a place so beautiful and warm that I don't ever want to go back.
As for Boston....well, I dunno'. There is something about the album's production and general sound--I can't really articulate it any better, unfortunately--that really seems to sound like heartbreak, if that's possible. The subject of a lost love which isn't coming back in a song like "More Than A Feeling" ("I closed my eyes, and she slipped away") just kills me inside, you know? I also thing that "Long Time" is one of the more heartbreaking songs that I've ever heard; songs like that one and sounds like the one that song (and the whole album, really) have are always tough for me. Much of the figurative language in that song is informed by the same sort of feelings in a song like Beck's "Guess I'm Doing Fine;" that stuff hurts me a lot, is all. While Boston's debut doesn't sound conventionally down-beat or sad, I still associate that sort of sound/style with a kind of sadness. An air of loss (especially the loss of youth and innocence....it's a subtle thread, but it runs through the whole album, in one way or another) permeates the mood of the whole piece, and I find it quite depressing. The basic topic of "loss" is in there...loss hurts, I guess.
So there it is. I could easily articulate my feelings a LOT better if I was speaking more bluntly (especially with the Weezer album), but I'm not really comfortable doing so. Some things hurt a little too much, is all. A lot of the songs on these albums remind me of being younger (just like "Summer of '69," which is one of the saddest songs I've ever heard--I also like/am hurt by that conflict between up-tempo, major sounds and down-key, wistful subject matter), and it has a tendency to just kill me, emotionally.
That said, I'll also toss on two more albums...
In/Casino/Out by At The Drive-In
Month Of Sundays by The Chamber Strings
More Spring '01 albums. More hurt. More everything...
GibsonGirl
ONE love, blood, life
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2002
- Messages
- 13,270
Don McLean's "American Pie" album is very depressing. In fact, almost every song on the album is depressing:
The Grave
"When the wars of our nation did beckon
A man barely twenty did answer the calling
Proud of the trust that he placed in our nation
He's gone
But eternity knows him
And it knows what we've done
And the rain fell like pearls on the leaves of the flowers
Leaving brown muddy clay where the earth had been dry
And deep in the trench he waited for hours
As he held to his rifle and prayed not to die
But the silence of night was shattered by fire
As guns and grenades blasted sharp through the air
One after another his comrades were slaughtered
In a morgue of marines, alone standing there
He crouched ever lower, ever lower with fear
They can't let me die, they can't let me die here
I'll cover myself with the mud and the earth
I'll cover myself, I know I'm not brave
The earth, the earth, the earth is my grave"
Babylon
"...By the waters, the waters of Babylon
We lay down and wept, and wept, for thee Zion..."
Till Tomorrow
"...Where has all the love gone and what have we become?
Storm clouds full of thunder move silent as they drum.
And when they're gone, we'll be fine, till tomorrow.
Though I hope it won't rain.
You will be mine and my sorrow will take wings in the morning.
High above the heavens a rainbow paints the sky.
White doves sing their songs of love. I watch them as they fly and wonder.
What can this be? Can you tell me?
Would you like to discover why we're not free, to be lovers?"
Empty Chairs
"...Morning comes and morning goes with no regret
And evening brings the memories I can't forget
Empty rooms that echo as I climb the stairs
And empty clothes that drape and fall on empty chairs"
Crossroads
"You know I've heard about people like me,
But I never made the connection.
They walk one road to set them free,
And find they've gone the wrong direction.
But there's no need for turning back,
'cause all roads lead to where I stand.
And I believe I'll walk them all,
No matter what I may have planned.
Can you remember who I was
Can you still feel it?
Can you find my pain?
Can you heal it?
And lay your hands upon me now,
And cast this darkness from my soul."
Vincent
"Starry, starry night, portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls with eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Like the stranger that you've met, the ragged man in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose, lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for you sanity, how you tried to set them free
They would not listen they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will"
And, of course, there's "American Pie." While it has a very upbeat tempo, the lyrics themselves are quite depressing. But I think everyone knows them, so I won't bother to type them out.
Overall, the album is very depressing, but in a good way. It's one of my all-time favourites.
The Grave
"When the wars of our nation did beckon
A man barely twenty did answer the calling
Proud of the trust that he placed in our nation
He's gone
But eternity knows him
And it knows what we've done
And the rain fell like pearls on the leaves of the flowers
Leaving brown muddy clay where the earth had been dry
And deep in the trench he waited for hours
As he held to his rifle and prayed not to die
But the silence of night was shattered by fire
As guns and grenades blasted sharp through the air
One after another his comrades were slaughtered
In a morgue of marines, alone standing there
He crouched ever lower, ever lower with fear
They can't let me die, they can't let me die here
I'll cover myself with the mud and the earth
I'll cover myself, I know I'm not brave
The earth, the earth, the earth is my grave"
Babylon
"...By the waters, the waters of Babylon
We lay down and wept, and wept, for thee Zion..."
Till Tomorrow
"...Where has all the love gone and what have we become?
Storm clouds full of thunder move silent as they drum.
And when they're gone, we'll be fine, till tomorrow.
Though I hope it won't rain.
You will be mine and my sorrow will take wings in the morning.
High above the heavens a rainbow paints the sky.
White doves sing their songs of love. I watch them as they fly and wonder.
What can this be? Can you tell me?
Would you like to discover why we're not free, to be lovers?"
Empty Chairs
"...Morning comes and morning goes with no regret
And evening brings the memories I can't forget
Empty rooms that echo as I climb the stairs
And empty clothes that drape and fall on empty chairs"
Crossroads
"You know I've heard about people like me,
But I never made the connection.
They walk one road to set them free,
And find they've gone the wrong direction.
But there's no need for turning back,
'cause all roads lead to where I stand.
And I believe I'll walk them all,
No matter what I may have planned.
Can you remember who I was
Can you still feel it?
Can you find my pain?
Can you heal it?
And lay your hands upon me now,
And cast this darkness from my soul."
Vincent
"Starry, starry night, portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls with eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Like the stranger that you've met, the ragged man in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose, lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for you sanity, how you tried to set them free
They would not listen they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will"
And, of course, there's "American Pie." While it has a very upbeat tempo, the lyrics themselves are quite depressing. But I think everyone knows them, so I won't bother to type them out.
Overall, the album is very depressing, but in a good way. It's one of my all-time favourites.
Last edited:
Yahweh_OMG
New Yorker
PORNOGRAPY
FAITH
from The Cure...... beautiful, so much anger and despair.....
I love Robert..... my second man after Bono....
FAITH
from The Cure...... beautiful, so much anger and despair.....
I love Robert..... my second man after Bono....
SkeeK
The Original, Rock n' Roll Doggie, VIP PASS
Check into a little band called the Tindersticks
and some Elliot Smith
and some Elliot Smith
OP
OP
UnforgettableLemon
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
If you shout... said:
That would be me. "My Name is Jonas" is a very subtly evocative song, and I think much of the album itself is about nostalgia, which just makes things worse. My copy's been skipping on "Say it Ain't So" (a single scratch), so I thnk I'm going to go ahead and pick up the anniversary edition (which has a bonus disc with all kinds of stuff (including "Mykel and Carli"
)
pax
ONE love, blood, life
The Lillywhite Sessions, Dave Matthews Band
elevatedmole
Rock n' Roll Doggie
I don't actually find Radiohead that depressing, oddly enough.
I did think of two more depressing albums -- Her Space Holiday's Manic Expressive and The Young Machines. He also has another album called Home Is Where You Hang Yourself, which I assume is very depressing but I haven't heard it yet.
I did think of two more depressing albums -- Her Space Holiday's Manic Expressive and The Young Machines. He also has another album called Home Is Where You Hang Yourself, which I assume is very depressing but I haven't heard it yet.
frozenmuze04
The Fly
Some of Jeff Buckley's stuff is really sad, and Elliott Smith, too. One album that really makes me depressed is Mary Lou Lord's "Got No Shadow." GREAT album, SAD songs.
I don't find Her Space Holiday depressing at all - a little bittersweet sounding at times, but especially "The Young Machines" - that's surprising to me that someone would find it depressing.
I don't find Her Space Holiday depressing at all - a little bittersweet sounding at times, but especially "The Young Machines" - that's surprising to me that someone would find it depressing.
pax
ONE love, blood, life
The Garden State soundtrack can be depressing (see "Fair" by Remy Zero, "The Only Living Boy in New York" by Simon and Garfunkel), although it does end on an up note.
Catman
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Matthew Good Band's "Beautiful Midnight" is the most depressing album I've ever heard...I can only listen to it a few times out of the year 
Other than that, I'm not sure...maybe POP. Holy crap there are some really depressing tunes on that cd
Other than that, I'm not sure...maybe POP. Holy crap there are some really depressing tunes on that cd
If you shout...
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I've also gotta' toss up most of Daniel Johnston's albums. I've heard plenty of his songs (most all of them are pretty morose), but few of his full albums.
I know that 1990 is one hell of a depressing album, at times. "Some Things Last A Long Time" is one of the single most crippling songs that you will ever hear. My God...it's almost painful to listen to, sometimes. At various points on the album, Johnston (who suffers from bi-polar disorder) actually breaks down in tears, mid-song. It can be very hard to digest and stuff like that is definitely too imediate to include on an LP, but it is still quite evocative.
I know that 1990 is one hell of a depressing album, at times. "Some Things Last A Long Time" is one of the single most crippling songs that you will ever hear. My God...it's almost painful to listen to, sometimes. At various points on the album, Johnston (who suffers from bi-polar disorder) actually breaks down in tears, mid-song. It can be very hard to digest and stuff like that is definitely too imediate to include on an LP, but it is still quite evocative.
carrieluvv
Refugee
its so funny how someone said i cant believe nobody has mentioned the smiths ( i was gonna say morrissey ) then i see someone DID say that...or noone had mentioned tom waits- and then read a bit further and someone had mentioned it...I just was listening to closing time this morning....I was tottaly getting into " old 55" this morning...
i was just thinking that all the songwriters really know how to write out of thier expiriences in life.....they face the things they dont want to and make a song out of it...and it has enough depth within to make us heartbroken.
if we could bottle this ...
I wonder if elliot smith had ever wondered how many lives he touched with his music
its amazing through the years how much more powerful music has become
I think in alot of respects some things fade but not the music...
im so cheesy
i was just thinking that all the songwriters really know how to write out of thier expiriences in life.....they face the things they dont want to and make a song out of it...and it has enough depth within to make us heartbroken.
if we could bottle this ...
I wonder if elliot smith had ever wondered how many lives he touched with his music
its amazing through the years how much more powerful music has become
I think in alot of respects some things fade but not the music...
im so cheesy
Last edited:
alexvilagosh
War Child
Albums...
Beck - Sea Change
Bright Eyes - Lifted...
Damien Rice - O
Elliott Smith - From A Basement On The Hill
Anything by Leonard Cohen
Anything by Scott Walker
Songs...
Radiohead - Exit Music
Radiohead - How To Disappear Completely
Radiohead - Motion Picture Soundtrack
Elliott Smith - Between The Bars
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Belle And Sebastian - Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying
Radiohead aren't really depressing, only a handful of songs are, I think the best word to describe them is 'haunting'. Climbing Up The Walls... *shiver*
Beck - Sea Change
Bright Eyes - Lifted...
Damien Rice - O
Elliott Smith - From A Basement On The Hill
Anything by Leonard Cohen
Anything by Scott Walker
Songs...
Radiohead - Exit Music
Radiohead - How To Disappear Completely
Radiohead - Motion Picture Soundtrack
Elliott Smith - Between The Bars
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Belle And Sebastian - Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying
Radiohead aren't really depressing, only a handful of songs are, I think the best word to describe them is 'haunting'. Climbing Up The Walls... *shiver*
Big Star - Third/Sisterlovers
"Holocaust" is honestly the most depressing song I have ever heard. The whole album is rather hopeless.
I don't see why everybody thinks the Smiths are depressing. I mean, you have "Asleep" which is depressing, yeah, and "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" seems to be more tongue-in-cheek than anything, and "Back to the Old House" is kind of weepy, as is "Stretch Out and Wait" and "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" and a lot of Meat Is Murder... what was my point again? Right. I can't see anybody really thinking about how desolate their life is or whatever whilst listening to "Panic" -- I think a lot of the Smiths is very mockingly depressive and I don't consider them to be truly depressing. I also think if I use some form of the word "depressing" one more time I'm going to scream.
"Holocaust" is honestly the most depressing song I have ever heard. The whole album is rather hopeless.
I don't see why everybody thinks the Smiths are depressing. I mean, you have "Asleep" which is depressing, yeah, and "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" seems to be more tongue-in-cheek than anything, and "Back to the Old House" is kind of weepy, as is "Stretch Out and Wait" and "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" and a lot of Meat Is Murder... what was my point again? Right. I can't see anybody really thinking about how desolate their life is or whatever whilst listening to "Panic" -- I think a lot of the Smiths is very mockingly depressive and I don't consider them to be truly depressing. I also think if I use some form of the word "depressing" one more time I'm going to scream.
carrieluvv
Refugee
screaming is good if your depressed...its cleansing
someone mentioned scott walker....Ive read that the band Cousteau ( english band with an irish crooner)
are compared to him.
" the last good day of the year" is sorta sad
someone mentioned scott walker....Ive read that the band Cousteau ( english band with an irish crooner)
are compared to him.
" the last good day of the year" is sorta sad
If you shout...
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
alia612 said:
Great call. How I forgot to list this album is ENTIRELY beyond me...! "Kangaroo" is also one of the more painful songs that I've ever heard; the lyrics are very vague and have a suggestive feel to them due to their apparent incompleteness...but the way they're sung lends them a gravity which, literally-speaking, they simply don't have. The mellotron accompaniment and the general yearning/fractured sound of the song also helps this effect a great deal. What a wonderful--but depressing--album! Thanks for pointing this out; if you people haven't heard it, make it a goal. It's great music.
pax
ONE love, blood, life
How come no one has mentioned Nirvana's Unplugged? I don't care how obvious it is, it's still really depressing.
I have a couple of mix CDs that I put together myself called "Tuesday Night Mixes," because I hate Tuesdays. They're full of depressing songs like "You Can Have It All" by Yo La Tengo, "Asleep" by the Smiths, "All You Want" by Dido... etc. etc.
Actually, come to think of it, a lot of Dido's No Angel is sort of depressing.
As is Hem's Rabbit Songs, since I mentioned Hem in another thread. I really want to get their new album, but I probably won't be able to for, like, a month.
I have a couple of mix CDs that I put together myself called "Tuesday Night Mixes," because I hate Tuesdays. They're full of depressing songs like "You Can Have It All" by Yo La Tengo, "Asleep" by the Smiths, "All You Want" by Dido... etc. etc.
Actually, come to think of it, a lot of Dido's No Angel is sort of depressing.
As is Hem's Rabbit Songs, since I mentioned Hem in another thread. I really want to get their new album, but I probably won't be able to for, like, a month.
HeartlandGirl
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Counting Crows - August and Everything After
AFI - Sing the Sorrow (not every song, but it has its moments)
As for Radiohead, perhaps OK Computer or Kid A. I agree that they have their particular songs, but depending on my mood, I can find both of those albums depressing or uplifting.
AFI - Sing the Sorrow (not every song, but it has its moments)
As for Radiohead, perhaps OK Computer or Kid A. I agree that they have their particular songs, but depending on my mood, I can find both of those albums depressing or uplifting.
that AFI CD!Harry Vest
Refugee
Depressing but amazing songs that I've come across recently...
"Your Favorite Dylan Song" by The Gunshy from the album "No Man's Blues"
"Song Of The Rats Leaving The Sinking Ship" by American Music Club from the album "Love Songs For Patriots"
"Flannagans Song" by Robyn Hitchcock from his latest album "Spooked"
"Eternal" by Joy Division
"Goddamn Lonely Love" - The Drive By Truckers
"Carry Me Ohio" - Sun Kil Moon
"Here Comes A Regular" - The Replacements
"Borrowed Tune" - Neil Young
"Darkest Dreaming" - David Sylvian
"Deep Song" - Billie Holiday
"Worst Joke Ever" R.E.M.
"Country Feedback" - R.E.M.
"Tall Trees In Georgia (Live) " - Eva Cassidy
There's a few.
"Your Favorite Dylan Song" by The Gunshy from the album "No Man's Blues"
"Song Of The Rats Leaving The Sinking Ship" by American Music Club from the album "Love Songs For Patriots"
"Flannagans Song" by Robyn Hitchcock from his latest album "Spooked"
"Eternal" by Joy Division
"Goddamn Lonely Love" - The Drive By Truckers
"Carry Me Ohio" - Sun Kil Moon
"Here Comes A Regular" - The Replacements
"Borrowed Tune" - Neil Young
"Darkest Dreaming" - David Sylvian
"Deep Song" - Billie Holiday
"Worst Joke Ever" R.E.M.
"Country Feedback" - R.E.M.
"Tall Trees In Georgia (Live) " - Eva Cassidy
There's a few.
OP
OP
UnforgettableLemon
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Counting Crows entire catalog is depressing
If you listen to "Round Here," then listen to "Mrs. Potter's Lullabye" when it gets to the line "There's a piece of Maria in every song that I sing" it's like
What's the back story behind Maria, anyway. She has to be (or have been) a real person in Adam's life to be mentioned so frequently (and in such depressing contexts).
If you listen to "Round Here," then listen to "Mrs. Potter's Lullabye" when it gets to the line "There's a piece of Maria in every song that I sing" it's like
What's the back story behind Maria, anyway. She has to be (or have been) a real person in Adam's life to be mentioned so frequently (and in such depressing contexts).
ferball415
Acrobat
Closer by Joy Division.
Jack In The Box
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
ferball415 said:
I was going to mention that album ^^^^^
---
Portishead - Dummy
I totally agree with Beck's Sea Change
Similar threads
