I’m listening to Jacques Brel right now. What else y’all got for me? All genres and languages welcome.
Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt”
Great cover by an amazing artist. I hadn’t listened to his version in a while. It’s still so good. Thank you!
Well if you’re already into Brel… I can confidently give you Brassens. I consider him to have been the greatest poet. It’s difficult to convey just how beautifully he told mundane things (les copains d’abord, l’orage…), how he made life and death sweet (le testament, la prière…), how he brought the humblest people under the limelight (la complainte des filles de joie, l’auvergnat…), and elevated already beautiful works of poetry (Paul Fort, Victor Hugo) into musical classics (Gastibelza, le petit cheval…).
I listened to those Brassens tracks you recommended. I quite liked them. I must confess I don’t speak any French but I enjoyed them. “Les copains d’abord” was probably my favorite of the four. I looked up the translation, It’s a sweet song. Thanks for the recommendation!
There is a bunch of melancholic songs but what that always comes to mind and I enjoy since I was a teenager is this 3 songs by Moby:
- Porcelain, the video clip is nothing special, just abstract.
- In this world, this is the saddest clip, the poor cute aliens.
- Why does my heart feel so bad?, The clip is cute and kinda sad.
I listened to all three. Number 3 is the saddest and cutest thing I ever seen. Thank you!
Edit: The sad little aliens are pretty relatable too
I am really happy you enjoyed :)
The sad little aliens are pretty relatable too
Right?
I didn’t know Jacques Brel by name but I when to check it out and the first YouTube suggestion was Ne me quittes pas and I recognize it, very sad and very beautiful indeed.
I found his music through Seasons in the Sun which is a rough translation of Brel’s song Le moribond. Now I can’t listen to the English version, it’s worse in every way. His music can be very sad and also beautiful as you said. He was a very talented artist.
To tune out and reset my mental and emotional state: Most anything by Paleowolf
To restore hope and interest in seeking good things from life:
- Rainbow Connection by Kermit the Frog
- Glorious Dawn by Melodysheep
- Nightswimming by R.E.M. (This one can be risky though, sometimes it makes me feel even more nostalgia-sad.)
The goofy answer: https://alvinisemo.ytmnd.com/
“Real Big Sky”, Emma Ruth Rundle: https://youtu.be/bspwpdTvaUw?si=SZISTfebS_bcYSO_
“For Everything a Reason”, Carina Round: https://youtu.be/AKqgE8z7PcA?si=R8g1MCLN4CYVG9
“A Singularity - Re-Imagined by Carina Round”, Puscifer: https://youtu.be/ORcrjdXD0Xk?si=-o6UL1CvWMxRiH95
“Moon”, All the Luck in the World: https://youtu.be/hLZpvWvNdZo?si=Q8pTTxOXFtycy9UG
“Dark Eyes”, All the Luck in the World: https://youtu.be/3sySciqN1x0?si=-TiXq3R6Dktwt-o
“Round Here”, The Counting Crows: https://youtu.be/SAe3sCIakXo?si=50YWhvz8mmPFzFx3
“Move Me”, Badflower: https://youtu.be/j2iM1mYuYD8?si=A3Ced8y-tyYL2WnF
“.haunted.”, Dead Poet Society: https://youtu.be/xYclMPNwy0E?si=oqm7ns4M7GDQM6gL
But if I’m being honest like 75% percent of what I listen to is sad. Lmk if anyone wants more.
Little girl blue, the version of Janis Joplin. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yYHJ_A8qnXw
Anything acoustic by Chris Cornell.
I really like Soundgarden. I haven’t listened to his solo material before. It’s probably a good time to start. I remember when he passed, It’s still hard to believe he’s gone.
Shower in the dark day, clean sparks diving down
Cool in the waterways, where the baptized drown…Audioslave is also great, though not acoustic
My go to when I’m suicidal is the Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails. It’s the perfect album when I need to feel okay with not being okay. Also gives my depression a name and a face that I can insult and yell at when my brain is being mean to me.
I love NIN, I have the album on CD. Pretty Hate Machine is still one of my all-time favorites. Probably a good time to listen to it again.
I call random customer service phone lines and wait in line and then hang up after 30 seconds of listening to the saddest person on earth asking if I’m there or if I can hear them.
I reserve some wordless music for when my sadness gets critical. That way, they always sound bittersweet without me listening them to death.
- Lourié’s 5 Préludes Fragiles. Makes me feel aware of how easy I am to break at the moment, but also how pretty survivalism through fragility can be.
- Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Princess. It’s not about a dead princess, just one in the past, but it makes me feel like I’m that princess, rich and sad and stepping around in a bright, cream-beige ballroom. Instead of just solely sad.
- Debussy’s Images. II. Hommage à Rameau. A quiet plaintiveness with occasionally rising energy helps me tend closer to neutrality.
- Stanchinsky’s Prelude in the Lydian Mode. As the n-tuplets get desperate, I get desperate to fix everything. But then the curses stop and we return to a pretty but occasionally sickly quiet. The nonsenses are pinpricks in its floral thoughts.
- Glinka/Balakirev’s The Lark. Reminds me that I’m fluttering, not just floundering.
In any order, but I usually start with the Fragile Preludes (especially the middle few of the set). Lyrical songs are usually for higher energy/mood to me
Chon or Strawberry Girls. They are both upbeat, neat and will turn your teardrops sweet.
Both bands slap. I especially liked Agua Verde by Strawberry Girls. Thanks for the recommendation. I love prog music.
Mini Ripper by Strawberry Girls is my favorite. Also if you haven’t already checked 'em out: Thank You Scientist is a good prog rock band.
Alan Walker has some bangers. Personal favourites are On My Way, Not You, and End of Time
Alec Benjamin is also amazing. Favourites are If I Killed Someone For You and Boy in the Bubble
Also Pokemon Mystery Dungeon has some of the best instrumental-only pieces IMO. Don’t Ever Forget from PMD Explorers is my all time favourite sad song (partly because of the context around when that song played in game but it stands just as well on its own).
Sigur Ros.
I loved Hvarf/Heim. Which studio album of theirs is your favorite? It’s really chill music.
Ágætis byrjun, Takk, and ( ) are my favorites. The older stuff is more my style.
Usually angry music like melodic black metal or heavy stoner/doom. somehow gives me the right energy to get out of the slump.
Type O Negative, doom and gloom is my cup of tea even when I’m not sad lol.
She’s in love with herself…
She likes the dark…
