Monday, January 08, 2007

Curious Cat Question

Just wanted to ask: at your lowest, particularly saddest moment, what song would you like playing in the background?

You know, that point in time when you're sitting at the bar counter alone with a half-empty bottle of beer clutched in one hand as you muse about the vagaries of life?

Am thinking something like either Radiohead's "High and Dry" or REM's "Everybody Hurts" (both of which had music videos featuring random people singing at a bar counter-- go figure).

Well?

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

something bitter-sweet from Tom Waits' Mule Variations, particularly 'Hold On', or maybe 'House Where Nobody Lives' or 'Picture in a Frame'

-sbc

Anonymous said...

I'd probably go for some Tom Waits too, or maybe Nick Cave - but no, listening to Nick Cave when sad might lead to suicide, with a spot of genocide beforehand. Waits then. Something like Blue Valentine which is from his relatively normal jazzy beat-balladeer era, but depressive as hell.

Some of Alice In Chains' more quiet-gloomy moments, too, like Down In A Holw.

dodo dayao said...

Got tons of these but here's the ones that make me saddest most,or at least melancholic. Going with a bit of Waits, too - - - San Diego Serenade. Kills me every time,that. Also, some Gladys Knight & the Pips- - -Neither One of Us. Two by the Smiths, I Know It's Over and Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me - - -try listening to these on headphones in the dead of night in your darkened bedroom at your lowest. REM's Find the River never fails to reduce me to blubber - -even when I'm not crying in my beer. Bob Mould's Can't Fight It and Death Cab's Brothers on a Hotel Bed both have a sense of resignation that can get claustophobic and also oddly cathartic. Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails' Hurt. And pretty much everything on Nick Drake's Pink Moon album. Whew. Now I need a drink. ;)

banzai cat said...

Hmmm... I see there's a lot of recommendations for Tom Waits. I must be hiding under a rock or something not to have heard of this one. (Okay, I have heard of Tom Waits, but not his particular music...)

And yeah not Nick Cave unless you want people jumping off bridges or drinking hydrochloric acid in your wake. ;-)

Thanks for the recommendations and keep 'em coming, people!

Don said...

Rufus Wainwright's Accross the Universe..Frou Frou's Breathe In, The Cardigans' You're The Storm. Sugarfree's Burnout

I have a whole list of them, tell me if you want it then I'll e-mail it to you.

These were the songs that pretty much accompanied me in my whole freshmen year.

Andrew said...

I need to think about this some more, but five songs with musical arrangements that "sound sad" to me (regardless of lyrics) include:

"Rainy Night in Soho" by The Pogues
"Nightswimming" by REM
"1959" by the Sisters of Mercy
"The Eternal" by Joy Division
"Faith" by the Cure

Of course, the albums from which the last two songs were taken from can be considered as well. I also find a lot of the apocalyptic folk of Current 93 sad-sounding.


On an unrelated note, who's your friend who was into John Banville? I've been curious about The Untouchable...for obvious reasons.

Anonymous said...

bob dylan's 'most of the time.' i've been listening to that forever, and it has never worn thin.

and fairly new: cat power's 'the greatest.'

amd for sentimental reasons, stuff by leonard cohen.

banzai cat said...

fuhrer: Heh. I have both the Froufrou AND Imogen Heap albums so you're preaching to the choir here. Still will check out the other names you cited. And yes please, email me your list. ;-)

eldritch: "Nightswimming"? Never thought of that one though like I said, if I think of REM, I would pick "Everybody hurts". Of course the last three bands you mentioned are pretty dark as well. ;-)

But The Pogues is something I'd like to try though.

paul: Heh I've been trying to get a fairly good sampling of Bob Dylan songs on torrent but I can't seem to get all of his well-known songs. Of course I like him but funny enough, I was a fan of his son first (disputed claims of talent notwithstanding).

And Leonard Cohen? Who he? Any example?

Don said...

I've always thought of "Nightswimming" as a happy song of sorts heheh.

additional:
No Frontier- The Corrs (on an interesting note, they sang "Everybody Hurts" during their MTV Unplugged session)
You Can't Always Get What You Want- The Rolling Stones
Fake Plastic Trees- Radiohead

will email the list as soon as I dig up me old journal. heheh

Anonymous said...

i was responding in terms of what sort of songs you're looking for, but there are times when those moments are simply best accompanied by utter-rage filled-anthem-type FUCK YOU ALL shit.

Strapping Young Lad tops the list with just about any of their songs, but, a bit more accessible and better known, perhaps: Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral, even if you prefer songs like those all the other people have listed here; check out A Warm Place and, of course, Hurt.

-sbd (dammit, i was sbc when i posted my first comment, and ended up signing it sbc. ah the powers of the undermind...)

Anonymous said...

oof. i meant i was *at* sbc...

-sbd

Anonymous said...

Eld: THe Banville-reader may have been me. I went througha major Banville phase in college, but by the time I got around to The ntouchable I was a bit burned out. He's a good writer for sure, with an amazing way with words.

And, um, Leonard Cohen. Where to begin? He's this kind aarchetypal singer-songwriter bloke, most of whose songs are about the pains and pains and pains of matters of the heart. Try any of his early albums - Songs Of Leonard Cohen, Songs From A Room, Songs Of Love And Hate or New Skin For The Old Ceremony for a good intro. He still releases stuff, and has highluights from each decade since the 60s but it's best to start at the beginning, and don't try a Best Of compilation. The ones I've heard tend to miss the point.

Anonymous said...

In the past, at times like that, I've listened to:

Wish You Were Here -- Pink Floyd
Here With Me -- Dido
Medication and Cup of Coffee -- Garbage
The lachrymosa to Mozart's Requiem

Anonymous said...

A Certain Sadness, The Trouble with Hello is Goodbye,Julia Says, etc etc

But i love songs more when I wanted to sleep.. :-) they make me more melancholic when i'm sad.

hi, banzai! happy new year! all the best for you this year.

banzai cat said...

Whoops, sorry folks. Been a bit busy.

fuhrer: "Nightswimming"? Happy? I guess different strokes. On the other hand, I try to stay away from The Corrs nowadays. Too overplayed to my mind's earm thanks to radio stations. Eh.

sbc: You were at sbc? What the heck is that?

I like NIN and will check out Strapping Young Lad. However, I think your recoms fit my earlier query, re Prodigy. Still good though.

jp: I think eldritch was referring to another blogger, aa (sorry eldritch), not a problem. Thanks for the word up on Leonard Cohen. When I first heard his name, I thought he was the playwright (or movie reviewer).

mahesh: Dammit man, don't tease me like that. Now tell me, where did you get that Garbage song? Say! ;-)

bing: Hi happy new year to you too! How is the family?

Unfortunately, when I feel melancholic, I feel like I have to savor it, like a good wine. A waste to just sleep it off. ;-)

Anonymous said...

a sort of 'best of' sampler of leonard cohen songs is on the hype machine:

and damnit, i've got this thing for 'famous blue raincoat' and 'dance me to the end of love.' i'm a sappy bastard, heh.

Anonymous said...

I'll talk!!! ;-)

Medication is from Version 2.0
Cup of Coffee is from beautifulgarbage.

:-)

Anonymous said...

I'll talk!!! ;-)

Medication is from Version 2.0
Cup of Coffee is from beautifulgarbage.

:-)

Anonymous said...

I'll talk!!! ;-)

Medication is from Version 2.0
Cup of Coffee is from beautifulgarbage.

:-)

banzai cat said...

geez, mahesh, I wasn't that scary. :-D