We all remember our hard fought years of teenage angst with… fondness? reluctance? misery? hilarity? I don’t know, we just remember them. Additionally, we all remember those times when something bad happened to us (i.e. fight with parents, a breakup, forgot a homework assignment, had to wake up before 7:00am, existed, etc.) and we thought the best solution to the problem would be to go to the darkest corner of the house and listen to the saddest music we could find. This, of course, was an absolutely brilliant idea that in no way fueled our negative emotions or spiraled us into a depression that could last, literally, for minutes. Never-the-less, whenever I hear the songs I used to listen to in these situations, I am seriously conflicted as to whether I should laugh at the memories of me lying on the floor in the family room by my Dad’s JVC stereo system blasting these songs on repeat, or whether I should lie down on the floor of my own house and turn out all the lights.
All that to say, here are five sad songs I used to listen to to fuel my sadness in my teenage years.
“She’s Leaving Home” by The Beatles
“MMM MMM MMM MMM” by The Crash Test Dummies
“Stall Out” by MuteMath
“Father and Son” by Cat Stevens
“Who is This Child” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra (This is the second time I have posted this song on this blog. If that makes you mad, well then I… apologize. For those of you who don’t know, this song is especially sad within the context of the story of the album. The narrator, Beethoven, has just been made an offer by Mephistopheles to trade his “Tenth Symphony” in return for saving an orphan girl’s life. This song is Beethoven attempting to make a decision. As a side note the singer, Jody Ashworth, is quite excellent, but I had the pleasure of twice hearing Rob Evan sing this song live, and that man is truly something special.)
I turned 23 a couple weeks ago, and since I hit my 20s, the songs that make me the saddest seem to be centered around two themes: 1. Thinking back on one’s childhood or 2. Wondering if my life is headed in the right direction. Hear are a few songs that seem to regularly bring tears to my eyes now-a-days.
“Old Bike” by Rob Cantor (I don’t usually include music videos, but I think Rob knocked it out of the park with this one. I am not sure I have ever seen a music video that so perfectly captures a song as this one does.)
“James” by Billy Joel
“Souvenirs” by Switchfoot
Well, I hope you are all felling sufficiently nostalgic, sad, or melancholy, as I am now that I have reached the end of this post. Thanks for reading, and please comment! Have a great week guys! God bless!
Speaking of Things that Rule... 