h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"What do Pink Floyd, Bette Midler and Metallica have in common? They've all written horribly depressing tunes, according to Tom Reynolds, author of I Hate Myself and Want to Die. He offers his top 25 miserable tracks"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/fridayreview/story/0,12102,1502655,00.html


I can't believe that Leonard Cohen didn't make that list!

What's the most depressing song you've ever heard?


azahar

The Smiths - Heaven knows I'm miserable now

In fact any song by The Smiths and Morrissey.

Anything by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, very black depressing stuff, also Nick Caves first band The Birthday Party, he has a really gravelly low voice, and a very depressed outlook on life, He did a duet with Kylie Minogue once about a serial killer meeting his victim, "where the wild things grow', ends with him killing her, not a person to listen too if you are depressed, but otherwise, very good spine tingling music

Cat Stevens (I think he's called something else nowadays, but this one put me off for ever) "Father and Son"

There's a woeful Irish ballad called Carrickfergus, anyone familiar with it?? It's been performed by (among others) Joan Baez, Bryan Ferry and Charlotte Church. I heard this damn dirge yesterday and just realised what a truly godawful depressing song it is.

I'm convinced it's done more harm to the mental health of the Irish diaspora than decades of alcoholism, discrimination or slum housing ever did.

Anything by Dido depresses me unutterably, but that could be just because of its innate lack of musical redeemability.

B

Anything by Patsy Cline.
Most of Radioheads songs are deeply depressing and Coldplay are heading towards the dark side even more with their new album.

A few depressing songs:

Beatles - Eleanor Rigby

Feeder - Child in You

Levellers - Julie

Linkin Park - My December

Queen - The show must go on

Just a few, I've got heaps more:

Lou Reed- "The Bed"
Nico- "No One is There"
The Go-Betweens- "When People Are Dead"
Funkadelic- "Maggot Brain"
Joy Division- "Atmosphere"
Galaxie 500- "Tugboat"
Honor Role- "Six"
Comsat Angels- "Independence Day"
Yoko Ono- "Mrs Lennon" and "What A B*stard the World Is"

A few more:

The Jesus and Mary Chain- "Nine Million Rainy Days"
Husker Du- "Find Me" and "Broken Home, Broken Heart"
Elvis Costello- "Stranger In the House"
Gram Parsons- "In My Hour Of Darkness"
Damned- "Sanctum Sanctorum"
Modern Lovers- "Hospital"
Magazine- "Permafrost"
S.F. Seals- "Still"
Barbara Manning- "Sympathy Wreath"
Opal- "Happy Nightmare Baby"
Johnny Paycheck-"Pardon Me, I've Got Someone to Kill" and "Like Me (You'll Recover In Time)"
Buck Owens- "Rubber Room"

Gosh, chuck. You need to lighten up.

B

Uncle Tupelo- "Whiskey Bottle"
Sebadoh- "Together Or Alone"
The Wailers- "Christmas Spirit"
Social Distortion- "Ball and Chain"
Rocket From the Tombs- "Ain't It Fun"
Nuns- "Suicide Child"
Giant Sand- "October Anywhere"
Hank Williams- "You Win Again"
Suicide- "Frankie Teardrop"
The Chills- "Pink Frost"
The Blues Magoos- "Sometimes I Think About"

Ok, I'll quit now.

The most depressing songs I've listened to lately is Interpol - NYC and Arcade Fire - Wake Up

Social Distortion- "Ball and Chain"

Is this same song as Janis Joplin´s "Ball and Chain"?

Tim Rose - "Come away Melinda"

>Social Distortion- "Ball and Chain"

Is this same song as Janis Joplin´s "Ball and Chain"?<

Nope. The Janis Joplin song is okay, too.

Never heard the Tim Rose song before, though. Will have to find it on WinMx and check it out.

When I first found this thread, I was thinking to myself "I haven't got much depressing music"... but it seems we've got plenty!

>The Janis Joplin song is okay, too.<

And by *that* I mean I like it. Sheesh, I'm not very enthusiastic today!

I actually enjoy quite a lot of depressing songs. They can be quite cathartic.

Noggin

Nobody's Child - Karen Young

The Beatles - Eleanor Rigby

All Over The World - The Seekers

You're My World - Cilla Black - because this was played at the funeral of a 19 year old girl and my heart was breaking and I can't hear it now without breaking down

Thought of another - "Grocer Jack" although can't recall who it's by

That was "Excerpt from a Teenage Opera" by (according ot most results on my google search) Keith West.

My most depressing song - apart from anything by Leonard Cohen - is The Ballad of Lucy Jordan. They played it on the radio on my 37th birthday (I didn't ask them to) and I realised it was the beginning of the end and I have been depressed ever since.

Why didn't I just jump off the roof then?

Oh yeah - I remember, we had the workmen in and I had to make them some coffee and one of them was