Melancholy music

[pwhodges]

Sadness is part of the human condition; hopefully in its place and in balance with other aspects of life, but none the less not something to be shied away from.  Music is good at expressing sadness, and so there is a lot of melancholy music out there, in all styles and genres.  Let's share music that exercises our need to be sad sometimes.

I've been enjoying getting to know a wide range of anime recently, and so I'll start with two ending songs:

Walking Through the Empty Age - the end of the last episode of Texhnolyze; as the curtain falls and the credits start, we see Ichise [spoiler]dying in a dead world - all humans on the surface have lost hope and have simply been waiting to die, while those below have been rushing towards death, or have become Shapes, and simply stopped when their power failed; and finally Ichise lies down to die himself, with the first smile he ever makes on his face as he sees the shape of one of Ran's flowers in the shadows.[/spoiler]

Sakura Nagashi - the song for the credits of the third Rebuild of Evangelion film; before the credits, we have seen Shinji, Asuka, and Rei [spoiler]walking away through the destroyed landscape after Shinji has triggered the end of the world for the second time; and while we contemplate what remaining hope there can be for his redemption, this plays.[/spoiler]  (The studio has ensured that the song is not available complete on YouTube; there are some OK covers, but this link is to the short clip of the real thing that the studio has left  in place.)

What are your favourite sad songs?

[Redball]

I was expressing sadness on another thread a few days ago as I thought of my wife while listening to tracks from the Celtic Twilight recordings -- sad, slow 3/4 time, some but not all with flute. And any slow classical music with oboe can get to me.

If I listened to the two pieces you presented to us without images or other context, they wouldn't seem so melancholy, so my first thought is that the affect that accompanies music in my brain is sometimes depending on external knowledge, sometimes built up from the music alone, depending on how I've interpreted similar sounds over a lifetime.

Other New Agey music, the kind I'm likely to hear on NPR's Hearts of Space, can sometimes be melancholy, but I'd be hard-pressed to cite an example.

[Thrillho]

A legitimate feeling of melancholy can often switch me onto music more than anything else.

Pavement are a band whose lyrics frequently seem like gibberish, but the surrounding music, vocal tone and often random pull-out lines from the songs set a general air of melancholy that pervades throughout their discography.

[Zingoleb]

I literally just made a playlist last night of songs that have made me cry (though a lot of them are fairly upbeat in nature; I'm omitting those).

This one is very intense for me, personally. It feels almost
like mourning, the way it hits you right in the chest.

I've always preferred this orchestral version to all the
various piano versions I've heard.

I've listened to this song at least a hundred times over
and still can't get over the harmonies.

]My favourite Madonna track from my favourite Madonna
album; the blues of the video actually look like the blues
I hear in the music.

[Cthulhu]

Melancholic music oh yes here i go!

Doom metal this is everyone, everyone meet doom metal:

i don´t know how to post videos so i'll just leave the links

-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1714Q6ID2bA&feature=youtu.be

-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqZA0Owk_H4&feature=youtu.be

-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipEDSD4ASdY&feature=youtu.be

- ( this one is really good but also really long, on a side note they're chilean) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTjvVWXTlKU&feature=youtu.be

-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSdWh8gaof0&feature=youtu.be

I have more of that style but im suspicious no one will ever hear all of these.

oh also let´s not forget about loneliest day of my life of system

-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnGdoEa1tPg&feature=youtu.be

[GarandMarine]

I'll contribute! Melancholy go!

No one does sad or happy quite like the Celts, My Heart it Belongs to She by Andy M. Stewart has some serious emotion in it.

Lights an entry from Japan by Nobuchicka Eri is actually a pretty strong, positive peace, but the piano just puts me in a self reflective mood. It might be the anime it served as an EP for, Flag, which had a very world reflective tone that took me back to memories both treasured and painful, even as it walked characters through similar situations. It really made me miss home, so I connect the song with that.

I dunno if I'd call Demons by Imagine Dragons positive with 100% assurance... but I think it's message is over all all positive.

"When you feel my heat, Look into my eyes, It's where my demons hide... Don't get to close, It's dark inside, It's where my demons hide."

Another one that is primarily connected to memories for me, though the song itself is sad, it takes me back to friends and comrades who aren't there any more, and my time serving with a Marine Corps funeral detail. [Redacted the rest of this... you guys don't need to deal with me being emo]

[pwhodges]

i don´t know how to post videos

Instructions.

There should be a button for adding the youtube tags, but it seems to have disappeared;  I'm looking at the code of the mod to try to figure out why, but it may take me a while.

{edit} sorted the button...

[Cthulhu]

I imagined it would be [you.tube] [/you.tube] i just didn´t want to risk it, thanks.

[TinPenguin]

[Cthulhu]

Hey awesome songs Unicorn! i loved the one of mogwai

also awesome video tinpenguin solstafir i gotta check that band excellent video indeed. I also gotta check fen sounds like my style of music.

[Cthulhu]

You know when you mentioned evangelions ending i knew there was an evangelion song i really loved but i couldn´t remember which is was, i just remembered!

[Valdís]

Why not.

The original folksong of the previous one:

[TinPenguin]

Oh man, I love Helene Bøksle! I don't think I could feel melancholy while listening to her, though. The other version is definitely more sorrowful.

[ankhtahr]

It's a chapter from the Project "Odin's Raven Magic", in which Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (allsherjargoði of the Icelandic Ásatrúarfélagið and film music composer) and Sigur Rós created music to the poem "Hrafnagaldr Óðinns", which translates to "Odin's Raven Magic", which is part of the poetic Edda (though this attribution is debatable)

[mtmerrick]

My definition of melancholy music :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By7ctqcWxyM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Valdís]

Oh man, I love Helene Bøksle! I don't think I could feel melancholy while listening to her, though. The other version is definitely more sorrowful.

Where you from, Tin?

It's a chapter from the Project "Odin's Raven Magic", in which Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (allsherjargoði of the Icelandic Ásatrúarfélagið and film music composer) and Sigur Rós created music to the poem "Hrafnagaldr Óðinns", which translates to "Odin's Raven Magic", which is part of the poetic Edda (though this attribution is debatable)

Hrafnagaldr Óðinns and Runaljod – Gap Var Ginnunga makes me feel better, though.

[spoiler=Not that it doesn't have its moments of it.]Her mind she spoke not,
nor was Gefjun able
to utter a word,
nor express any joy;
tears trickled,
from the skull's shields,
the mighty one
was bereft of power.[/spoiler]

My definition of melancholy music :

I like it.

[ankhtahr]

Hrafnagaldr Óðinns and Runaljod – Gap Var Ginnunga makes me feel better, though.

Well, of "Odin's Raven Magic" (I use this name to differentiate the music from the poem) only a few chapters make me feel much better. 1, 2 and 6 make me rather thoughtful/melancholic. 3 through 5 make me feel great though.

[Valdís]

Well, of "Odin's Raven Magic" (I use this name to differentiate the music from the poem) only a few chapters make me feel much better. 1, 2 and 6 make me rather thoughtful/melancholic. 3 through 5 make me feel great though.

Presumably Chapter 7 falls on the melancholic side too.

Feeling better doesn't just mean happy, however. There's untroubled peace of mind.

[spoiler=Also, since I brought up Gap Var Ginnunga, I'm gonna put up a bunch of Wardruna. Just cuz'.]

[/spoiler]

[TinPenguin]

Where you from, Tin?

I'm actually English, but I listen a lot of Scandinavian music. Wardruna, too! I'm so pleased they are finally visiting England this autumn. Some of my friends went to their recent concert at Chillon Castle in Switzerland, and they say it was magical.

Russia does melancholy well:

Ireland, too:

And I can't believe I almost forgot to post some DSBM:

[Valdís]

I'm actually English, but I listen a lot of Scandinavian music.

Ah, okay, I was thinking more of the whole "Falling in love between Heiemo and Nykkjen, quieting her sorrow by sleeping in his arms". Nykkjen (Näcken) being a water-being taking the form of a human which drowns those he manage to lure into the water. But not all of them do this, so you don't know if it ends with him killing her or if she's genuinely finding happiness in his arms.

Wardruna, too! I'm so pleased they are finally visiting England this autumn. Some of my friends went to their recent concert at Chillon Castle in Switzerland, and they say it was magical.

Cool. I just found out because of this thread that they've released the next album in the Runaljod series this year. Gotta get around to acquiring that.

Russia does melancholy well:

Was there ever any doubt? Also yay, Arkona!

I <3 Ilya Repin

[ScruffCardinale]

Beck's - Sea Change is definitely a great album to mope to.

[celticgeek]

Gwyneth Glyn:  Adra:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-8YLt37vpc

[AngelofShadows]

I'll do this

[TheCollyWolly]

Excuse my shitty indie cred, but something about the feel of 'Nightswimming' by REM gets me every time.

It probably has more to do with what I was dealing with when I first heard that song than the music itself. I think a lot of the emotion we tie to music comes from what it reminds us of, rather than the actual song. Kind of like how certain smells trigger memories, and it's different for each person.

[Zingoleb]

indie cred

is this still a thing?

[pwhodges]

I think it is; but it moved on from here and found a new home.

[BeoPuppy]

Let's all take a moment and wave at Pocket Jury.

Also:

[Patrick]

Oh hey, a thread custom-tailored for me to gush praises for Elliott Smith.

Well, you can really start just about anywhere, but here's a good one. It's about having his heart broken by a girl so he goes and finds heavy narcotics as a way to dull the pain.

Here's a song by the same guy which is also pretty overtly about drugs, and is on the album he recorded (and didn't even totally finish) before killing himself.

Finally, another overtly drug-related song from the same pre-suicide album. God damn, what a sad sack.

I went through a pretty serious phase of suicidal depression that I attribute largely to overdosing on Elliott Smith. I think it's because he made me understand what it's like to be sad all the time, and it just... kinda possessed me. So handle with care.

[de_la_Nae]

Aight. Not that all of these...some might arguably be not, but they contain sad emotions for me.

Levon Helm's "Wide River to Cross"
Yusuf Islam's "Father & Son"
The Cox Family's "I Am Weary (Let Me Rest)"
Kate Bush's "You're the One" (featuring Jeff Beck)
Tomas Diablo's "Lost"
Steppenwolf's "Snow Blind Friend"

I'm sure I'll have some more later, that's enough spam for now.

[Pilchard123]

This always leaves a lump in my throat if I listen to it rather than just having play while I do other things.

[idontunderstand]

It's about having his heart broken by a girl so he goes and finds heavy narcotics as a way to dull the pain.

Not that I disagree that this song is sad but how the hell do you piece that together?


Every time the day darkens down and goes away
Pictures open in my head of me and you
Silent and cliche, all the things we did and didn't say
Covered up by what we did and didn't do
Going through every out i used to cop to make the repetition stop
What was I supposed to say?

Now I never leave my zone, we're both alone
I'm going home
I wish I'd never seen your face


It's not far fetched to say he did drugs and that he had some unhealthy relationships. Saying this song is about doing drugs is though.

[Patrick]

He's talking about being in a heroin daze, which he did pretty habitually. "Every time the day darkens down and goes away" is referring to him dosing and the world just becoming null and void as a result, leaving him alone in his head. "Now I never leave my zone" is talking about the feeling of content emptiness and solitude heroin users report feeling when they take it.

[Asterus]

My personal list (Sorta in order of most played):
Roaring Tides (Clannad)
The Girl's Fantasy (Clannad)
Roaring Tides II (Clannad)
Passing Sorrow (FF9)
Shining Ray (Hatsune Miku) (Though it may also be the video and lyrics at work as well)
Hear Our Prayer (Tsubasa Chronicle)
Sis Puella Magica (Madoka)
Hina Vs. Neji (Naruto)
Naraku no Hana (Higurashi)
Beginning (Corpse Princess)

There were a few others I considered linking, but they're kinda ambiguous and YMMV on whether they're actually melancholic. Shining Ray probably fits under that description, but whatever.

[de_la_Nae]

In retrospect links make more sense than embedding, so I'ma go fix mine in a minute.

How could I forget Zia's Theme from Bastion, though?

[Kugai]

[TinPenguin]

I just discovered this interesting band. I am rapidly becoming obsessed with folk doom.

[kazuela]

hi, new here 

this is the saddest thing i've ever heard

[idontunderstand]

He's talking about being in a heroin daze, which he did pretty habitually. "Every time the day darkens down and goes away" is referring to him dosing and the world just becoming null and void as a result, leaving him alone in his head. "Now I never leave my zone" is talking about the feeling of content emptiness and solitude heroin users report feeling when they take it.

That's pretty interesting. I don't agree, though.

[Yappobiscuits]

Oh, I do love a good bit of melancholy!

I have to give Moonsorrow a mention. One of my top favourite bands. Finnish folk metal, but far from your stereotypical bouncy drinking songs. Much darker, more black metal orientated, and indeed very melancholy. Their later stuff is only very mildly folk influenced and much more black metal focused.

I tend to like stuff that's melancholic but also kinda uplifting in its own way. Stuff like Alcest. And Omnium Gatherum combine uplifting melodic death metal with melancholy, almost post-rock touches. (Insomnium are along similar lines if you like that sort of thing.)

And if you want kinda melancholy but really just plain beautiful, Anathema are a must. Prepare for major feels.

[Valdís]

Current mood:

[GarandMarine]

My theme for the last few years:

Yuki no Hana

My Heart It Belongs to She

On My Watch Tonight

Better as a Memory

[Aziraphale]

Excuse my shitty indie cred, but something about the feel of 'Nightswimming' by REM gets me every time.

It probably has more to do with what I was dealing with when I first heard that song than the music itself. I think a lot of the emotion we tie to music comes from what it reminds us of, rather than the actual song. Kind of like how certain smells trigger memories, and it's different for each person.

I was never a big REM fan, but my collection will never be without a copy of "Automatic for the People." It's close to perfect, and for as sad as a lot of it is, it reminds me of what was best about that time in my life.

[Aziraphale]

Chocolate Genius, "My Mom". Blindsided me the first time I heard it, and it still gets me everytime...

And a favorite by Chris Connelly that always struck me as melancholy-ish:

[Thrillho]

Excuse my shitty indie cred, but something about the feel of 'Nightswimming' by REM gets me every time.

It probably has more to do with what I was dealing with when I first heard that song than the music itself. I think a lot of the emotion we tie to music comes from what it reminds us of, rather than the actual song. Kind of like how certain smells trigger memories, and it's different for each person.

I was never a big REM fan, but my collection will never be without a copy of "Automatic for the People." It's close to perfect, and for as sad as a lot of it is, it reminds me of what was best about that time in my life.

That album is in my all-time top ten. It is an album about dark subject matter, but that is why it's so warm, healing and comforting.

[BeoPuppy]

May I be so bold as to perhaps suggest some old Marillion as melancholy music? I love those first four albums, where fish is basically singing about his own life and all the alcohol and fame and sex and the wives that leave him ... it's really a spectacular train wreck. Clutching at Straws is perfect.

[Detachable Felix]

I've been listening to a lot of The Antlers recently. In retrospect, it's probably why I'm sad all the time.

This album in particular - Hospice - You really need to dedicate some time where you sit by yourself and listen to it all in one go.

You'll sit down,
Try not to cry,
Cry a lot.

[Aziraphale]

I've been listening to a lot of The Antlers recently. In retrospect, it's probably why I'm sad all the time.

Kinda reminds me of a line in High Fidelity. I'm paraphrasing, but Rob wonders whether he listens to sad music because he's sad, or if he's sad because of the music he listens to. I think it can go either way; some stuff will put me in (or drag me out of) a mood, whereas there's other stuff I gravitate toward specifically because it fits how I'm feeling.

YMMV.

[Kugai]

[94ssd]

[Aziraphale]