The Saddest Songs - The Final Cut

The Saddest Songs
"What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?" - High Fidelity

This morning, Evan and I hashed out the first of many playlists to come. The theme was Saddest Songs. I'm actually overjoyed that this one is over and can be put to bed. I've been listening to little else other than these tunes and my psyche cannot take anymore. I'm miserable because I listen to pop music, how about you?

Highlights of our discussion:
Re: My Inability to Discern Between Gay and God...

9:08:13 AM Allison Rowland: Let's talk about Sufjan Stevens.
9:08:23 AM Allison Rowland: I'm a little weirded out by your response there.
9:09:22 AM Evan: it's a song about jesus
9:09:28 AM Allison Rowland: No it is not
9:09:35 AM Allison Rowland: Oh wait.
9:09:36 AM Allison Rowland: Maybe it is.
9:09:39 AM Evan: clearly
9:09:43 AM Evan: not a sad song about some girl/guy he loves who he'd do anything to be with
9:09:46 AM Allison Rowland: Did Jesus climb a tree?
9:10:10 AM Evan: yea...ever heard of the crucifixion?
9:10:13 AM Allison Rowland: I thought this was a song about Sufjan being gay and the man he loved having to leave everything for him.
9:10:20 AM Allison Rowland: Oh, they count that as a tree?!
9:10:25 AM Evan: nah...it's a jesus song
9:10:31 AM Evan: well it's made out of wood...
9:10:43 AM Evan: and i know you don't call paper "tree"
9:10:49 AM Evan: but i think he was being all symbolic and shit
9:10:57 AM Allison Rowland: This kind of ruins the song for me. :(
9:12:04 AM Evan: yup...ruined it for me, too
9:12:48 AM Allison Rowland: Well, I'm going to try and imagine it as a tree and a normal man and not a cross and a zombie
9:13:25 AM Evan: yup...i think it'd be funny if it was a song about sufjan having sex with the zombie
9:13:38 AM Allison Rowland: ZOMBIE SEX
9:13:44 AM Allison Rowland: GAY ZOMBIE SEX!
Evan Changed status to Offline (9:14:04 AM)
Evan Changed status to Online (9:15:14 AM)
9:15:34 AM Allison Rowland: Did "GAY ZOMBIE SEX" kick you off the Internet in Singapore?
9:15:38 AM Allison Rowland: Are you going to get deported?
9:15:52 AM Evan: i think so...
9:16:08 AM Allison Rowland: Sorry, I'll try to keep those comments to a minimum.
9:16:13 AM Evan: hahaha

Re: How "Hold Me Down" Came to Be Added

9:25:58 AM Evan: you wanna know the truth?
9:26:22 AM Evan: i think hold me down is the saddest of the songs you didn't include
9:26:36 AM Evan: but at 5:19, it'd be selfish for me to fight for it
9:26:57 AM Allison Rowland: No no.
9:27:14 AM Allison Rowland: Of the faster songs, Hold Me Down is the only one I'd consider.
9:27:22 AM Allison Rowland: I'm sorry, I'm not ever putting The Choke on this.
9:27:28 AM Evan: that's fine
9:27:33 AM Allison Rowland: And the Of Montreal song? Just not sad enough for me.
9:27:41 AM Evan: yea i understand that
9:27:59 AM Evan: that one was a "for me" song
9:28:16 AM Evan: i've had a few friends i've lost along the way for their inability to accept the fact that people change
9:28:30 AM Allison Rowland: Ditto.
9:28:53 AM Evan: when i made the list...i tried to think of events that have made me sad
9:29:17 AM Evan: then attached songs i associated with that event, or songs that described it
9:29:45 AM Evan: unrequited love in middle and high school always tormented me...hence The Choke
9:29:52 AM Evan: etc...
9:30:16 AM Evan: fuckin holds me down is so true...so honest
9:30:36 AM Allison Rowland: I can agree to Hold Me Down, which would leave us with 2:27.
9:30:49 AM Allison Rowland: So if that's the one, we're probably not going to get another on there.
9:30:50 AM Evan: yea so i say put that first in queue then let's talk about yours
9:31:05 AM Allison Rowland: All of my biggest ones are on there.
9:31:16 AM Allison Rowland: The only ones I would put up a big stink about at least.
9:31:21 AM Evan: keep in mind holds me down would make a great encore OR penultimate song on the playlist
9:38:10 AM Allison Rowland: We could do Editors and Jeff Buckley - they add up to 7:25
9:38:16 AM Allison Rowland: Or Hold Me Down and nothing else.
9:38:22 AM Evan: hmmmmmmmm
9:38:23 AM Evan: choices
9:38:47 AM Allison Rowland: I say Hold Me Down.
9:38:47 AM Evan: what do you think makes it "saddest"
9:38:51 AM Evan: yea me too
9:39:01 AM Allison Rowland: I think it's unexpected.
9:39:10 AM Allison Rowland: Jeff Buckley: expected.
9:39:23 AM Allison Rowland: dour-sounding Brits: expected.
9:39:30 AM Evan: i worry that editors and buckley won't stand out amongst the others that have similar approaches
9:39:42 AM Allison Rowland: And I kind of like the idea of it being the penultimate track.
9:39:43 AM Evan: and i think hold me down is a different take from everything else on there
9:39:50 AM Evan: yea it's a good one
9:40:19 AM Allison Rowland: So... we're settled?
9:40:24 AM Evan: settled
9:40:30 AM Evan: i like our first list

Here's the final list:

The Saddest Songs

Kyle Fischer - It Seems to Me (I've Long Been Dead) - 4:11 - A

M. Ward - Vincent O'Brien - 2:38 - E

Bayside - Winter - 4:27 - E

Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter - 4:48 - A

The Reindeer Section - Your Sweet Voice - 4:47 - A

Elliott Smith - Needle in the Hay - 4:16 - E

Owen - One of These Days - 3:44 - A

Snow Patrol - You Could Be Happy - 3:02 - A

Coldplay - Shiver - 4:58 - E

Ben Folds Five - Brick - 4:31 - E

Stars - Heart - 5:56 - A

Johnny Cash - Hurt - 3:38 - E

Gary Jules - Mad World - 3:03 - E

The Format - On Your Porch - 5:12 - E

Ryan Adams - Wonderwall - 4:09 - A

The Weakerthans - Left & Leaving - 4:46 - A

Motion City Soundtrack - Hold Me Down - 5:19 - E

Joy Division - Atmosphere - 4:08 - A

You can upload a single track with all the songs here. (Limited time offer, as Evan and I don't want to go to jail.)

And, finally, if you'd like some artwork to go with that mix, here you go:

For the billionth day in a row, it is rainy and miserable in Boston. How can this be summer? Looks like The Saddest Songs is getting one final spin. Then it's onto brighter things.

Re: Allison's Saddest Songs

Allison would have you believe that all sad songs must incorporate acoustic guitars, pianos, strings, and, if possible, windchimes. However, not everyone deals with sadness by crying into their pillow, or alone "in the bathroom stall at work." Some people yell, some punch walls, and some people even write scathing tweets about their stupid ex-girlfriend who they caught grinding the art teacher. I'm not bitter.

I know this sounds crazy, but some experiences can evoke multiple emotions at the same time, like sadness and anger. Here's an example: last night I went to see Transformers, and I left the theater both disappointed (terrible waste of money) and horny (Optimus Prime is a hunk). I think that also describes almost all of my experiences at strip clubs.

If you still don't believe me, watch this:




That said, here's my take on Allison's list.


DEFINITELY!
+ The Weakerthans - Left & Leaving (4:46)
For the same reasons Allison used for "Evaporated" and "Brick." I listen to this song when I'm away from home and want to torture myself. I guess it's my own personal form of bondage.

+ Owen - One of These Days (3:44)
Goddamn this song is so bleak. "one of these days i'll make some money and buy myself those things that i want...one of these days i'll give up and give into the man."

+ Stars - Heart (5:56)
Excruciatingly real

+ Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter (4:48)
I think most people can relate to this one.

+ Ryan Adams - Wonderwall (4:09)
Everything Allison said.

+ Joy Division - Atmosphere (4:08)
Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah

+ Kyle Fischer - It Seems to Me (I've Long Been Dead) (4:11)
Such a cleverly masked, enormously sad song.

+ The Reindeer Section - Your Sweet Voice (4:47)
We all have a tendency to misinterpret songs at first, but thinking this song is happy is like mistaking Carlos Mencia for a comedian. Or me for a clever person.

+ Snow Patrol - You Could Be Happy (3:02)
"do the things that you always wanted to / without me there to hold you back, don't think, just do"

MAYBE!
Jimmy Eat World - Cautioners (5:21)
My love for JEW aside, I'm not sure this song is really sad "enough," and I think "Drugs or Me" is much, much more depressing. Don't get me wrong, "Cautioners" is a great song, but I don't think it's even their saddest.

Iron & Wine - Such Great Heights (4:11)
"100 times better than the original" is a stretch, and I don't think it's in the same league as the other covers on here ("Mad World," "Hurt," and "Wonderwall"). Sodom South Georgia is sadder...let's fight.

The Jazz June - At the Artist's Leisure (pt. 2) (5:44)
I can see and respect why Allison would have this on her list, but I don't think this song is universally sad.

The Stills - Everything I Build (3:50) / Editors - Well Worn Hand (2:54) / Pedro the Lion - The Longer I Lay Here (3:04)
Great songs, but I still need convincing.


NO!
- Ben Folds Five - Evaporated
Brick wins

- Bloc Party - Signs
Ok...this song is definitely sad, but I think we're better served holding on to Bloc Party for a later list when they can really stand out from the crowd.

- Sufjan Stevens - To Be Alone With You
I think it's sad when people sing about all the silly things they'd do to go to heaven, rail 99 virgins, or, in this case, hang out with a 2000 year old zombie. Situation=sad. Song=not sad.


So, that brings us to 72:14, given we agree on the locks. We have 7:46 to work with should we choose to do so. BRING IT ON.

Re: Evan's Saddest Songs

OK, Evan. Let the fighting begin.

Keep It!
+ Ben Folds Five - Brick
I chose "Evaporated" because it's sad to me - especially when I need it, but this is one of those universally sad songs.

+ The Format - On Your Porch
Holy shit! How had I never heard this song before? The lines about the dad being sick and running away from that so you don't have to say goodbye? Welcome to my biggest fear. And those lyrics Evan quotes? Wow. Add it!

+ Elliott Smith - Needle in the Hay
I was in NYC for the CMJ Music Marathon when I heard that Elliott Smith had stabbed himself in the heart. That night, I went to see Mates of State, and they closed with an amazingly subtle (words not often used to describe that band in their early days) cover of this. The whole thing is tragic and beautiful. (And yeah - that puppet video is the saddest.)

+ Coldplay - Shiver
a) Because I love the myth that this was written about Natalie Imbruglia (and that she clearly had enough foresight to know that Chris Martin was going to go insane and name babies after fruits and the Old Testament), and b) what Evan wrote is funny, true, and very very sad.

+ Bayside - Winter
So so so good. I'd never heard this either. A welcome addition to a Saddest Songs mix. Tragedies often bring out some of the most amazing melodies.

+ Gary Jules - Mad World
Another amazing example of making a song never once thought of as sad into such a devastingly depressing track that you'll never forget it.

+ M. Ward - Vincent O'Brien
Beautiful.

+ Johnny Cash - Hurt
Kermit also sings "Hurt," and remains a very sad puppet indeed.



Could Go Either Way
The Weakerthans - Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure
Listen, I love this song. a) It is an amazing Weakerthans song. b) It is about a cat. That is a recipe for success. However, it's going to be hard for me to give any ground on "Left & Leaving" (assuming we're following the rule of only one song per artist on each mix).

The Get Up Kids - Out of Reach
I love this song! But I don't know if it's the saddest thing here or when compared to at least half of my list. The line "I've got pictures to prove I was there / But you don't care" is a killer though.

Iron & Wine - Sodom, South Georgia
Again, I love this song! But I also love how he took one of the poppiest, most upbeat songs and made it a depressing soul-cruncher.

Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye
I'm only lukewarm to this, which is a direct result of how haunting his cover of "Hallelujah" is. Perhaps a "Covers Mix" will soon be upon us.

Motion City Soundtrack - Hold Me Down
Evan, you are retarded.

Ehhhh...
- Saves the Day - The Choke
I feel like this is more angry than sad?

- Of Montreal - Cato as a Pun
I can't connect the words "Of Montreal" and "sad" in my head. Does not compute.

- Brand New - Seventy x 7
Maybe it's the fast-pacedness of this track - like the Saves the Day track - that makes me think this is more angry than sad? I want to punch someone in the face, not have a cry in the bathroom stall at work.

- The Beatles - Eleanor Rigby
I agree that this is sad. But I don't know if it fits? Sometimes I feel like it's weird to have a Beatles song on a mix. Maybe it's just me.

All right, dude: Have at my selections. Be gentle.

Evan's Saddest Songs

Good start, Allison. Here are mine...some will have explanations, others just lyrics. No rhyme or reason.

Total runtime comes in at 66:41

1. Saves the Day - The Choke (2:34)

This song reminds me of so many nauseating moments I could've avoided if I'd been smarter about who I tricked myself into loving.

lyrics: and i thought that maybe if i had to bite the tip of my finger / i'd stumble over words / tell you just how far / before i hit the ground / and i'm the type to think of all the wrong things to say / i will shut myself up / and i'll never come out / close all my doors / only show you the black spots where my eyes once were / i can't say this

2. Ben Folds Five - Brick (4:31)

Absolutely heartcrunching

lyrics: driving back to her apartment / for the moment we're alone / she's alone / and i'm alone / now i know it

3. The Format - On Your Porch (5:12)

lyrics: what's left to lose / you've done enough / and if you fail well then you fail, but not to us / cause these last three years, i know they've been hard / but now it's time to get out of the desert and into the sun / even if it's alone

4. Elliott Smith - Needle in the Hay (4:16)

Ever seen the Kermit the Frog cover on YouTube? Saddest puppet ever. (link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oEYMGL0ZtA)

5. of Montreal - Cato as a Pun (3:01)

lyrics: i can't even pretend that you are my friend / what has happened to you and i / and don't say that i have changed / cause man of course i have

6. The Weakerthans - Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure (4:07)

I fell in love with Virtute when she offered to cater a party with "all the birds that [she] can kill" in Plea From a Cat Named Virtute. I was heartbroken to learn she had run away, lamenting "I can't remember the sound that you found for me."

7. Get Up Kids - Out of Reach (3:46)

lyrics: start over / it's no way to begin

8. Iron and Wine - Sodom South Georgia (4:59)

Beautiful. Creepy.

lyrics: papa died while my / girl lady edith was born / both heads fell like / eyes on a crack in the door

9. Coldplay - Shiver (4:58)

What's really sad is Coldplay's post-Parachutes shit.

lyrics: so I look in your direction / but you pay me no attention / and you know how much I need you / but you never even seen me

10. Bayside - Winter (4:27)

Incredible tribute to Beatz, their drummer who passed while they were on tour

lyrics: i’ve been feeling 3 feet tall this month / hardly indestructible / but the snow melts and the rhythm still goes on

11. Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye (4:31)

lyrics: kiss me, please kiss me / but kiss me out of desire, babe, and not consolation / oh, you know it makes me so angry cause I know that in time / i'll only make you cry, this is our last goodbye

12. Brand New - Seventy x 7 (3:34)

Nothing quite as depressing as being betrayed by a friend

lyrics: i remember i kept thinking / that i know you never would / and now I know I want to kill you / like only a best friend could

13. Motion City Soundtrack - Hold Me Down (5:19)

I accidentally put this on a mix for my girlfriend at the time...oops.

lyrics: you're the echoes of my everything / you're the emptiness the whole world sings at night / you're the laziness of afternoon / you're the reason why I burst and why I bloom / how will I break the news to you? / how will I break the news to you?

14. Beatles - Eleanor Rigby (2:07)

lyrics: eleanor rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name / nobody came / father mckenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave / no one was saved

15. Gary Jules - Mad World (3:03)

lyrics: children waiting for the day they feel good / happy birthday, happy birthday / and i feel the way that every child should / sit and listen, sit and listen / went to school and i was very nervous / no one knew me, no one knew me / hello teacher tell me what's my lesson / look right through me, look right through me

16. M Ward - Vincent O'Brien (2:38)

lyrics: he only dreams when he's sad / and he's sad all the time / so he dreams the whole night through / yeah, he dreams in the daytime, too

17. Johnny Cash - Hurt (3:38)

Cash delivers this lyrically haunting NIN masterpiece so convincingly you'd never know (or care) that it's a cover. It's also one of the few songs that is paired with a near-perfect video.

lyrics: i hurt myself today / to see if i still feel / i focus on the pain / the only thing that's real

-----

here they are on imeem. not so sure about the quality, and I'm missing Hold Me Down and Eleanor Rigby.

Evans Saddest Songs

Allison's Saddest Songs

Here are my nominees for The Saddest Songs - and why I chose them.

1. Kyle Fischer - It Seems to Me (I've Long Been Dead)
For the lyrics: "When you last touched me / It drew all the blood to my skin / The ramparts raged and cannons fired / Your armies came crashing in / Tell me / Why must you stay away so long? / Where was it you needed to go? / Who have you been racing in your contest to grow old alone?"

2. Stars - Heart
"Heart" is the perfect song for a long walk during a snowstorm. It feels desperate and solemnly cinematic. Toward the end of the song, it's heartbreaking when the girl finally relents in the final "All right / I can say what you want me to / All right / I can do all the things you do / All right / I'll make it all up for you / I'm still in love with you." You know that these two will never get it together.

3. The Stills - Everything I Build
Again, for the lyrics: "But I built it with sand / And I built it with rock / I built it with all of the things that I'm not / And I watch from the hill / As it burns to the ground / I can still see the smoke / From a train out of town."

4. Snow Patrol - You Could Be Happy
This one cuts a little closer to the bone. After a significant relationship I was in failed, I played this on repeat for months. My life became long walks and internal struggles about whether or not I wanted to retain any sort of friendship with the other person. To be honest, I hoped he listened to this and came to realize just how much he'd fucked up. He could be happy, but I won't know.

5. Bloc Party - Signs
Lyrics: "I see signs now all the time / That you're not dead, you're sleeping / I believe in anything / That brings you back home to me."

6. Editors - Well Worn Hand
Three words to describe this song: solemn, dire, lonely. Lyrics: "I don't want to go out on my own anymore / I can't face the night like I used to before / I'm so sorry for the things that they've done / I'm so sorry about what we've all become."

7. Jimmy Eat World - Cautioners
Time to let me emo flag fly. When Bleed American came out I was a senior in high school. When Jimmy Eat World started streaming the album on their website before it arrived in stores, I would stay up all night in the basement of my parents' house listening to the album on repeat. "I'm making my peace / Making it with distance / Maybe that's a big mistake / You know I'm thinking of you / I miss you."

8. The Jazz June - At the Artist's Leisure (Pt. 2)
I am seventeen and I'm in love. There were nights I stared at the ceiling for hours and thought about that boy. He put this song on a mixtape for me, and I've never let it go. It's a sad song because I know I'll never experience that kind of first love again.

9. Pedro the Lion - The Longer I Lay Here
Lyrics: "I would like to be you / Just for a few habit-forming years / Laziness cuts me like cutlery / I need a miracle / Someone to help me / Myself."

10. The Reindeer Section - Your Sweet Voice
I think the saddest songs are the ones that used to make you happy, but they you realized just how sad they really are. I always thought this was a song about love, but now I know it is about a terrible heartbreak. Lyrics: "Don't worry / I won't call you again / 'Cause when I take a hint / I take it pretty hard / And when you broke my heart / You broke it into shards of glass." How could I ever think this was a song of joy?

11. Ryan Adams - Wonderwall (Oasis cover)
Ryan Adams takes one of my favorite songs of all time and recreates it into a gloomy plea. This is one song that comes close to being better than the original.

12. Owen - One of These Days
I heart Owen. I heart Owen and all of his sadness. Lyrics: "You know my father / The bartender / Used to wear a suit to work / Before he hit the drink / The old man used to do a lot of things."

13. Sufjan Stevens - To Be Alone With You
Sometimes I feel like this. Not to the extent that Sufjan has it here, but impossible love is a bitch. Lyrics: "You gave your body to the lonely / They took your clothes / You gave up a wife and a family / You gave your goals / To be alone with me."

14. Iron & Wine - Such Great Heights
This cover = 100 times better than the original. When I listen to this on the train, I have to catch myself from singing under my breath.

15. Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter
The saddest songs are about a handful of people in your life. At one point, "The Blower's Daughter" was impossible to not get wrapped up in. I was an ocean apart from someone I loved, and this is all about excruciating longing.

16. Ben Fold Five - Evaporated
Self-medication at the bleakest of times. When I'm screwing up left and right, this song is always there for me. It's a lifevest.

17. The Weakerthans - Left & Leaving
This. Reminds. Me. Of. Home. (I miss my home.) Lyrics: "I'm back with scars to show / Back with the streets I know / Will never take me anywhere but here / The stain in the carpet / This drink in my hand / The strangers whose faces I know / We meet here for our dress rehearsal to say / 'I wanted it this way.'"

18. Joy Division - Atmosphere
Because I love the tragic figures. Lyrics: "Walk in silence / Don't walk away / In silence."

And here (thanks to Evan!) is the imeem playlist (missing the Stars and Kyle Fischer tracks, sadly - tee hee...)

Allisons Saddest Songs