catapult magazine

but i have a hard time not listening to these people, even though i find myself in an unusually cheery mood lately. i mean people like Elliott Smith or Red House Painters. does anyone here (or there) have this problem? never can have enough or sad, depressing music? that makes you cry out of sheer musical beauty and also verbalizes your thoughts? i am reminded of those Thom York words on Kid A, “i’m not here, this isn’t happening…”

ok. anyways. who else likes suicide music?

I do, I do. I don’t listen to it quite as intensely as I used to back in my college days (read: the 2am freshman year sobfests to counting crows and tori amos are fewer and farther between) but I agree that there’s something enormously satisfying about that sort of emotional catharsis. I’ve wondered about this too—usually when I’m alone, I choose darker, sadder, “all-is-not-right” music. Music with intense longing. Rather than being brought down, I usually feel somewhat better (or just more justified in my depression?) afterward. It’s comforting.

On the flip side: does anyone out there tend to choose brighter music? Does it improve your mood?

yeah, that’s what the blues are about, not to make you sadder, but to let you express it.

Trent Reznor often defended his music about suicide by saying that many people would often come up to him and say that they were comforted by “Downward Spiral” because they were glad to know other people felt the same way they did and still went on living and doing their work.

mellow music for me is introspective.
it is funny that i happened accross these forums today because I am sitting here listening to Elliot Smith and Counting Crows. I don’t listen to mellow music when i am depressed so that i can just wallow in it. i listen to it because it sparks a certain introspection within me that is valuable when i am feeling down.

There are other times, when i am in a good mood, that i like to listen to such music as well. Like gabrielf, i can be in a cheery mood and listen to ‘suicide’ music. Suicide music lies in stark contrast to the lastest, “popular” music that you hear on those darn raiostations over and over.

Oops..sorry. Wrong forum.

Aimee Mann has been one of my favorite lyricists/songwriters since Til Tuesday. There is reality in her lyrics as she does not fear to dig deep into the human psyche and juggle the struggles of human relationships. She has always played the blame game, mostly pointing to the pain that others have caused her characters, but this album sheds a new light on Aimee as she assumes the position of the one at fault…sort of standing in front of a mirror and saying, “What the heck is wrong with me? Is it possible it’s all my fault, now?” to herself.

an interesting link:

http://metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/12.07.00/mann-0049.html

During an episode of VH1’s storytellers, lead singer of matchbox 20 rob thomas talked about why his songs were so sad and depressed, but he himself is always happy. He uses songwriting to vent his problems, so they don’t consume him, and he’s always happy. This for me is very true. I’m a pretty happy guy, generally, but my writing and listening tends more towards the suicidal, depressing strain. I’ve been listeing to Ryan Adams a lot the past few months, and he is the king of brokenhearted ballads and suicidal songs. I also listen to counting crows and wilco and jeff buckeley, all very sad sounding. I also listen to happier, more positive music, but i really don’t consciously think about the overall mood of the music i listen too. I just like good music.