What’s a depression anthem? I never expected sufferers of depression to feel like singing a theme song to it.
It’s a song that speaks to your flavour of depression. Makes you feel like someone feels the exact same way you do. That in turn makes you feel sane. Like you’re heard. Even understood.
Over time, songs (or movies or other things) can become a ritual - you feel awful, listen to the song, eventually you come out the other side as the depressive episode fades. Then the next time it happens you associate the song with your recovery. So over time it becomes What You Do when you Feel That Way.
What song would you recommend to someone who has done things she regrets when she had the opportunity to have something good and lives with the still-ongoing snowball effect that she is so used to seeing as karmic that she doesn’t typically bring up any of the issues?
Swans - Song for Dead Time
So bury your trust beneath the ground with me, dear
And lay your loneliness down for the sun to burn
To sand…
Yes. Swans have several beautiful crushingly dark songs. God Damn the Sun is one I go to.
Here’s the closest I’ve got.
Priest is an electronic music project originally formed by ex-members of the hugely popular band Ghost. I’d call this Darkwave, but the label doesn’t matter, it’s depeche mode-y and don’t let the gimp mask put you off, I believe the song is very sincere.
I can't stop, it's too late, it pours out, it's my fate My legacy in black Looking in to my eyes, see the things i despise My soul is tainted black I traveled with the enemy, i thought it was my destiny I'm free of all the lunacy I never want it back, my history in black Silent screams longing voice, violent dreams, ringing noise My memory is black It's not a mask, it's my skin Please don't ask where i've been My heart is painted black I traveled with the enemy, i thought it was my destiny I'm free of all the lunacy I'm never want it back, my history in black I escaped from the cage inside I traveled with the enemy, i thought it was my destiny I'm free of all the lunacy I never want it back, my history in black My history in blackYes, that works. I definitely feel this song.
Depression is a mess, it can have lots of symptoms. Same as antidepressants kek.
True, though I thought being “not in the mood” (for a lack of a better word) is required before all diagnoses of depression.
It depends on what you mean.
A single song: Hurt - Jonny Cash
Playlist to feel that:
- Pergunta Urgente - Frejat
- Broken Heart - White Lion
- Hurt - Jonny Cash
- Shake It Out - Florence & The Machine
- Best Thing I Never Had - Beyonce
- Dos Margaritas - Herbert Viana
- Depois - Marisa Monte
To recover from that:
- Ain’t no grave - Jonny Cash
- Where Angels Fear to Fly - Battle Beast
- Hurt - Jonny Cash
- Fire in Bone - The Killers
- Semana que Vem - Pitty
- Life Won’t Wait - Ozzy Osbourne
- Broken Heart - White Lion
- Temporal - Pitty
- O Poeta Está Vivo - Barão Vermelho
- Could Have Been Me - The Struts
- This Time - Guano Apes
- Spirit Never Die - Masterplan
- Sem Parar - Gabriel o Pensador
- Tente Outra Vez - Barão Vermelho
- Carry On - Angra
- Levanta e Anda (feat. Rael) - Emicida
- What a Wonderful World - Joey Ramone
- Rising Fire - Firewind
- Let Me Hear You Scream - Ozzy Osbourne
- Heavy Metal Never Dies - Iron Savior
- Born to Survive - Myrath
- Amnesia - Red Sun Rising
- Dance - Myrath
- Freak Like Me - Halestorm
- Where My Heart Will Take Me - Russel Watson
- Saga Cega - RAPadura
- Farol - Supercombo
- I Like It - Lacuna Coil
- Beyond the Burning Skies - Battle Beast
- Reason to Believe - Arch Enemy
- Moving On - Jimmy Cliff
- Conselho - Almir Guineto
- Unstoppable - Sia
- A Beautiful Life - Dorothy
- Nothing is Forever - Iron Savior
This second playlist is named “Keep Walking”. The first one, translated, could be “wheel’s bottom”.
Honestly hurt is my go to song when I’m feeling like shit.
Where My Heart Will Take Me
JONATHAN ARCHER INTENSIFIES
Exactly
Down in a Hole - Alice in Chains, from the unplugged album. Just such a raw song.
Yes, those harmonies are rough!
That was an exceptional performance. MTV unplugged was a great era
The Cure, Disintegration
The Great Below – Nine Inch Nails. (About 5 months in 2001 while addicted to Everquest).
The Beginning is End is the Beginning – Smashing Pumpkins (this version: https://youtu.be/0fDZD46IZ5Q?si=CyfMtrWL7YbtsEs7) (during my undergrad thesis crunch time crisis circa 2009)
There’s more but these are good examples.
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This is probably the best answer I’ve seen. Watching them build the song over the OK Computer tour when you were sure they were going to implode… It hits just right.
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How to Disappear Completely - Radiohead
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Roads by Portishead.
She knows. She gets it.
Ecellent choice! My personal choice is “threads” from their third album.
Oh, solid track
Nice choice, probably the best from Dummy for this topic. I’d also like to mention Over from their second, self titled album.
Mine is for a very specific kind of depression that’s really more of a vibe of melancholic regret and realization of self limitations which breeds a strange, nearly apathetic anxiety. The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me by Brand New (full album) just picks at a scab that you know probably isn’t healthy but feels satisfying to indulge.
For existential dread, Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd hits way different now than when I was young. Especially the songs Time and Great Gig In The Sky.
For depression depression, I couldn’t be bothered to listen to any music. “Music is for winners” is kinda the mindset. Not helpful, but depression is a motherfucker and it’s almost like self-inflicted emotional abuse when you’re already vulnerable. You feel miserable and convince yourself that you deserve misery, so all is right in the world. It fucking sucks and I hope that if this comment causes anything in anybody’s brain to light up, saying “hey wait a minute, is that not normal?”, then please invest in yourself and spend some time with a therapist, take more vitamin D, and try to do what you can to get yourself to a place where those feelings are just memories that you can mention on Lemmy in hopes of helping others the same way that you needed help.
Dark Side is such a good album. Great Gig in the Sky never resonated with me as a kid but now it’s a whole different story.
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me is such a good album. In some ways I hate listening to it because I know it’s not helping me but at the same time everything about it is just perfect
It’s not really a single song for me, it really depends on how depressed I am and whether I want to dive deeper into it (which really helps a lot sometimes) or make myself feel better.
Dive-in (including, but not limited to):
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The album Spiderland by Slint is pretty much full of depression songs for me, gloomy and full of dread. Don, Aman and Washer in particular are very hard hitting for me.
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F#A#∞ by Godspeed You! Black Emperor has similar vibes but is a lot more dystopian and pessimistic. Ever since hearing East Hastings in 28 Days Later it’s been my favourite song on the album.
Feel better (including, but not limited to):
- Everybody Hurts by R.E.M.; I normally don’t like this kind of songs but this one just feels honest and sincere which I can appreciate, plus Michael Stipe just has a great voice.
- Down Under by Men At Work; Pretty much the polar opposite of the post-punk/-rock songs mentioned above. I really want to move to Australia one day and this song reminds me of that goal.
- Happiness/The Gondola Man by Elliott Smith; just a nice song and I really like Elliott’s voice.
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Nine Inch Nails album With Teeth. Every Day is Exactly the Same, Only, and Right Where it Belongs.
This by far my favourite album of theirs. Every one a banger. Especially those you listed.
Sea Change album by Beck
Oof, great album, especially after life hits you hard.
I overheard a guy tell his friend ‘it’s Beck, but without all the gadgets’ and I thought that was hilarious so I checked it out (as was going through a tough break up years ago), and damn was it perfect
Lol that’s a good description. So many good tracks there, but Golden age is one of the bes, driving songs ever.
Stone Sour - Bother
The Wall is a special album for me, usually makes want to kill myself so I have to carefully pick the moments I listen to it.
I’ve got a playlist, “Everything sucks but that’s ok”. This Year by The Mountain Goats is usually a solid pick. It’s wistful and defiant without being too sweet.
Misanthropic Drunken Loner by Days N Daze is bleak with a wry smile.
Nausea by Jeff Rosenstock.
I got so tired of discussing my future I started avoiding the people I love Evenings of silence and mornings of nausea Shake and sweat and I can’t throw up
And if things are starting to get a little better Good As It Gets by Little Hurt is great. It is incredibly catchy.
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On GP - Death Grips
