In this week’s newsletter, I talked about my love for angsty and/or sad songs. Now that Substack has started this new chat feature, I thought it’d be fun to ask y’all what your favorite angsty, sad, or bittersweet song is!
I shared my playlist this week, but I’ll start with the three songs I never press skip on when they come up.
Creep by Radiohead
Fall to Pieces by Velvet Revolver
She Used To Be Mine by Sara Bareilles
And a new one I can listen to on repeat…
Lonely by Justin Bieber
Now it’s your turn! Give me some songs I can add to my slow and sad playlist. :)
Nov 18, 2022·edited Nov 18, 2022Liked by Roni Loren
Yeah, I have a whole playlist called "Feelings." Just a sampling...
The Sound of Silence (either Simon & Garfunkel or Disturbed version)
Mad World (Gary Jules version. This is probably the saddest song ever, lol).
Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell
This Woman's Work by Kate Bush
Blue by Batts (feat. Sharon Van Etten)
Walking on a Wire by Richard and Linda Thompson (especially since they were divorcing amongst Richard's affair when Linda had to perform this with him...)
Nothing sends me down a rabbit hole more than reliving Richard and Linda Thompson. I love the emotion behind musical pairings, but Richard left Linda and their kids for a younger woman and then she still had to go on tour with him. 🤯
I always had this thought about "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. It's about their breakup but they remained in the band together so had to perform the song together.
I don't want to be repetitive, so here's some from my Gen-X youth--I'm slightly older than you.
From my K-Tel album *Emotions* with a bunch of 70s sad songs:
Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
Torn Between Two Lovers
Don't Give Up On Us
If I Can't Have You
Emotion
The last two, of the above, were written by the Bee Gees.
It's a Heartache by Bonnie Tyler
These are not from my childhood:
Stay by Sugarland (when Jennifer sang it on an awards show, the emotion was full-on and raw.)
I Wonder by Kellie Pickler (Kellie sang it on an awards show and barely finished it because she was so overcome with emotion. It dealt with her estranged mother.)
If you REALLY want to be sad - "Black Gives Way to Blue" - Alice in Chains - written after the death of their original lead singer Layne Staley. Such a good song though, it just haunts me. Honorable mention - "Another Park, Another Sunday" by the Doobie Brothers and "After the Thrill is Gone" by the Eagles.
wow, just listened. Black Gives Way to Blue is gorgeous and terribly sad. Thank you, it's definitely going on the playlist. (haven't listened to the other two yet)
I'm a huge Cole Swindell fan & love his You Should Be Here. I cry every time I hear it, even when I see him live. It's about his dad passing away just before he won his first music awards, so sad
We definitely share music tastes. A number of these are on my list and I'll check out the others. I love that you included Break Stuff, lol. I play that in the car when I just need to let off steam. That one and Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine are therapeutic. :)
Wreck by Imagine Dragons
Thank you! I’ll take a listen.
Yeah, I have a whole playlist called "Feelings." Just a sampling...
The Sound of Silence (either Simon & Garfunkel or Disturbed version)
Mad World (Gary Jules version. This is probably the saddest song ever, lol).
Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell
This Woman's Work by Kate Bush
Blue by Batts (feat. Sharon Van Etten)
Walking on a Wire by Richard and Linda Thompson (especially since they were divorcing amongst Richard's affair when Linda had to perform this with him...)
Ooh thanks. I have the first two in my master playlist so we share tastes! I’ll have to check out the others. :)
Nothing sends me down a rabbit hole more than reliving Richard and Linda Thompson. I love the emotion behind musical pairings, but Richard left Linda and their kids for a younger woman and then she still had to go on tour with him. 🤯
Walking on a Wire line:
"Where's the justice
Where's the sense
When all the pain is on my side of the fence?"
Must've been fun to sing. Shoo.
I always had this thought about "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. It's about their breakup but they remained in the band together so had to perform the song together.
"Hurt" by Johnny Cash
"No One Does it Better" by You Me At Six
"Tall Tales Taste like Sour Grapes" by Fair to Midland
"My Life in the Knife Trade" by Boysetfire
"Leave the Lights On" by Meiko
"Better Off Dead" by The Sounds
"If I Had a Heart" by Fever Ray
"I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran
"Pretty Girl (the Way)" by Sugarcult
"Mojo" by Peeping Tom
"Savior" by Rise Against
Ooh, thank you! I don't know a lot of these so I'll have to check them out. :)
I don't want to be repetitive, so here's some from my Gen-X youth--I'm slightly older than you.
From my K-Tel album *Emotions* with a bunch of 70s sad songs:
Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
Torn Between Two Lovers
Don't Give Up On Us
If I Can't Have You
Emotion
The last two, of the above, were written by the Bee Gees.
It's a Heartache by Bonnie Tyler
These are not from my childhood:
Stay by Sugarland (when Jennifer sang it on an awards show, the emotion was full-on and raw.)
I Wonder by Kellie Pickler (Kellie sang it on an awards show and barely finished it because she was so overcome with emotion. It dealt with her estranged mother.)
I'm in like the last gasp of Gen X born at the end of '79 lol, but yes, I don't know a number of these so I need to look them up. Thanks! :)
Between the bars by Elliot smith
Wish you were here by neck deep
And Roslyn by bon Iver
Thank you! I don't know these, so I'll look them up. :)
A little bit yours by JP Saxe
Forever's gone by Drama
Unbreak my heart by Toni Braxton
Innocence and Sadness by Dermot Kennedy
All I need to hear by the The 1975 (starts at 3:15)
Nothing left to say by Imagine Dragons
Next to Me by Imagine Dragons
Speeding Cars by Walking on Cars
Unbreak My Heart brings me back. :) I don't know all of these, so I'll look them up. Thank you!
On my list is:
Stairway to Heaven by Led Zepplin
You Should Be Here by Cole Swindell
What Hurts The Most by Rascal Flatts
Live Like You Were Dying by Tim McGraw
Highway Don't Care by Tim McGraw/Taylor Swift/Keith Urban
My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion
Stairway is definitely on my list but I'll have to check out some of these others. I know a few but not all. Thank you!
First song - hopelessness and tortured soul
Second one - dreamy baratone voice and resignation. Orville Peck is a fascinating artist.
thank you! I'll check him out. :)
Wasted Time by The Eagles
When love & hate collide by Def Leppard
Sad eyes by Robert John
Weekend in New England by Barry Manilow
Where’ve you been by Kathy mattea
Come what May by Ewan Mcgregor
Exile by Taylor Swear ft & Bon Iver
I can’t cry hard enough by the Williams brothers
What hurts the most by Rascal flatts
I drive your truck by Lee Brice
I’ll never love again by Lady Gaga
Goodbye time Conway twitty
I’ll get by Eddie money
Ooh this looks like a good list. I have a few of these so our tastes overlap. I’m going to check out the others!
Smoke and Mirrors by Imagine Dragons
Curse of the blackend eye by Orvile Peck
Thank you! I don’t know these. I’ll check them out!
-Never Gonna Be Alone-Jacob Collier, Lizzy Alpine and John Mayer
-Tilikum- Benjamin Francis Leftwich
-Maybe Tomorrow- Stereophonics
-Don’t keep driving- The Paper Kites
Musically beautiful and soul wrenching.
Ooh, thank you! I don’t know these so I’m going to add them to my To Listen list!
The Rose, sung by Bette Midler.
A classic!
Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O’Connor’s version. Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. That one hits me in the feels every time.
Oh, and Still Loving You by Scorpions!
Scorpions! Like that one too
These are both great ones!
oh I have a whole playlist!
Too Much, Too Little, Too Late by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams
Make it Like it Was by Regina Belle
On My Own by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald
Or you could just stream my playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4u0giA4VAi69JbivlmAxqV?si=d7ae068ada2e4cd7
Ooh, thank you! I’ll check it out!
Another Heartbreak by Giveon
Glimpse of Us by Joji
Matilda by Harry Styles
All three of these are really pretty! Thanks again!
Thank you! I don't know these. I'm adding them to the To Listen list. :)
If you REALLY want to be sad - "Black Gives Way to Blue" - Alice in Chains - written after the death of their original lead singer Layne Staley. Such a good song though, it just haunts me. Honorable mention - "Another Park, Another Sunday" by the Doobie Brothers and "After the Thrill is Gone" by the Eagles.
wow, just listened. Black Gives Way to Blue is gorgeous and terribly sad. Thank you, it's definitely going on the playlist. (haven't listened to the other two yet)
How do I not know that Alice in Chains song?! I have other songs by them on my main playlist. Thank you! I'm going to listen to all of these. :)
Old Man by Neil Young
Round Here by Counting Crows
Teardrop by Massive Attack
Downeaster Alexa by Billy Joel
Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin
From the hubs and me 💙
The classics were already mentioned so I share some others that are on my playlist too ❤️💔
Ron Pope - Everything
Martina McBride - Concrete Angel
Joshua Kadison - Paris
Dermot Kennedy - Innocence and Sadness
Kelly Clarkson - Piece by Piece
Missy Higgins - Oh Canada
Bette Midler - Wind beneath my wings
Idina Menzel - Last time
Crystal Shawandra - You can let go
Just left a comment I don't see yet, but in case it does show up, I'll keep this short: "If the World Was Ending" by JP Saxe and Julia Michaels.
I'm a huge Cole Swindell fan & love his You Should Be Here. I cry every time I hear it, even when I see him live. It's about his dad passing away just before he won his first music awards, so sad
We definitely share music tastes. A number of these are on my list and I'll check out the others. I love that you included Break Stuff, lol. I play that in the car when I just need to let off steam. That one and Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine are therapeutic. :)