Best Ever Albums

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

CharlieBarley — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 00:22:07 GMT

Author: CharlieBarley

Posted: 06/25/2018 04:22

Fair enough, 9999, that you haven't heard any Mozza albums, but here are some albums from me:

Viva Hate by Morrissey

Kill Uncle by Morrissey

Peggy Suicide by Julian Cope

Station To Station by David Bowie

Shame its not bands as well but it's an interesting thread

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

travelful — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 21:24:09 GMT

Author: travelful

Posted: 06/25/2018 01:24

Lots of great albums in the poll, however Carrie & Lowell is the album that I have the greatest connection with. Love that album.

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

Romanelli — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 17:14:19 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 06/24/2018 21:14

AfterHours wrote:

Some of these might technically be incorrect as "singer-songwriter" (because there is a little too much of a "band" around them or some other nuances/reasons), however they all fit the general gist of what the genre entails and should satisfy one looking for similar experiences -- if we're not being too strict and "mostly minimal accompaniment" is okay too. Here are my selections for the most amazing depressing/very sad/heartbreaking such works...

1. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel (1998)
2. Lorca - Tim Buckley (1970)
3. Desertshore - Nico (1970)
4. Astral Weeks - Van Morrison (1968)
5. Winterreise - Franz Schubert (1828)
6. Geek the Girl - Lisa Germano (1994)
7. Down Colorful Hill - Red House Painters (1992)
8. Songs of Leonard Cohen - Leonard Cohen (1968)
9. On the Way Down From Moon Palace - Lisa Germano (1991)
10. Happy Sad - Tim Buckley (1968)
11. Tonight's the Night - Neil Young (1975)
12. Red House Painters (Rollercoaster) - Red House Painters (1993)
13. Hex - Bark Psychosis (1994)
14. The Marble Index - Nico (1968)
15. 2 - Black Heart Procession (1999)
16. Miss America - Mary Margaret O'Hara (1988)
17. Rickie Lee Jones - Rickie Lee Jones (1979)
18. Laughing Stock - Talk Talk (1991)
19. Spirit of Eden - Talk Talk (1988)
20. I Could Live in Hope - Low (1994)
21. Excerpts From A Love Circus - Lisa Germano (1996)
22. Blue - Joni Mitchell (1971)
23. If I Could Only Remember My Name - David Crosby (1971)
24. Trust - Low (2002)
25. You Are Free - Cat Power (2003)

A small number may be borderline depressing "not quite sad enough?". And, a few, I may have taken a little too far in regards to instrumentation/accompaniment... Down Colorful Hill above is probably the most thoroughly accurate and potent example of the true depths of depression some can sink to -- if you're looking for the most "perfect" selection among these.

Given the thread title's distinction of "male", you can disqualify close to half of these...

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

RoundTheBend — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 15:44:51 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/24/2018 19:44

AfterHours wrote:

sethmadsen wrote:

AfterHours wrote:

5. Winterreise - Franz Schubert (1828)

Hell's Yis

I can't remember the name of it now, but the one where he's looking through the window from his bed and describes/reimagines the frost. I want to say he likens the frost to his soul or something cold and dark like that but it's been about 4 years since I've visited that... damn, thanks for the memories.

Yes! 😁 This rendition may be unbeatable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCAPqO8U73U

That was nice.

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

AfterHours — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 15:21:35 GMT

Author: AfterHours

Posted: 06/18/2018 19:21

sethmadsen wrote:

AfterHours wrote:

5. Winterreise - Franz Schubert (1828)

Yes! 😁 This rendition may be unbeatable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCAPqO8U73U

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

9999 — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 10:39:11 GMT

Author: 9999

Posted: 06/18/2018 14:39

bobbyb5 wrote:

Actually you're right. It's kind of a misconception that all the well-known singer-songwriters were just themselves and their guitar or their piano. In reality, very rarely was it just them solo without a band. It's surprising when you read the credits on albums and see just how many instruments and musicians were used on each track. Somehow they were able to create the illusion of simplicity when it really wasn't simple at all. At least in the studio. Performing live they may have been more likely to not have a full band. It's really only folk performers who just had their own guitar without a band.

Yeah, you're absolutely right. But I had to mark some boundaries, otherwise I would've had to make a poll with 40 or 50 different albums 🤣 so that's why I ultimately went with those ones, because even though I know that more people took part in the production and recording, the songs themselves are only credited to the main artist.

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

YoungPunk — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 18:25:39 GMT

Author: YoungPunk

Posted: 06/17/2018 22:25

Winterreisse is likely better than all the songs listed here honestly

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

RoundTheBend — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 17:36:12 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/17/2018 21:36

AfterHours wrote:

5. Winterreise - Franz Schubert (1828)

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

AfterHours — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 16:22:46 GMT

Author: AfterHours

Posted: 06/17/2018 20:22

bobbyb5 wrote:

AfterHours wrote:

Agreed, good points 😄

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

AfterHours — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 16:21:41 GMT

Author: AfterHours

Posted: 06/17/2018 20:21

AfterHours wrote:

^^^ Whoops, wasn't thinking with "only male" while making my selections. Oh well...

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

bobbyb5 — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 15:12:19 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 06/17/2018 19:12

AfterHours wrote:

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

AfterHours — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 14:42:06 GMT

Author: AfterHours

Posted: 06/17/2018 18:42

Some of these might technically be incorrect as "singer-songwriter" (because there is a little too much of a "band" around them or some other nuances/reasons), however they all fit the general gist of what the genre entails and should satisfy one looking for similar experiences -- if we're not being too strict and "mostly minimal accompaniment" is okay too. Here are my selections for the most amazing depressing/very sad/heartbreaking such works...

1. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel (1998)
2. Lorca - Tim Buckley (1970)
3. Desertshore - Nico (1970)
4. Astral Weeks - Van Morrison (1968)
5. Winterreise - Franz Schubert (1828)
6. Geek the Girl - Lisa Germano (1994)
7. Down Colorful Hill - Red House Painters (1992)
8. Songs of Leonard Cohen - Leonard Cohen (1968)
9. On the Way Down From Moon Palace - Lisa Germano (1991)
10. Happy Sad - Tim Buckley (1968)
11. Tonight's the Night - Neil Young (1975)
12. Red House Painters (Rollercoaster) - Red House Painters (1993)
13. Hex - Bark Psychosis (1994)
14. The Marble Index - Nico (1968)
15. 2 - Black Heart Procession (1999)
16. Miss America - Mary Margaret O'Hara (1988)
17. Rickie Lee Jones - Rickie Lee Jones (1979)
18. Laughing Stock - Talk Talk (1991)
19. Spirit of Eden - Talk Talk (1988)
20. I Could Live in Hope - Low (1994)
21. Excerpts From A Love Circus - Lisa Germano (1996)
22. Blue - Joni Mitchell (1971)
23. If I Could Only Remember My Name - David Crosby (1971)
24. Trust - Low (2002)
25. You Are Free - Cat Power (2003)

A small number may be borderline depressing "not quite sad enough?". And, a few, I may have taken a little too far in regards to instrumentation/accompaniment... Down Colorful Hill above is probably the most thoroughly accurate and potent example of the true depths of depression some can sink to -- if you're looking for the most "perfect" selection among these.

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

RoundTheBend — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 13:25:58 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/17/2018 17:25

I just listened to these albums this week and thought the same thing about Willie Nelson.

Willie Nelson would likely be a nobody if he was getting his start today.

Kinda sad to think there is a 24 year old Willie Nelson type out there somewhere, from whom we'll never know.

I suppose Father John Misty really sounds much like these 70s artists though... and he's pretty famous.

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

bobbyb5 — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 13:17:34 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 06/17/2018 17:17

sethmadsen wrote:

If we are going broad, I never really understood how depressing/honest this music was until I got older:

This is filled with emptiness:

Stardust by Willie Nelson

There's some lively music on this, but some incredibly depressing songs on here too:

Negotiations And Love Songs 1971-1986 by Paul Simon

Those are two really good albums. Today I find it hard to imagine that all of these seventies guys we're huge Stars and sold millions of Records. They still have people making this kind of music today, but they don't become huge stars like they used to. Except for maybe Beck, most of them today are probably unfamiliar to the General Public, and just make music for a niche audience. Back then they used to be mainstream. Things are so different today.

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

RoundTheBend — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 13:06:19 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/17/2018 17:06

If we are going broad, I never really understood how depressing/honest this music was until I got older:

This is filled with emptiness:

Stardust by Willie Nelson

There's some lively music on this, but some incredibly depressing songs on here too:

Negotiations And Love Songs 1971-1986 by Paul Simon

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

bobbyb5 — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 06:51:41 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 06/17/2018 10:51

A good album could never be depressing. What IS depressing is bad music. No matter how depressing the subject matter might be, a good album is thrilling. Not depressing. A bad album is depressing.

Of all the ones in the poll, I would say that I like Sea Change the best. Although I kind of like his album Muations better. But they're both very excellent.

I kind of agree with several of the people here who went old school in their choices. This type of music actually peaked in the seventies. There were tons of great male singer songwriters whose lyrics could be described as depressing but their music was so tuneful and skillfully performed that their albums have the opposite effect and are just plain enjoyable and even fun. Here's my personal favorite ones. Some people already mentioned them.

Sweet Baby James by James Taylor

Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon by James Taylor

You Don't Mess Around With Jim by Jim Croce

Cold On The Shoulder by Gordon Lightfoot

Paul Simon by Paul Simon

Catch Bull At Four by Cat Stevens

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

RoundTheBend — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 01:21:00 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/17/2018 05:21

Electro-Shock Blues by Eels

There's also this.

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

RoundTheBend — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 23:32:34 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/17/2018 03:32

So many different depths of depression listed.

I went with Beck because musically I like it the most, but Best depressing album... I've never felt the real feeling of depression... like the deep down darkest depths of it from anything but Mount Eerie's A crow looked at me (as already mentioned). Perhaps I'm associating the deep depression I went through as dealing with death, but some might see it as "just" grief and not depression. For me it was inseparable.

Beck's album has it's moments of true despair.

Elliot's and Drake's performances seem more melancholy than true depression.

Downward Spiral seems more dark than depressive if that makes any sense. Hurt I suppose has some serious depression to it though.

I forget what else was on the list now that I'm writing this... that's good for now.

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

9999 — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 19:53:55 GMT

Author: 9999

Posted: 06/16/2018 23:53

Stover75 wrote:

Wot? No Morrissey?!?

Well, to be honest, I haven't heard anything from Morrissey's solo career, so I couldn't say.

Re: POLL: Best depressing album by a male singer-songwriter

cestuneblague — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 00:39:43 GMT

Author: cestuneblague

Posted: 06/15/2018 04:39

That title is an oxy moron

I guess you could go with Yip! Jump Music by Daniel Johnston, Trials and Errors by Magnolia Electric Co, The Holy Bible by Manic Street Preachers and North Star Deserter by Vic Chesnutt