It can be the music, it can be the singer, but for me, the top thing would be what the song is about. The songs that I don't listen to are the ones that are about suicide and ones that are most likely to get played at funerals like "Go Rest High On That Mountain" for example. Can I make any kind of an exception? To me, one song that I won't turn off that would probably fit such a category is this song from country singer Trace Adkins.
For me lyrics are the main thing that make a song depressing, but music is definitely a key factor as well. Those upbeat songs with dark lyrics can hit hard, but in a different kind of cathartic way than a slow or downcast song that manages to convey dread better.
I like this description. Are you implying upbeat songs with depressing lyrics are almost neutral because they suggest the singer is coming to terms with the subject of their lyrics, whereas downcast songs are more "depressing" because they tend to be more about the wallowing and irresolution? _________________ on such a winter's day
For me lyrics are the main thing that make a song depressing, but music is definitely a key factor as well. Those upbeat songs with dark lyrics can hit hard, but in a different kind of cathartic way than a slow or downcast song that manages to convey dread better.
I like this description. Are you implying upbeat songs with depressing lyrics are almost neutral because they suggest the singer is coming to terms with the subject of their lyrics, whereas downcast songs are more "depressing" because they tend to be more about the wallowing and irresolution?
I wouldn't say neutral. I couldn't think of a good description earlier but I think "defiance" is the word I would use to describe this. Like the narrator is depressed or upset but is trying to put on a happy face, or in rarer cases giving off an air of trying to stick it to other people. Definitely cathartic but gets me more energized than something like the other songs I linked.
I also couldn't think of any songs that fit this earlier but I think Of Montreal's Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? and Why?'s Alopecia are both full of songs like this. _________________ And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.
For me lyrics are the main thing that make a song depressing, but music is definitely a key factor as well. Those upbeat songs with dark lyrics can hit hard, but in a different kind of cathartic way than a slow or downcast song that manages to convey dread better.
On the other hand, one of Gowi's picks reminded me of this one which doesn't have that balancing element:
I wouldn't say neutral. I couldn't think of a good description earlier but I think "defiance" is the word I would use to describe this. Like the narrator is depressed or upset but is trying to put on a happy face, or in rarer cases giving off an air of trying to stick it to other people. Definitely cathartic but gets me more energized than something like the other songs I linked.
Right, that's why I said "almost neutral". I would still classify songs with upbeat music with downbeat lyrics as "depressing" but not as depressing as some of the ones linked here. Totally agree there. _________________ on such a winter's day
As to "what makes something depressing", I wouldn't know. It's up to however we as listeners interpret these songs. To me, what the songs above communicate, is not just "sadness" or "misery", but also their inevitability and lack of escape options. Come to think of it, No Surprises is one more better known example of the same.
Now, a big part of why these songs are making me feel this way are the lyrics (but not just lyrics). Depressing music without lyrics would to me be something like The Caretaker's Everywhere at the end of time - in this case, the concept and how the music ties to it.
Last edited by 19loveless91 on 12/09/2020 19:12; edited 1 time in total
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