Sad music soothes soul

By Connor de Bruler

Opinion editor

Connor de Bruler I have one really terrible habit: I love depressing music.

Don’t get me wrong, I can’t get enough of those happy upbeat tunes like MGMT and Shakira that keep us all going.

But sometimes it’s time to tear the wallpaper down light a few candles and bask in the sadness and self-pity in which so many artists live.

There are a select group of artists I’d like to point out whose work I find to be the saddest-without getting cheesy.

The first band I’d like to write about will make you feel so low they actually call themselves “Low.” 

The group is comprised of a husband and wife duo from the gray skys and frostbitten nights of Duluth, Minn.  

Both of them are devout Mormons and home school their children to make their touring easier. 

They sound like a wholesome group of people until you actually listen to their music. With songs like “Whore,” “In the Drugs” and “You May Need a Murderer,” “Low” is one of the most negative, downbeat groups I have ever listened to.

Another downer to listen to is the ever-elusive solo artist Smog. 

His subject matter ranges from tapping his girlfriend’s phone to drowning butterflies in a bottle of wine. 

The music itself creates the illusion of a soothing mellow mood with angelic acoustic guitar and ethereal background voices. 

But nothing can soften the severity of his bitter tormented lyrics: “I hope you don’t mind if I touch your private life, slap it on the table and split it with a knife.”

Johnny Cash produced some tremendously dark songs at the end of his career, none of which are as intense as his version of “I See a Darkness” by Bonnie Prince Billy. 

The song melodically ruminates on the pressing issue of homosexual marriage in the United States and the consequences of unrealized love.

 Billie Holiday does a wonderful cover of the Hungarian hit single, “Gloomy Sunday.”

 The song “9-crimes” by Damien Rice takes the cake as far as dark music goes. 

There’s nothing to say that the song can’t say for itself. Just remember to bring an understanding friend and a box of tissues if you choose to listen.

There is only one song, however, that could ever break man: the anti-Iraq war ballad “All Systems Red” by Calexico. 

I haven’t met anyone who didn’t burst into tears listening to it. One line says, “And the words forming barely have a voice. It’s just your heart that’s breaking without choice.” 

People have burst into hysterical crying fits at concerts because of this song.

Remember not to wallow too much in the negativity. Listening to this music too often can change your outlook on the world around you. 

Happy music, however, can feel unreal and pointless. Sometimes sad music can be more intellectually stimulating. It’s more pensive, cerebral and self-aware.  

Keeping a balance is the key.