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Sad songs dressed up as happy ones

orangejuice [Edit] [Delete] 63 replies 18:07 March 14th, 2013

Y'know, the kind where one verse or line at the end throws your whole perception of the song.

Or the kind where the lyrics are just downright melancholy throughout, but you don't notice for a while because the melody is so infectious.

I'll start it off with Squeeze - Up the Junction:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQciegmLPAo

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tears of a clown

shrewbie | 14 Mar '13, 18:09 | X | ^ This | Reply

badmanreturns this'd this
Help!

KRaudive | 14 Mar '13, 18:13 | X | ^ This | Reply

johnwiddop this'd this
Pumped Up Kicks

BarryShitpeas | 14 Mar '13, 19:28 | X | ^ This | Reply
Hey Ya!

BarryShitpeas | 14 Mar '13, 19:28 | X | ^ This | Reply

Severed799, JaguarPirate, TomViolence, ThisTemporaryLife, SCROTUM, and andyvine this'd this
most modest mouse songs

Severed799 | 14 Mar '13, 19:36 | X | ^ This | Reply

JaguarPirate this'd this
- as a result, Float On is more surprising when you realise it actually *is* a happy song
  
  JaguarPirate @Severed799 | 14 Mar '13, 20:14 | X | ^ This | Reply
  
  emmettcruddas this'd this
- Really? I would have said most of them are fairly obviously sad...
  
  Oissin_ @Severed799 | 14 Mar '13, 21:26 | X | ^ This | Reply
- I cannot get behind this one
  
  Paper Thin Walls would come to mind but not many more.
  
  Yesiamaduck @Severed799 | 15 Mar '13, 10:42 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Yeah...
  
  They have upbeat songs, but none of them (save for Float On) really comes off as happy.
  
  ThisTemporaryLife @Severed799 | 15 Mar '13, 10:59 | X | ^ This | Reply
Blister in the Sun.

emmettcruddas | 14 Mar '13, 20:45 | X | ^ This | Reply
Many Warren Zevon songs

Gorkys_Forever | 14 Mar '13, 20:52 | X | ^ This | Reply

Woodchuck this'd this
- see also Steely Dan
  
  theShipment @Gorkys_Forever | 14 Mar '13, 21:27 | X | ^ This | Reply
  
  Gorkys_Forever and joeymahone this'd this
The Cure

Boys Don't Cry
Inbetween Days

Teepee_uk | 14 Mar '13, 21:06 | X | ^ This | Reply

JaguarPirate and Woodchuck this'd this
Super Furry Animals

Receptacle for the Respectable

NYFYO | 14 Mar '13, 22:36 | X | ^ This | Reply
- I would have said Juxtaposed would be a good shout for this
  
  Not exactly sad, but not very in love with the world for sure.
  
  kostenurky @NYFYO | 15 Mar '13, 10:04 | X | ^ This | Reply
Fred Payne - Band of Gold

stalecloud | 14 Mar '13, 23:16 | X | ^ This | Reply
- *Freda
  
  sorry Freda
  
  stalecloud @stalecloud | 14 Mar '13, 23:17 | X | ^ This | Reply
- came here to post this
  
  they just played it on the radio
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIDeK7bVfUk
  
  Mick_Squalor @stalecloud | 15 Mar '13, 16:02 | X | ^ This | Reply
  - I love this song
    
    and I can't help but feel happy when I hear it. it seems like she wrote the song in a bad place, recorded it in a good place
    
    stalecloud @Mick_Squalor | 15 Mar '13, 17:25 | X | ^ This | Reply
basically every Passion Pit song

LISTEN
I'm your friend, don't quote me
but not a friend worth knowing
yes, please don't ever know me as your friend

<3 Passion Pit

guntrip | 14 Mar '13, 23:35 | X | ^ This | Reply

wonton and JaguarPirate this'd this
- Passion Pit are huge in Australia, and there's huge crowds at their festival slots
  
  But it's like, far out, these songs are just sad. Even the instrumentation has a real melancholy to it, but plenty of people just see them as fun, good time songs. But there's almost some real nostalgia in there or something. It's a real emotional slog to get through their albums because of it.
  
  Plus, that guy Chris Brahney who died after the Stone Roses gig... I remember looking at his facebook and his last like was Passion Pit. Made me think of them as way more of a sombre band.
  
  vivmichiesrightfoot @guntrip | 15 Mar '13, 02:44 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Ooh, Passion Pit is a great example
  
  I don't know how it is over there, but here in the states, I've come across a couple ads with "Take A Walk" in them, most notably a Taco Bell ad.
  It's hilarious because that's a song about a dude who's trying to make a life for his family and getting fucked by everything around him.
  
  Manners had a lot of really sad stuff going for it ("Moth's Wings" being very notable, even if it was a very hopeful song), but Gossamer is such a tragic record in a lot of places. It's full of pop energy, but every single song is about how broken he is inside, and how he tries to fill that void with drugs and drink. I think that's why I like it, because it feels like a pleasant little in-joke between me and the band. I saw them on the tour for that record, and I got the chance to tell Michael Angelakos that the record really resonated with me for all of those reasons, and he seemed to respond well. So that's something.
  
  I LOVE OVERSHARING
  
  ThisTemporaryLife @guntrip | 15 Mar '13, 09:53 | X | ^ This | Reply
  - :')
    
    lovely post
    
    guntrip @ThisTemporaryLife | 15 Mar '13, 15:00 | X | ^ This | Reply
  - Very nice.
    
    I think Gossamer has been completely under-rated. It's my favourite record of 2012. Simply awesome.
    
    I'll Be Alright is another instance of this. It seems to be about a dude who's living a toxic existence and telling those to move away before they're damaged, he'll be alright without them.
    
    Ekels @ThisTemporaryLife | 16 Mar '13, 00:22 | X | ^ This | Reply
    - So very agreed. So very underrated.
      
      I think the thing I enjoy the most about that record is that he's singing from the position of someone who is consciously aware of having a lot of problems that need worked out, but who is somewhat powerless to really fix them. He's very convincing in this, but he never comes off as someone who is pretending to be the victim.
      
      Between Fiona Apple, Passion Pit, and Silver Linings Playbook, 2012 had mental health in art COVERED.
      
      ThisTemporaryLife @Ekels | 16 Mar '13, 09:59 | X | ^ This | Reply
- I've tried several times but I can't get in to Passion Pit
  
  :(
  
  sophiacherryx @guntrip | 15 Mar '13, 12:13 | X | ^ This | Reply
Loads of Motown stuff

Tears of a Clown (as posted above)
Same Old Song
This Old Heart of Mine
Ain't Too Proud to Beg
Love Child

ThirstyDog | 15 Mar '13, 01:54 | X | ^ This | Reply
Larrikin Love - Happy as Annie

joeydubya | 15 Mar '13, 05:41 | X | ^ This | Reply
George Michael I Want Your Sex

or Kissing A Fool. HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAA

theintl | 15 Mar '13, 07:43 | X | ^ This | Reply

Mlclmshw this'd this
Almost All of Hissing Fauna

by Of Montreal. Think it's the infectious disco beats.

Also, Young Hearts Run Free - Candi Stanton.

pehdtsckjmba | 15 Mar '13, 09:18 | X | ^ This | Reply

ThirstyDog this'd this
- Young Hearts Run Free
  
  is a great shout.
  
  ThirstyDog @pehdtsckjmba | 15 Mar '13, 09:27 | X | ^ This | Reply
  
  cliquester this'd this
- Agree, Candi Staton perfect example
  
  Based on the fact that I had to go back and listen to the lyrics properly for the first time just now!
  
  orangejuice @pehdtsckjmba | 15 Mar '13, 09:34 | X | ^ This | Reply
  
  joeymahone and stalecloud this'd this
Wasn't this basically the template of all songs by The Smiths?

TheoGB | 15 Mar '13, 09:25 | X | ^ This | Reply
New Order - Mr Disco

ThirstyDog | 15 Mar '13, 09:27 | X | ^ This | Reply
Vampire Weekend - Holiday

hanshotfirst | 15 Mar '13, 09:36 | X | ^ This | Reply
Camera Obscura - My Maudling Career (the entire album)

Yesiamaduck | 15 Mar '13, 09:45 | X | ^ This | Reply

ThirstyDog this'd this
Almost all of the songs by The Shins

Even James Mercer has acknowledged how funny it is to see kids singing along happily to his sad-ass songs.

ThisTemporaryLife | 15 Mar '13, 09:54 | X | ^ This | Reply

rainmaker this'd this
- Australia almost seems like a parody of this idea
  
  Absurdly happy music with ridiculous bleak lines
  
  rainmaker @ThisTemporaryLife | 15 Mar '13, 12:38 | X | ^ This | Reply
Boo Radleys - Wake Up Boo

is practically the textbook definition of this.

kostenurky | 15 Mar '13, 10:02 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Not really
  
  It's got a fairly prominent *sad* section.
  
  Royter-Hatfood @kostenurky | 15 Mar '13, 16:10 | X | ^ This | Reply
kylie minogue

I should be so lucky.

crosseyedsniper | 15 Mar '13, 10:37 | X | ^ This | Reply
Abba - Happy New Year

ThirstyDog | 15 Mar '13, 10:43 | X | ^ This | Reply
The Beatles - Getting Better

"I used to be cruel to my woman
I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved
Man, I was mean but I'm changing my scene
And I'm doing the best that I can"

ThisTemporaryLife | 15 Mar '13, 11:06 | X | ^ This | Reply
Book of James

by We Are Augustines

fbermingham | 15 Mar '13, 12:38 | X | ^ This | Reply
surfwax

america, right?

matthewslaughter | 15 Mar '13, 15:46 | X | ^ This | Reply
uh... '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay'?

incandenza_ | 15 Mar '13, 20:38 | X | ^ This | Reply
Jonathan Richman - 'That Summer Feeling'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_jRDVStzOY

sentimental </3

incandenza_ | 15 Mar '13, 20:57 | X | ^ This | Reply
So much so The Smiths.

It's probably got much to do with Moz being a miserable bastard and Jonny Marr being utterly fantastic at bouncy and jangly riffs.

Girlfriend in a Coma and This Charming Man spring to mind. Girlfriend in a Coma is so pleasant and joyful musically.

Ekels | 16 Mar '13, 00:18 | X | ^ This | Reply
Catch the Sun by Doves

It might be about their studio burning down, I dunno. Either way it does not contain happy lyricism. But boy, does that song make me wanna get my pump on. Energizing stuff.

Acquiescence | 16 Mar '13, 11:11 | X | ^ This | Reply
Long Winters - The Commander thinks alouf

Happiness to Heartbreak on a space shuttle.
Just brilliant.

Olivarez | 16 Mar '13, 12:18 | X | ^ This | Reply
- He thinks aloud too.
  
  Olivarez @Olivarez | 16 Mar '13, 12:22 | X | ^ This | Reply
Mr. E's Beautiful Blues

Woodchuck | 16 Mar '13, 17:07 | X | ^ This | Reply
- I guess there's quite a bit of Eels that could fit here
  
  though there's frequently a sort of optimism working with the melancholy, I think. I'm talking mainly about Electro-Shock Blues, here
  
  mute-branches @Woodchuck | 16 Mar '13, 18:04 | X | ^ This | Reply
Hank Williams - Settin the Woods On Fire

Last line's a killer

blisters | 18 Mar '13, 01:57 | X | ^ This | Reply
The entire discography of The Boy Least Likely To

Except the few songs which actually sound melancholy, and that Christmas album. But mostly their sound built around this thing.

FlintyFoxy | 18 Mar '13, 09:25 | X | ^ This | Reply
Flaming Lips

Do You Realize?

liquidcalm | 18 Mar '13, 11:04 | X | ^ This | Reply
Not something I really listen to anymore

but RCHP's Aeroplane is stupidly upbeat, while the lyrics sound decidedly depressed.

thecrikster | 18 Mar '13, 11:08 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Looking in my own eyes, hey, Lord
  I can't find the love I want
  Someone better slap me before I start to rust
  Before I start to decompose
  
  thecrikster @thecrikster | 18 Mar '13, 11:10 | X | ^ This | Reply
Prayers For Rain

by The Cure. The musical arrangement is all sweetness and light.

Raanraals | 18 Mar '13, 12:36 | X | ^ This | Reply
Wilco's "She's A Jar"

...killer last line.

CharlieClown | 18 Mar '13, 13:20 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Not really dressed up as a happy song
  
  But a tremendous record. Probably my favourite Wilco song.
  
  Raanraals @CharlieClown | 20 Mar '13, 15:57 | X | ^ This | Reply
Lots of things by Kimya Dawson

Especially http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yG0YgUpPlg

SarahIsPi | 18 Mar '13, 17:41 | X | ^ This | Reply
.

Nathan Reich is good at this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0m1XfFIYz4

petetheweed | 18 Mar '13, 23:58 | X | ^ This | Reply

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