A brilliant song. A beautiful voice. A genius set of lyrics. The most tender subject matter. Unless you commit suicide before it’s even over, this ultimate song of breakdown is the definite breakup song. And it’s pretty too.
For those still with us after depressing song number 10, this song is one of the most beautifully sad songs of all time on the subject of being filled with apathy towards the world around you.
Ian Curtis and his suicidal tendencies never had as much effect on any song as it did in this ode: “Here are the young men, a weight on their shoulders/here are the young men, well where have they been? We knocked on the doors of hell’s darkest chambers/Pushed to the limit we dragged ourselves in.”
You want alienation, mutilation, deprecation and annihilation? Look no further than Richey James Edward’s stream of consciousness tale about voyeurs and exhibitionists who “conceive a god on video” and “everyone I love or hated always seems to leave.” For further heartache, listen to the entire album, The Holy Bible.
The surreal, fantastic tale of a woman submerged in society’s darkness and her eventual, deliberate drowning to escape. Interpol’s dark atmosphere and esoteric lyrics have cemented their place as the new kings of goth pop. This song is part of the reason why.
“I am just a restless liar/I am just an imbecile/I will only complicate you/Trust in me and fall as well.” Guitars wail through this song. Maynard Keenan’s voice whispers of sullen depravity and then shouting in a merciful plea. This is all the metal paranoia one could ever possibly endure. And it is awesome.
The Cure have to be one this list. But of all their self-deprecating songs, this is the one that makes you sick to your stomach with anxiety about the future. “Over and over we die, one after the other.” And that’s not even the half of it. Any song that begins “It doesn’t matter if we all die!” isn’t going to be an inspirational hymn of any sorts. Listen without sharp objects in hand’s reach.
Teen love eventually equals teen angst, and no one ever got this more than Morrissey. The feeling of being buried in the rejection of a lover you never had is a tale wonderfully told all through its six minutes of sorrow. “Love is natural and real…but not for such as you and I, my lover.” Morrissey’s voice was never so pure and so submissive.
Lou Reed was never a subtle person, but on no song did he so emulate the pathetic beauty of Baudelaire than on this spiral into sweet addiction. Personal note: the first time I heard this song, I literally felt sickened. Oh, the power of confessional writing.
Trent Reznor, who has possibly the most bitter and horrendously fragile heart in rock, composed this farewell to the aspects of Love during the Fragile sessions, and was so personal and remorseful it wasn’t even released until a few years later on an Internet-only compilation. The music is faux-blissfully enchanting and allows itself to take you distantly to hell and back. The lyrics speak for themselves: “Please/take this/and run far away/far as you can see/I am tainted/and happiness and peace of mind/were never meant for me…in my nothing/you meant everything/everything to me.”
