Miserable Albums... - Anything Goes - Other topics not covered elsewhere - Tartan Army Message Board Jump to content

Miserable Albums...


Recommended Posts

I've been listening to The Twilight Sad recently; a band whose own Twitter page describes them as a 'Scottish band who enjoy making miserable music.'

 

Which got me thinking; which miserable albums do you actually enjoy listening to?

 

I'm going to go for some early Cure; a band I love for their serious/miserable material, but who confuse me when they go to the other end of the extreme with their pure pop...

I mean, the band who gave us Killing An Arab and A Forest also gave us The Lovecats and Friday I'm in Love (?!?!?!)

 

So, my miserable album nominations go to The Cure's, 'Seventeen Seconds' and especially 'Faith'.

Love them both, but especially the 'Faith' album and especially the songs All Cats Are Grey, The Funeral Party and the title track.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Portishead - Dummy

Anything by Pink most probably

Edit for the obvious The Smiths eponymous first album although it's one of, if not, my all time fav album and has anger with the miserableness 

Edited by Ally Bongo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, bonzo said:

Unknown pleasures joy division. 

I think Closer is darker than Unkown Pleasure and Ceremony is arguably even darker, I find Berlin genuinely depressing though it is a great album and any Throbbing Gristle album could push you over the edge.

Edited by Larky Masher
Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, shunkyboy and the fluffer said:

 pretty miserable but pretty good all the same.

 

Well, that's really what I'm getting at... Miserable, but great albums.

 

... And not so much miserable, but evocative, I'd say Bowie's Low and Heroes albums.

On the subject of Bowie, knowing what we now know, the final track on Blackstar always gets me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Larky Masher said:

I think Closer is darker than Unkown Pleasure and Ceremony is arguably even darker, I find Berlin genuinely depressing though it is a great album and any Throbbing Gristle album could push you over the edge.

I'm drunk noo, ceremony wiznae an album wiz it? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Grim Jim said:

Almost anything by Cowboy Junkies is miserable, and the stand-out is The Caution Horses.   Love it.

I was also trying to think of a miserable blues album, but blues seems to celebrate bad times and cheer you up.

Listen to Ted Hawkins. :(

 

 

Edited by fringo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, fringo said:

Listen to Ted Hawkins. :(

 

 

Fuck sake fringo, saw ted supporting billy Bragg in 1980 something he was brilliant. Walked on stage like an auld boxer towel roon his neck sat on a stool and gied it laldy. Thanks for the memories. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, bonzo said:

Fuck sake fringo, saw ted supporting billy Bragg in 1980 something he was brilliant. Walked on stage like an auld boxer towel roon his neck sat on a stool and gied it laldy. Thanks for the memories. 

I only started listening to some of his stuff in the late 1980s.

He played Dundee's Bonar Hall (next to the Uni) around 1986 and I'd never heard of him so didn't go.

A mate of mine went and ended up up sitting with him after the show having a couple of beers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, fringo said:

I only started listening to some of his stuff in the late 1980s.

He played Dundee's Bonar Hall (next to the Uni) around 1986 and I'd never heard of him so didn't go.

A mate of mine went and ended up up sitting with him after the show having a couple of beers.

North to alaska, fringo ma heid is buzzin thinkin aboot this. What a brilliant singer. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Larky Masher said:

I think Closer is darker than Unkown Pleasure and Ceremony is arguably even darker, I find Berlin genuinely depressing though it is a great album and any Throbbing Gristle album could push you over the edge.

Ian Curtis chose Iggy Pop's The Idiot as the soundtrack to his suicide. That's a great miserable album.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Warren Zevon's Life'll Kill Ya, with songs such as My Shit's Fucked Up and the brilliant Don't Let Us Get Sick. Two years later he was diagnosed with cancer and died soon after (although did have time to play Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner on Letterman).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Toepoke said:

Been driving a car with a cassette player in it recently. Pulled a tape I made about 25 years ago out of the loft with these on either side of it...

Ah yes, Richard & Linda did some great miserable songs.   I had "I Wanna See the Bright Lights Tonight".   The title track was upbeat, but born of underlying depression.

I had an original Philips portable cassette recorder and used to record tunes from an old valve radio via a microphone until someone retrofitted a DIN socket to my sister's portable record player.   So I used to have most of "my" records on tape.

My folks finally got one of those "music centres" - you know the ones that looked like a sideboard.   First time my dad heard me playing an LP on it he said, "That's mournful !", so I think this thread is pressing one of my buttons :lol:   Some lads used to carry albums to school to swap (actually as badges of honour), and remember a music teacher putting one on.   Soon took the miserable prog rock off and stuck on some Glen Miller and then took a class vote.

Shit, I've just been Toepoked down a memory lane!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, bonzo said:

I'm drunk noo, ceremony wiznae an album wiz it? 

Ceremony is a song that Joy Division played (and I say them play it at their last ever gig) but it was was on Movement which arguably the last Joy Division album rather than the first New Order one, but I find it one of the darkest Joy Division songs though it is one of the my favourites.

Edited by Larky Masher
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...