May 21st, 2007

Sick baby = late blog.

Sad music = beautiful ad.

Wow. When's the last time you saw a romantic Lynx/Axe ad?

Nick Drake (Pink Moon) and Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (Somewhere Over the Rainbow) both died tragically young, which only makes their songs more heartbreaking to me. I can listen to Kamakawiwo'ole's full medley over and over again on a loop, much to Jamie's dismay.

So, the next time you're curled up in the fetal position, eating cookie dough in the dark, why not take your angst to the next level with a track from my mix tape of woe?

• John Wayne Gacy, Jr. by Sufjan Stevens – Depressing even by the standards of songs about serial killers.
• Clair de Lune by Debussy – Some prefer the fully orchestrated version, but I find the simplicity of this duet more haunting.
• Breathe Me by Sia – Anyone who's seen the finale of Six Feet Under will understand why this song is synonymous with death to me.
• Wild Horses by the Sundays – Jamie and I pitched a truly depressing ad using this. Now I can't hear it without thinking of terminally ill children.
• Fast Car by Tracy Chapman – The definitive "all my hopes and dreams have been crushed" anthem.
• I'll Be Seeing You by Jo Stafford – I don't find this especially heartbreaking, but it's a good example of music I play that drives Jamie batshit.
• Home by Sheryl Crow – It amazes me when people slap music on their feel-good slideshows without listening to the lyrics.

But even those pale next to Samuel Barber's masterpiece of melancholy. I simply cannot hear this without contemplating my mortality:

Holy shit. Somebody hold me.

-Graham

P.S. Send your saddest song to graham@wordsandpicturesonline.com. If it makes me sad, I'll give you credit in next week's blog.

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