Bands who right depressing songs? Are they really depressed?

Answer 1

I expect they really are depressed.
Nobody writes songs when they are happy, they are too busy enjoying themselves; but if they are feeling miserable, they can immerse themselves in the words and music and produce some of their best work.

Answer 2

It depends on the artists. If you're talking about mainstream crap, no. If you're talking about artists and bands that are a bit more underground, probably.

If you've ever listened to anything by Cursive or The Good Life I'm pretty sure Tim (the singer) is and has been depressed for most of his life. He's also an alcoholic.

Fiona Apple is another artist with some fairly depressing lyrics...I wouldn't say she's depressed though. My guess is that she has come to terms with her messed up life and is just telling us the story.

Answer 3

Believe it or not, but writing is an excellent cure for depression. Write it all down, and you feel better. If you then add music and people buy it should make no difference to you.

I guess there are people who are happy but corruptible, who will write depressing songs because they know they can sell them. However, you can always tell the difference between a song written with feeling, and one churned out for money-making purposes. This obviously applies whether the song is depressing or not.

Hmm... Did Stock Aitken & Waterman ever produce a song that was written with feeling, or one that was depressing? I know a lot of people who became depressed by the sheer volume of S.A.W. stuff that was churned out :-) I guess that is different - apologies for the digression.

Oh... in response to willLyn(sp?) and the reference to Depeche Mode - Blasphemous Rumours... I never thought of this as a depressing song... just a reflection of life and that things don't always make sense... ummm... yeah okay, life can be depressing, but if the message is backed up by excellent music (cf DM) then the message takes on a different flavour.

:-)

Answer 4

I think it depends on the group and their audience. I mean for instance the group Depeche Mode used to write some really sad stuff. I don't know how old you are but check out the lyrics to Blasphemous Rumors. Talk about your buzz kill. Then you have the group Nirvana. Most of us just thought that the songs were Rock genius. We assumed they were writing for the rock grunge audience. No one really knew that Kurt Cobain was really depressed and would later commit suicide. Even the most upbeat artist writes a depressing song now and then because they weren't in a good mood and it fit on their album. Brian Mc Knight's Anytime album was all about being in love and then at the very end he added a song about the chariot coming to take the dead away. That was a major joy kill when you're using the music to get intimate with your date.

Answer 5

I think that some genuinely are. If you have ever suffered from depression it never really leaves your system. You tend to stand back from the world and analyse it - what a depressing place. Of course, some will see it as a good marketing ploy and just copy it. Anyone who has stuck with it will almost certainly be the real thing. Being bathed in the adoration of fans is depressing too because experiences tells you that they are fickle, and could so easily be despising you instead.

Answer 6

If they right depressing songs, probably not. If they write depressing songs, who knows.

Answer 7

It is just laziness. It is just so easy to sing sad songs such as Radiohead and a lot of others do. The clever thing to do is to sing happy, intelligent life affirming ones that make us feel nice again and that life is worth something. Do we need all these muppets who drag us down? NO!

Answer 8

Yes, I would think they are. Most music evolves from a context of some kind, and when artists write music, it is usually to give them a means of self-expression. Through their music, they channel what they feel inside, through the medium of melody and lyrics.

Answer 9

Morrisey and Radiohead are fine examples.
I think they probably write to sell albums, but judging by some of the lyrics, they must have had some issues.

Answer 10

I think that alot of them put on the depression, its all part of the image! I mean how depressed can they be - they are rich and famous, they can't complain!