Over at Electric Venom, Kate is asking about depressing songs as writing aids.

If there is one thing I know, it’s depressing songs. Here’s Depressing and Not So Depressing Songs of the Moment.

1. “Revolver" by Isobel Campbel and Mark Lanegan from Ballads of the Broken Seas. A duet of strange beauty and poetry where voices touch like fingertips on skin. This song sets a mood of dark, quiet resignation.  “And after all, don’t if feel like nothing? Like walking away, like a mouthful of rain...”
2. “Mother" by Kubb. This remake of John Lennon’s song is, in this heretics mind, better than the original. A plaintive cry for parent’s love that explores abandonment and sounds like tears. This one is as sad as they come. “Momma don’t go, daddy come home...”
3. “The Color of Spring” by Mark Hollis. Mark Hollis is best known for the early Talk Talk albums, but most respected for their later works and his solo album. It is the quietest song here and more wistful than depressing. The slow, bright sound of the piano barely props up the spare lyrics and Hollis’ distinctive voice, but let the music sink deep as you watch your own dreams slipping through your mind. It is some of the most gorgeous music that you’ll find. A good follow-up would be Talk Talk’s “I Believe in You” from Spirit of Eden--a bit more than six minutes of heaven.
4. “Fix" by Mark Lanegan from Field Songs. Discord, disquiet, and startling moments of light mark this love song. The menace and darkness come when you realize that it’s all about heroin, that the longing is for the release that the drug provides. Frightening sincerity is the thread that ties the self-destruction with the blessings--"Got no need for shelter--everything’s forgotten. All is forgiven and understood. Flower born from you. Reborn in you. Adorned with you. When I am joined with you. Fix...” If you can’t find a story in that kind of a tragic confession, then you aren’t looking hard enough.
5. “Don’t Put No Headstone on My Grave” by Esther Phillips. It’s a lively take on post-relationship blues that loses points on sincerity but gains on the power of Phillips voice and the gorgeous sound.
6. “The Last Day of Our Acquaintence” by Sinead O’Connor from I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got. This may be a musical case of oversharing in a big way, but O’Connor’s tale of the end of her marriage remains compelling. Aside from her apparent mental instability, she has a voice that is strong, versatile, and unique. “And I don’t know what happened to our love...”
7. “That’s Me Trying” by William Shatner from Has Been. My girlfriend heard this song, which was written by High Fidelity author Nick Hornby, and got pissed off. She found herself absolutely hating the character in the song, a man making an attempt at re-connecting with his daughter. It’s like a look into the mind of a man who was a horrible father and thinks that half-measures late in life might fix all the broken connections in his life--and Shatner is all too believable in the role.
8. “Majesty" by Madrugada, especially the version found on Live at Tralfamadore. It’s a haunting song, familiar in its simplicity, but intimate in its portrayal of lost love. You’ll be hooked in the first couple of lines; then you’ll find it playing when you close your eyes at night.
9. “Honey Don’t Think” by Grant Lee Buffalo from Mighty Joe Moon. This one isn’t even a little bit disappointing, but it’s a touching expression of love and desire--and it even has a sly sense of humor. “There’s something wrong in my stars, could you look at my chart and help me heal these scars? Could you learn to read minds? In the case of the blind, do you read in the dark?” Because literature and life can’t thrive in complete darkness, this ads that touch of light to remind us to share the good, too.
10. “Resurrection Song” by Mark Lanegan from Field Songs. With a guitar painting little circles, a piano just touching at the edges, and what sounds for all the world like ghosts howling in the background, this is a short walk through all of life’s disappointments and mistakes. At every turn, the ghosts are reminders of the hopes that fade away like the piano’s notes, and Lanegan warns us: “Now that the engine driver has become a deep sea diver, and the street has got no end, better keep your heart, strong little friend. Thought I heard a resurrection song...”

That’s not even delving into the grand mopery and wonder of things like Mike Johnson’s brilliant I Feel Alright, Daniel Lanois’ “Death of a Train”, or Sonia Dada’s gospel ode to insanity, “Screaming John.” I could put in a good word for The Sundays’ “On Earth” and “Wild Horses” (a Rolling Stones cover).  Morphine’s “In Spite of Me” deserves at least an honorable mention as does Jerry Cantrell’s melancholy “31/32”.

Somehow I forgot to mention Gary Jules’ dramatic take on Tears for Fears’ song “Mad World” and Jeff Buckley’s angelic “Lover You Should Have Come Over” along with Martina Topley Bird’s liquid slow groove “Sandpaper Kisses”.

Yeah, I should stop now…