Alternative Weekend: Dark Songs
Anyone who follows my Alternative Weekend blogs knows that I prefer melancholy music to all this happy-happy stuff that we hear only too often on the radio.
Is it my upbringing? Perhaps so, as I had a very unhappy childhood, full of loneliness, emptiness, and little in the way of optimism.
This does not reflect my feelings of today. I am much more upbeat but that background does weigh, and this type of music maybe reminds me of the past which is something I cannot escape.
Nothing Has Been Proved – Dusty Springfield (Temptation – 1990)
This deliciously dark track used in the movie 'Scandal' was one I had forgotten about. A few years ago I was walking through Poundland and heard it being played.
The memories came back and I sought it out again. The collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys brought the fading Dusty Springfield back into the mainstream again.
I am a big fan of this 60’s diva, though technically that was before my time. I am old, but not that old!
Confide in Me – Kylie Minogue (Kylie Minogue – 1994)
If you think of Kylie, then you think of all that pop crap that she released with Stock, Aitkin, and Waterman in the 80's. It was mass-market, happy shit and I was not impressed.
Later there was a comeback period with more of the stuff, though this time it was a little better.
In between somewhere she was shagging Nick Cave, the Australian master of misery, and came up with this delightfully sorrowful song.
If there ever was a Kylie track that I could call decent, this would be it. The music video to accompany it always seemed out of place,
Last Flight - Jan Hammer (Escape From Television – 1987)
When I think Jan Hammer, I think Miami Vice which reminds me of my first trip to the USA in 1989.
The TV was so much different than in the UK and featured copious amounts of this TV show which I fell in love with. With the show came the music and Jan Hammer.
I bought the ‘Escape From Television’ CD and started listening. Last Flight is a moody instrumental that cumulates into some great guitar playing around 60% way through the song.
This is just the thing to make me extra broody.
In Your Room - Depeche Mode (Songs of Faith and Devotion – 1994)
Now, this is about as dark as you can get for a supposedly radio-friendly single. I know these guys went through some dark days in the '90s but what was Martin Gore thinking when he wrote this?
Gone were the days of the clean-cut lads from Basildon with their 'New Life' replaced with a song about torture, being tied to a chair and anguish.
The song received lots of airplay especially on MTV where I picked it up from.
The band is or was massive in the USA, something none of the other UK original synthesizer early 80’s bands ever achieved.
If you found this article so invigorating that you are now a positively googly-eyed, drooling lunatic with dripping saliva or even if you liked it just a bit, then please upvote, comment, resteem, engage me or all of these things.
Good selection, the only one I already knew was Kylie Minogue. Thanks for sharing more music genres for the blockchain.
Some good stuff - re-hived. Especially love Jan Hammer and his epic Miami Vice sounds.
Yeah, that music was great and takes me back, you can hear the Vice 'vibes' through the track, especially the end.
A very nice selection, I don't think I had heard any of those songs, Kylie Minogue and Jan Hammer I had never heard before, but the others I was familiar with some of their works, just not the ones you shared. i do like some moody sounding music. I find it kind of relaxing at times even if it is dark at times.
Thanks, the music posts generally don't get many comments, it's far too subjective for general mass appeal!
You have some great sounds here mate.
Although I am still stuck in the rock ballads of the 60s and the 70s.
Uncle Mick(Jagger) was still a youngster, Alvin Lee was still around and Dylan and Clapton also had some great music going. Ian Anderson on his mad flute was a show all on its own.
John Lennon's Imagine was also a great musical achievement.
Amazing how music has changed over the years!
I know all of those, even Ian Anderson with his crazy looks!
Well then, consider yourself a music buff, as those were all real musicians and there were so many more. If I look at the mass fodder that they put out nowadays it hurts!
I think there were some good modern ones like Kurt Cobain and a handful of others, but the fare is very scarce. Since they developed the 2 chord guitar songs (150 songs played with only the same 2 chords) the music world started to suffer methinks.
I like the miami vice thing a lot.
I have two suggestions for you
and
not sure if this is still a thing but there was a sadsunday once maybe you can get something there
@flipstar! I haven't seen or heard from you in months, welcome back and thanks for the suggestions.
yeah I went dark at the beginning of the year.
it is flipstar.sports now though. The real flipstar account is no more.
I actually bought some dual lands though.
MTG Revised Duals?
yes. A Scrubland and a Savannah so far.
Nice, they are expensive both. I have just one Plateau. Its more than doubled in value since I bought it.
I have to wait a bit till I am the smart money.
Really enjoy looking at them though. In the back of my head I might build a commander deck or so
Listening to Confide in Me as I type this. At least the video isn't dark.
I actually like it a lot!
The video does not reflect the music at all, I don't know what they were thinking.
What a nice recommendations, @slobberchops. I think Depeche Mode is a perfect choice for dark songs.
You are right, all I think of when you mention Minogue is all of that dance/techno stuff she did. I thought it was more in the 90's, but I trust you when you say it was the 80's. Nice selections. I always for get about Depeche Mode. I need to add some of their stuff to my playlists.
The Stock/Aitkin and Waterman stuff was early Kylie. It was very successful but ultimately, manufactured pop. This was around 1988, it got better after that.