Mazzy Star – Roseblood
Tram – Nothing Left to Say
Untitled (halo) – el prado freestyle
The Cranberries – Put Me Down
Dreary, late summer rains have been blanketing the greater Fredericksburg area for weeks. The sky gray, and a stickiness in the air. Personally, although I’m not keen on humidity, I adore the rain and the corresponding grim. I find it to be of utmost importance to properly score these days with equally heartbreaking tracks. I often wonder if the person walking past me is also enjoying their walk to a meticulously curated playlist of emotional devastation. Along with appreciating this vast genre, we should appreciate the opportunity to dive into the emotions they evoke. This article is my attempt to convince you to join me in this rainy despair, or at the very least, listen to these four songs.
Mazzy Star – Roseblood
“Roseblood” by Mazzy Star is easily in my top three of the duo’s discography. The intro plays like walking through the fog to see your true love in the embrace of another. The distorted guitar walks you through memories and the rides in the drums whisper behind Sandoval’s crushing delivery. The singer’s voice places a gentle hand on your shoulder and reassures you that, although now in pieces, you will be whole again. A gentle sprinkle tapping on your hair and the blinding dull of the sun behind clouds exaggerates this feeling two fold. I’ve spent several hours of my time on this planet walking with my head down listening to this song. In fact, as I listen to it now, images of my dirty Asics flash in my head.
Tram – Nothing Left to Say
Unlike Roseblood, Tram’s “Nothing Left to Say” is a “face-up” track. Lying in the wet grass with no regard for your favorite hoodie and how soaked it’s gotten, the rain dancing on your eyelids. The guitar swells in staggering waves, coming and going. Lyrics like “That numbing feeling,” “The sadness underneath,” and “Who’s gonna catch me?” These lyrics wade through the flood that is the instrumentation. The vocalist, sounding almost defeated, continues on uninterrupted until by the bridge. A fresh breath of air, for once not taken in haste. The mood rises for a moment and a light passes between clouds until you are once again plunged into the water. This song was a more recent discovery of mine. As soon as I heard the first few chords, I knew it was a rain song. To me, Nothing Left to Say encapsulates that “post-loss” feeling that rain seems to accompany so well. I’ve lost this thing. What now? Will its place be taken? Will I lose again? All questions best asked in the blanket of rain.
untitled (halo) – el prado freestyle
Nighttime rain is a particularly unique phenomenon. Two very distinct emotional landscapes marry to form something so unparalleled. Untitled (halo)’s haunting “el prado freestyle” effortlessly blends in with those misty moonlit winds. This track has an undeniable darkness that differentiates it from the others on this list. The growling drums drive the haze that is the song’s melody and vocalist Ariana Mamnoon sings sweet yet metallic laments into the moon. Although dark, the song also has a prominent fluorescent undertone. Like the glowing orb above you in fact isn’t the moon, but a streetlight, hovering noticeably colder than the moon. This universe, made up of a piece of sidewalk and an indifferent metal installation, cries with rain and belts “el prado freestyle.”
Put Me Down – The Cranberries
Perhaps the lightest track of the bunch in terms of gut-punching emotion, “Put Me Down” is an often overlooked cut off of The Cranberries’ Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? Lyrics of frustration within love and a relationship’s fleeting hope are backed by warm guitars and bassline that eventually evolves into harmonies of grand strings, vocals, and chords. “Put Me Down” is the sun finally peering around the silver corner of a cloud and its rays cutting into your vision. The rain continues, but you’re reminded that it won’t always. This song is perfect for your reconciliation with the not so devastating.
Sometimes there is something so comforting in the negative. When you can truly live in it, breathe in it. Taking the time to tame these feelings and become familiar with them is crucial in how we learn to navigate ourselves and our emotions. What is music if not a vessel for such navigation? We all have our sad songs, but maybe it’s good to have a few soul-crushing ones. The rain is too often viewed as a burden and not as a gift. It is a world for music to live in and for the listener to feel in. From the soft bullet of heartbreak in “Roseblood” to the industrial moonscape of “el prado freestyle,” let the rain be the comfort while you lay in despair’s sway.