So you’re saying that the person standing in ruin at the end of the song thinks of their loved one and sets off a nuclear bomb?
I think the red balloons were just red balloons, mistaken for an enemy attack.
You and I in a little toy shop
Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got
Set them free at the break of dawn
'Til one by one, they were gone
Back at base, sparks in the software
Flash the message "something's out there"
Floating in the summer sky
99 red balloons go by
99 red balloons
Floating in the summer sky
Panic bells, it's red alert
There's something here from somewhere else
The war machine springs to life
Opens up one eager eye
Focusing it on the sky
The 99 red balloons go by
99 Decision Street
99 ministers meet
To worry, worry, super scurry
Call the troops out in a hurry
This is what we've waited for
This is it boys, this is war
The President is on the line
As 99 red balloons go by
99 knights of the air
Ride super high-tech jet fighters
Everyone's a superhero
Everyone's a Captain Kirk
With orders to identify
To clarify and classify
Scrambling the summer sky
99 red balloons go by
As 99 red balloons go by
99 dreams I have had
In every one, a red balloon
It's all over, and I'm standing pretty
In this dust that was a city
If I could find a souvenir
Just the prove the world was here
And here is a red balloon
I think of you, and let it go
From Wikipedia:
The lyrics of the original German version tell a story: 99 balloons are mistaken for UFOs, causing a military general to send pilots to investigate. Finding nothing but balloons, the pilots put on a large show of firepower. The display of force worries the nations along the borders and the defense ministers on each side encourage conflict to grab power for themselves. In the end, a cataclysmic war results from the otherwise harmless flight of balloons and causes devastation on all sides without a victor, as indicated in the denouement of the song: "99 Jahre Krieg ließen keinen Platz für Sieger," which means "99 years of war left no room for victors." The anti-war song finishes with the singer walking through the devastated ruins of the world and finding a single balloon. The description of what happens in the final line of the piece is the same in German and English: "'Denk' an dich und lass' ihn fliegen," or "Think of you and let it go."[11]
Steely Dan seems more low key. And he hates on my alma mater lol. And he acted like kind of a dick when I saw him live. But I do love his sound, like warm tea with honey and a lil splash of bourbon.
But it's about the euphoria one may experience after deciding to go through with it. Ya^a^^y^^y^
/s
PS, I have witnessed the euphoria, but I didn't recognize it for what it was at the time. They were calling to say goodbye. Fuck, that still gets to me.
I wouldn't call the smashing pumpkins upbeat. Some are up tempo, .maybe, but upbeat is not their style. Their biggest album was titled Mellon Collie and the infinite sadness. Not exactly cheerful stuff.
I've just gone back for a listen, which is why these posts are great. I'd say it's the opposite of the title. It's a downbeat song with a very happy lyric, used to cover for a dark subject.
I'm now listening to Mellon Collie album. It's surprisingly similar to Ash, an Irish band. I liked them both at the time but never saw the similarity when I was young. I suppose with time, many similar styles sound similar.
Especially the intro, but I still wouldn't call it upbeat in general, lol.
Have you ever listened to Ash? They kind of alternate between rockier and poppier sounds. However, listening back to smashing pumpkins today, as I haven't listened to more than one song in a while, it struck me as very similar. I think Ash is a little more upbeat in general though, so perhaps why they can lean into a more pop sound. They lean into a more heavy sound also, where I think pumpkins show more controlled restraint.
Someone's boat was blasting that at the 4th of July on the water. My brother in Christ, I understood the lyrics back in 1984. It's a jammin' tune, but damn.
I'll have to listen to that one! "I Know You Too Well to Like You Anymore" fits the bill as well. A very ugly fight between a couple who hate each other but can't live without one another.
Every Stromae's songs.
It's always funny to see non-french-speaking people being so hyped by Stromae's songs, like they think it's joyful af and all... While his songs lyrics are litterally about :
a man who drinks and dances a lot in order to forget his shitty life ( Alors on danse )
a song about his father who was killed during Rwanda's genocide ( Papaoutai )
other songs about suicide, cancer, breakups, addictions, depression etc... But always with an upbeat melody !
I don't speak a lick of French (I know enough Spanish to recognize some words if they are slightly similar, but that's it) but still enjoy Stromae, although I've never found his music to be upbeat. I think, especially in Papaoutai, you can hear the struggle and sadness in the tone of the song and in his voice.
If they didn't use this song in True Blood or just about any other campy Mississippi delta monster/ slasher film, then they done messed up.
I could only make it through the first season of True Blood, having read all the books that were available at the time. I actually learned about the book series and the show from a SDCC panel (we wanted good seats for the panel immediately after the True Blood one). Watching as Charlaine Harris's fans lost their everloving minds got me all curious.
El Fusilado - Chumbawumba. A happy clappy sunshiney recounting of the life and times of one Wenceslao Moguel, a soldier of Pancho Villa's who was captured, executed by firing squad, and lived to tell the tale. Short version: He got knocked down, but he got up again.
Scarborough Fair - Folk; often associated with Simon and Garfunkel. I'm stretching the definition of "upbeat" here, but it baffles me that this is counted by anyone as a love song. It's a song about two ex-lovers expressing how much they hate each other by assigning each other impossible tasks as conditions for taking them back. He says "tell her I'll take her back if she sews me a shirt with no seams, washes it in a dry well and hangs it to dry on a vine with no thorns." She says "O RLY? Well you tell him that if he finds an acre of land between the ocean and the beach, sews it all with one seed and reaps it with a leather scythe, I'll take him back. And I'll even make him his damn shirt." It's a bitter song.
Another Day In Paradise - Phil Collins. Again I'm stretching the definition of "upbeat," it's slow in tempo, kind of heavy, but it has that big sexy hook, manages to feel kind of breezy, it feels designed for first dances at wedding receptions, and the refrain is "It's just another day for you and me in paradise." It feels like a competitor to Fields of Gold by Sting. It's not! The verses are about the humanity crushing power of abject poverty.
Jonathan Coulton has a bunch of these. "I Feel Fantastic" "Betty and Me" "Blue Sunny Day" "Shop Vac" "Chiron Beta Prime" "Future Soon" off the top of my head. "Skullcrusher Mountain" and "Re: Your Brains" to a lesser degree.
He had a heart attack from too much cocaine. I guess it's not impossible someone would intentionally kill themselves using coke, but it's not very likely. He had access to way more effective drugs if that was the plan.
Like I said it was reported as a suicide. It was reported like that in the media MTV to for example as a suicide. Were you around when it was being talked about or are you relying on a wikipedia page? It isn't the first time a wikipedia page presents a more preferred narrative.
Yes, I was an avid MTV watcher at the time. I feel like it's more likely they made a mistake in the initial reporting than covered it up. He wasn't that big of a celebrity, you don't do that for a one hit wonder. In fact, if he hadn't died I doubt anyone would even remember blind melon.
A winter's day
In a deep and dark December
I am alone
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow
I am a rock I am an island
I've built walls
A fortress deep and mighty
That none may penetrate
I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain
I am a rock I am an island
Don't talk of love
Well I've heard the word before
It's sleeping in my memory
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died
If I never loved I never would have cried
I am a rock I am an island
I have my books
And my poetry to protect me
I am shielded in my armor
Hiding in my room safe within my womb
I touch no one and no one touches me
I am a rock I am an island
And a rock feels no pain
And an island never cries
In that vein, I guess, "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel also deserves a mention, even if it's up for interpretation how depressing the lyrics by themselves are.
But the first line in the song is "Hello darkness, my old friend / I've come to talk with you again." and there is a cover version by the metal band Disturbed, which has no shame to really lean into that sort of vibe.
And yeah, after having heard the Disturbed version, listening to the original certainly feels like there is a massive disconnect between how sad the song perhaps should be and how upbeat the original is.
The only 2 songs I could think of, Pumped Up Kicks, and 99 Luftballons/99 Red Balloons were already brought up. So I had to think of some different songs. And I can't. Looked through a bunch of songs on my phone and back of some of my CD cases and I can't think of any right now.
Closest I can think of was just a video of someone reacting to the Japanese vocaloid song 「ごめんね ごめんね」 ( I'm sorry I'm sorry )by Kikuo and not knowing what the song meant until looking up the lyrics. Even then, that's not a very upbeat song.
Edit:
I thought about "Belong" by R.E.M., but I would say it's near upbeat but not quite there. Also, the lyrics are more cryptic and confusing to dissect than depressing in my opinion.
Edit 2:
Wouldn't say it's quite upbeat either, but Mighty K.C. from For Squirrels as well. Not quite upbeat but definitely depressing lyrics considering it's about death.
"I could be an expert on codependency, I could write the best book on underage tragedy. I've been spendin' my time at the local liquor store, I've been sleeping nightly on my best friend's kitchen floor. And so I sit and wait and wonder, "does anyone one else feel like me?" I'm so overdosed on apathy and burned out on sympathy"
So I listened to some of Lit's new stuff, they went full religious man. Bummed me out.
Stroke 9 on the other hand are fucking amazing and I love nearly all their tracks, their latest two albums are sick, Lake got me back into them, then went back to all their stuff I missed. Here's a screenshot of my ratings :)
I always found The Scientist by Coldplay to be a pretty upbeat song about the death of a loved one. And Viva la Vida upbeat, and all about the fall from grace.
Mark Knopfler has quite a few. Postcards from Paraguay. Quality Shoe. Romeo and Juliet. Boom Like That. It's a thing with him - contrasting the music with the theme.
Some Nights by Fun (and the music video really reinforces it)
I Wanna Get Better by Bleachers
a bunch of different songs by P!nk
Weird Al's presidential debate autotune songs ("Bad Hombres, Nasty Women" from 2016, "WE'RE ALL DOOMED" from 2020, and "Deja Vu (But Worse)" from 2024)
I have to disagree with Elanor Rigby. Yes it's a quick tempo, but the E minor key makes it very bleak even without the lyrics. And I may be wrong but it's also an overall pretty bleak song for Paul's typical compositions. So it's kind of always stood out to me.
I do love it very much though.
I would submit And Your Bird Can Sing as an upbeat melancholy song off Revolver.
I have to disagree with Elanor Rigby. Yes it's a quick tempo, but the E minor key makes it very bleak even without the lyrics.
Those strings go hard, though.
I guess it depends on your definition of "upbeat." It could mean cheerful and happy, or it could mean lively and fast-paced.
I don't think being in a minor key is necessarily enough to invalidate the first definition, let alone the second. I'm not gonna link it because fuck R*edit, but there's a thread there with plenty of examples of upbeat minor-key songs, including Uptown Funk, the Inspector Gadget theme, Get Lucky, Tunak Tunak Tun, Livin' LA Vida Loca, Get the Party Started, etc.
The other night dear
As I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
But when I woke up
I was mistaken
so I held my head and I cried
You are my sunshine
My ONLY sunshine
It doesn't get any better from there
Edit: I will never understand how to format things the way I want them to sorry
Surprised that people haven't mentioned Yoru ni Kakeru (Racing into the Night) by Yoasobi. It's a Japanese song about depression and commiting suicide.
Specifically, it follows a guy who falls in love with a depressed and suicidal girl. Over time, the guy himself becomes depressed and tired of life and they both decide to commit suicide together.
A solid majority of Bastille's discography comes to mind, though not as outright depressing as Pumped Up Kicks or Youth of a Nation, most of their tracks tend to be very instrumentally upbeat and lively, with gorgeous vocals, but thematically darker lyrics / topics. Happier comes to mind as immediately fitting the prompt (and having enough radio play to be recognizable), but The Draw, Haunt, and Skulls also fit well (I'd also included their cover of City High's What Would You Do, also long as being a cover isn't a immediate disqualifier).
I feel like they're kind of slept on since they don't get a whole lot of radio play outside of a handful of songs, but all their other work is just so good. Personal top favorite artist, hands down.
I mentioned Bruce & CCR in another nested comment a little before you posted, but I don't think I'm familiar with this Stevie song. I'll go check it out.
for some reason there's a bunch of upbeat sounding Japanese songs that are actually disturbing if you look into the lyrics (for example racing into the night)
When I was young
Lying in the grass
I felt so safe
In a warming bath
Of sunlight, of sunlight
The vast open sky
Could do no harm
Like an embrace
Of a mother's arms
In sunlight, in sunlight
In sunlight, in sunlight
With every year
That came to pass
More clouds appeared
'Til the sky went black
And there was no sunlight, no sunlight
And there was no sunlight, no sunlight anymore
And it disappeared at the same speed
As the idealistic things I believed
When the optimist died inside of me
No sunlight, no sunlight
No sunlight, no sunlight
It disappeared at the same speed
As the idealistic things I believed
When the optimist died inside of me
No sunlight, no sunlight
No sunlight, no sunlight
No sunlight, no sunlight
No sunlight, no sunlight
No sunlight anymore
I'm Only Me When I'm With You by Taylor Swift. Granted, I have no experience with healthy relationships, but the relationship in that song sounds extremely unhealthy and codependent
Fish Yu Mang is a great album, and I'll never miss an opportunity to give it love. Definitely the depressed thoughts of a dude who suffers from crippling alcoholism, but somehow manages to sound fun and upbeat the whole time.
That's my take as well, I started giving it more attention only recently and there are many gems in it. Padrino is one of my all time favourites of the genre
Sad lyrics and fast tempo : Kazim Koyuncu - Narino
Bagpipe song with the lyrics "I lost my sanity", "I sat down and cried", and "I wish someone knew my pain" especially. Can find longer versions on youtube.
French Gal - Poupèe de cire
Lyrics are about feeling more like a doll than human. TRIGGER WARNING FOR FRENCH LANGUAGE
Kazim Koyuncu - Fadime
Kemençe song with lyrics along same lines. Takes a bit before beat changes.
Sad lyrics and happy music/tone : Danny Gonzales - Downhill
Song argues with a young adult on how rest of their life will suck.
My boyfriend said he thought about me when we listen to Saturday Night by the Misfits. I'm like.... do you want to murder me?...
The lyrics always sounded very murdery to me. I think they did an amazing job of making it sound romantic but bf read through the lyrics after that and hugged me when I got home and said he definitely didn't want to murder me.
Edit: Ok this one is purely personal but I just got done with work and it came out on the playlist, Achilles Come Down by Gangs of Youth.
I learned this song from my daughter. I let her control the music when we'd drive to school and back but I immediately loved this song because unlike me, she has an amazing voice. This is one I only ever heard underneath her crystalline soprano while she sang along.
It was always so beautiful that I didn't focus on the song so much as her. She made a haunting, sad song a beautiful, pleasant memory for me because now she's had her license for a while, she's doing her thing being an ambitious senior. I don't get to listen to her sing anymore between my work and her school/social schedule.
I miss the days when I stayed up after a 12 hour shift to take her to school because I miss listening to her sing. I brain was fuzzy and that morning sun seared my eyeballs but I cherish every morning now because I don't have many left. I acutally miss everything about my kids needing me now that one has been independent for quite a few years and the other two are almost independent. I'm listening right now and all I can hear is her voice.
Fuck that shit hits hard. Im going to be an empty nester soon. Fucking FUCK. Fuck does it hit hard. I should be proud. I am! Jesus am I. I don't know how I was blessed with these people, bio and adopted, that's how vlessed I am, but I don't want to look the gift horse in the mouth. Fucking wow, am I proud. But really I'm sad, too.
Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank by Barenaked Ladies is about the real stalking of a Canadian celebrity by a mentally unstable man who thought she was in love with him.
Someone else mentioned this too, but if anyone is into Japanese songs: I think there are probably more songs (especially Vocaloid ones) with extremely messed-up (and convoluted) lyrics than those that do not... I don't think most of them are well-known outside anime/vocaloid circles though.
Trying to think about the more "cute and depressing" ones I could find:
::: spoiler NSFL
Iyowa - Kyu-Kurarin: song is extremely cute. Supposedly implies breakup and suicide
Mili - Nine Point Eight: one of my all time favorited; the title is somewhat self-explanatory
These are just what I could think of for now... A lot of songs with mentions of depression, suicide, etc... Other forms of messup, Telecaster B Boy is about being trans & not fitting in society I believe (song is a banger)
And this one is not "depressing" as-is, but Senbonzakura (that super famous Japan-esque song sung by Hatsune Miku that everyone has heard of) is about Imperial/WWII Japan sooo... take that as you will
:::
On the documentary 'shifty' they claimed that 'the land of make believe' by bucks fizz was written about Margaret Thatcher/Thatcherism. Really puts a depressing spin on it.
This is probably a controversial opinion, but Ive always felt a little bad for the guy this song is about.
I think it's unfair for her to say he doesn't care a thing about her. He obviously does. If he didn't he wouldn't want her to still be a part of his life.
This song is just about two people who want different things out of their relationship, and the singer is just unable to accept it.
She has the ability to cut him out of her life if that's what she really wants, same as he does. She should cut herself free if it's too painful for her to be his friend.
I feel that. Maybe this song is her way of cutting herself free? Or by telling him to make a decision, she's giving him more autonomy than if she just left. Like she's saying, "Look, we need to commit to a decision, no more up and down, which way would you have it?"
Or by telling him to make a decision, she’s giving him more autonomy than if she just left. Like she’s saying, “Look, we need to commit to a decision, no more up and down, which way would you have it?”
I can see that, though it feels to me like from the context of the song they have already had that discussion at least once before.
I know that it hurts when you feel a certain way about someone and they don't feel that way about you- it can hurt a lot and it can take time to come to terms with it- and I don't' think removing yourself from their lives is an unreasonable solution if you are having trouble dealing with it- so I definitely feel empathy for the singers pov as well.
Singing about killing himself in a super upbeat song, even has kids at the end going "I wish that I could fly, way up in the sky", the part where he was singing about jumping off a skyscraper.
A lot of that album was pretty subversive but hidden behind upbeat rock. The olds didn't realize what the kids were listening to because they just heard pop rock.
Like half of Fall Out Boy's discography. "Hum Hallelujah" gets a special mention for literally being about a suicide attempt. Also "Dance In the Dark" by Lady Gaga, "Stomach Vs Heart" and "Humor of the Situation" by Barenaked Ladies ("Angry People" as well), "Slip Slidin Away" by Paul Simon, "When I Come Around" by Green Day...suffice it to say, I enjoy this trope a lot :P
203 Comments
crank0271@lemmy.world · 95 pts · 349d
Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
CrayonDevourer@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 349d
My (American) kids love this song. :D
can@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 349d
This one immediately came to mind. They have a lot more good songs too.
cannon_annon88@lemmy.today · 6 pts · 349d
That was my first thought.
AlexLost@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 348d
Houdini is no slouch either
mlfh@lemmy.sdf.org · 94 pts · 349d
99 Luftballons is upbeat and fun, and about some balloons inadvertently kicking off a cataclysmic war that leaves the world in ruins.
original_reader@lemmy.zip · 14 pts · 348d
It's about the cold war paranoia. Sound is all synth pop upbeat, though.
The English version is called "99 Red Balloons".
cannon_annon88@lemmy.today · 4 pts · 349d
Damn, I gotta go read those lyrics.
grue@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 349d
::: spoiler excerpt from the last verse
It's all over and I'm standin' pretty
In this dust that was a city :::
Snowpix@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 348d
If I could find a souvenier just to prove the world was here... here it is, a red balloon. I think of you, and let it go...
Widdershins@lemmy.world · -7 pts · 348d
The balloons were a metaphor for the mushroom clouds from the nukes going off
hperrin@lemmy.ca · 27 pts · 348d
So you’re saying that the person standing in ruin at the end of the song thinks of their loved one and sets off a nuclear bomb?
I think the red balloons were just red balloons, mistaken for an enemy attack.
From Wikipedia:
taiyang@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 348d
Holy cow those lyrics are dark, I somehow never noticed. Lol
Fondots@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 348d
In my opinion, the lyrics tell a pretty straightforward story, no real need for metaphor
Someone releases a bunch of balloons into the sky, they get mistaken for enemy aircraft/missiles, and set off a war.
If you get more out of it with your interpretation, more power to you, but it feels like a bit of an unnecessary stretch though.
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 69 pts · 349d
Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind is the usual one I see brought up.
Push by Matchbox 20 and Possum Kingdom by Toadies are arguable ones.
Also, Richard Cheese covers a lot of raunchy and dark stuff in a vegas lounge singer style. Rape Me sung in a cheesy upbeat tone is a trip.
Apeman42@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 349d
I fucking love Richard Cheese, especially his cover of Closer.
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 4 pts · 349d
Omg, this is a true pickmeup 🤣🤣
The intro sounds like it's some Blues Brothers number and then... I want to violate you
GraniteM@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 348d
Check out his close friend and confidant, Johnny Aloha!
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 7 pts · 349d
I wouldn't say Possum Kingdom is upbeat even in sound.
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 5 pts · 349d
Agreed. Maybe if it were set to the tune of Mr. Bluesky...
Please tell us guy
Please tell us why
You showed us your dark secret
Seeecret
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 5 pts · 349d
I do love the Richard Cheese cover of Down With The Sickness.
fodor@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 347d
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 56 pts · 349d
Hey Ya by Outkast.
Also pretty much everything I have ever heard by Steely Dan.
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 8 pts · 349d
Hey Ya is an excellent example.
Steely Dan seems more low key. And he hates on my alma mater lol. And he acted like kind of a dick when I saw him live. But I do love his sound, like warm tea with honey and a lil splash of bourbon.
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 349d
Ok, maybe just the bourbon, honey optional.
hopesdead@startrek.website · 38 pts · 349d
People forget that Today by The Smashing Pumpkins is literally about suicide.
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 16 pts · 349d
But it's about the euphoria one may experience after deciding to go through with it. Ya^a^^y^^y^
/s
PS, I have witnessed the euphoria, but I didn't recognize it for what it was at the time. They were calling to say goodbye. Fuck, that still gets to me.
hitmyspot@aussie.zone · 11 pts · 349d
I wouldn't call the smashing pumpkins upbeat. Some are up tempo, .maybe, but upbeat is not their style. Their biggest album was titled Mellon Collie and the infinite sadness. Not exactly cheerful stuff.
hopesdead@startrek.website · 4 pts · 348d
I’ve heard the song used in those compilations of sporting events you see on TV before said sporting event, to celebrate a athlete.
hitmyspot@aussie.zone · 4 pts · 348d
I've just gone back for a listen, which is why these posts are great. I'd say it's the opposite of the title. It's a downbeat song with a very happy lyric, used to cover for a dark subject.
I'm now listening to Mellon Collie album. It's surprisingly similar to Ash, an Irish band. I liked them both at the time but never saw the similarity when I was young. I suppose with time, many similar styles sound similar.
hitmyspot@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 348d
It can be powerful or emotional without being upbeat. It can also be used inappropriately. Do you think it's upbeat?
hopesdead@startrek.website · 3 pts · 348d
I guess The Smashing Pumpkins being my favorite band, has skewed my perspective. I’ve always felt that song was ironically upbeat for their style.
hitmyspot@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 348d
Especially the intro, but I still wouldn't call it upbeat in general, lol.
Have you ever listened to Ash? They kind of alternate between rockier and poppier sounds. However, listening back to smashing pumpkins today, as I haven't listened to more than one song in a while, it struck me as very similar. I think Ash is a little more upbeat in general though, so perhaps why they can lean into a more pop sound. They lean into a more heavy sound also, where I think pumpkins show more controlled restraint.
jewbacca117@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 349d
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 18 pts · 349d
Good point. Born in the USA and Fortunate Son would probably fit in here as well.
jewbacca117@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 348d
anotherspinelessdem@lemmy.ml · 31 pts · 349d
Semi-Charmed Life is the first thing that always comes to my mind
baldingpudenda@lemmy.world · 27 pts · 349d
hey ya -- Outkast It's about relationships that aren't working out, but you still stay together.
" thank God for Mom and Dad / for sticking two together cause we don't know how"
Then later
" are we so in denial when we know we're not happy here? / y'all don't want to hear me, y'all just want to dance"
FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 348d
Born in the USA
shalafi@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 348d
Someone's boat was blasting that at the 4th of July on the water. My brother in Christ, I understood the lyrics back in 1984. It's a jammin' tune, but damn.
Triasha@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 348d
Pumped up kicks fits this for me.
mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 348d
what do you mean? isn't that just about the modern american dream?
Triasha@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 348d
Shooting up your school? What schools did you go to?
RaivoKulli@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 347d
Shot up ones
thermal_shock@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 347d
It's about pumping up your shoes before b ball at recess.
Snowpix@lemmy.ca · 21 pts · 348d
90% of ska/ska punk music is like this. A few examples:
"The Science of Selling Yourself Short" - Less Than Jake
"Beer" - Reel Big Fish
"Struggler" and "I Don't Love You Anymore" - Bomb the Music Industry!
"The Last Bell I Will Ever Hear", "1-800-ALARM-ME" and "Last on my List" - The Arrogant Sons of Bitches
"Ska Dream" and "Checkerboard Ashtray" - Jeff Rosenstock
"A Better Place, a Better Time" and "As the Footsteps Die Out Forever" - Streetlight Manifesto
Emotional_Ice@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 347d
Absolutely this.
Tehhund@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 346d
Nearly Everything by Reel Big Fish. It's all fun ska and mostly about social anxiety, broken hearts, and substance abuse. I love them.
Snowpix@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 346d
I'll have to listen to that one! "I Know You Too Well to Like You Anymore" fits the bill as well. A very ugly fight between a couple who hate each other but can't live without one another.
Tehhund@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 346d
Oops, I messed up my capitalization. I just meant nearly every song by them.
radiouser@crazypeople.online · 21 pts · 348d
Hey Ya - Outkast
ouRKaoS@lemmy.today · 6 pts · 348d
Y'all don't wanna hear me, you just wanna dance...
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club · 3 pts · 348d
Ghettomusick - Outcast
It is a really sharp critique of the rap industry at the time.
firewyre@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 347d
Nice, I scrolled the comments hoping I'd find this one
dontbelievethis@sh.itjust.works · 20 pts · 348d
Pumped up kicks by foster the people
buzz86us@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 347d
Pumped up kicks
Under the bridge Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Seefoo@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 347d
Came here to post pumped up kicks
phonics@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 349d
pumped up kicks
makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 349d
The Macarena I'd about a woman cheating on her BF getting drafted into the military with 2 other guys
Which is pretty intense for a song they taught to kids in grade school
Masktchi@feddit.fr · 15 pts · 348d
Every Stromae's songs.
It's always funny to see non-french-speaking people being so hyped by Stromae's songs, like they think it's joyful af and all... While his songs lyrics are litterally about :
grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 348d
I don't speak a lick of French (I know enough Spanish to recognize some words if they are slightly similar, but that's it) but still enjoy Stromae, although I've never found his music to be upbeat. I think, especially in Papaoutai, you can hear the struggle and sadness in the tone of the song and in his voice.
TheDoozer@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 348d
Bad Moon Rising by Creedence.
It's about the apocalypse, but you wouldn't know it from how upbeat it is.
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 348d
If they didn't use this song in True Blood or just about any other campy Mississippi delta monster/ slasher film, then they done messed up.
I could only make it through the first season of True Blood, having read all the books that were available at the time. I actually learned about the book series and the show from a SDCC panel (we wanted good seats for the panel immediately after the True Blood one). Watching as Charlaine Harris's fans lost their everloving minds got me all curious.
ripcord@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 348d
Ah, rhe bathroom song.
DrSleepless@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 349d
Pick any Smiths song
DarkDarkHouse@lemmy.sdf.org · 9 pts · 349d
🎶 if a ten-ton truck 🌈 🎤 killed the both of us 🎶
kadaverin0@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 348d
DarkDarkHouse@lemmy.sdf.org · 14 pts · 348d
Talking Heads - Life During Wartime and Once in a Lifetime spring to mind.
It's probably easier to list the Talking Heads songs that are not upbeat and depressing.
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works · 13 pts · 348d
Almacca@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 348d
Chumbawamba are great, especially that album.
marius@feddit.org · 12 pts · 349d
I don't like Mondays by boomtown rats
https://open.spotify.com/track/7JFoeg0arawADjGcz9gBnq
Quite a chill and happy song about a school shooting
jqubed@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 348d
An actual school shooting and I think the shooter thanked Bob Geldof for making her more famous
Zoomboingding@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 348d
Jonathan Coulton has a bunch of these. "I Feel Fantastic" "Betty and Me" "Blue Sunny Day" "Shop Vac" "Chiron Beta Prime" "Future Soon" off the top of my head. "Skullcrusher Mountain" and "Re: Your Brains" to a lesser degree.
Boddhisatva@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 348d
lime@feddit.nu · 3 pts · 348d
shop vac has been playing in my head on loop for a few weeks and it's been more than a decade since i last heard it. it's so depressing.
sangriaferret@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 348d
Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen. It's about realizing that you've peaked and your best days are behind you.
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 348d
This song hits different now that I have some mileage on me.
We'll time slips away and leaves you with nothing, mister, but boring stories offfffff glory days
I can watch my nephew checking out in real time if we tell too many back in the day stories at family dinners.
Also, my favorite sports bar used to be Glory Days.
Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org · 10 pts · 349d
David Bowie - Five Years Tennessee Ernie Ford - 16 Tons Iron Maiden - 2 Minutes to Midnight
And about half of Pink's oeuvre.
DharmaCurious@startrek.website · 10 pts · 348d
Hey Ya
TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 349d
Plenty of ABBA songs... Maybe Chiquitita?
AlphaOmega@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 348d
You are my sunshine (The Dead South do an excellent job illustrating how dark the song really is)
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club · 4 pts · 348d
I'll Fly Away also fits that.
Godric@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 348d
Love The Dead South, their vaguely ominous horror take on folk is amazing! Johnny Cash also does a wonderfully depressing version of the song
Quazatron@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 348d
Nothing but Flowers by Talking Heads is a cheerful song about post-apocalyptic life.
felsiq@piefed.zip · 8 pts · 348d
Little talks - of monsters and men
It sounds very chill and upbeat but it’s about the loss of a loved one
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 348d
I had a period where I could not listen to this one. It hit too hard.
fodor@lemmy.zip · 8 pts · 347d
Jhex@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 348d
No Rain by Blind Melon... literally a song about deep depression with upbeat music
MehBlah@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 348d
He committed suicide not long after that song hit the charts.
Looking at wikipedia it was longer than I thought
the_crotch@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 347d
He ODed. So he did kind of kill himself, but it wasn't a suicide.
MehBlah@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 347d
Yeah he OD'ed, except at the time it was reported as suicide. Its fine whitewash is a part of history.
the_crotch@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 347d
He had a heart attack from too much cocaine. I guess it's not impossible someone would intentionally kill themselves using coke, but it's not very likely. He had access to way more effective drugs if that was the plan.
MehBlah@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 347d
Like I said it was reported as a suicide. It was reported like that in the media MTV to for example as a suicide. Were you around when it was being talked about or are you relying on a wikipedia page? It isn't the first time a wikipedia page presents a more preferred narrative.
the_crotch@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 347d
Yes, I was an avid MTV watcher at the time. I feel like it's more likely they made a mistake in the initial reporting than covered it up. He wasn't that big of a celebrity, you don't do that for a one hit wonder. In fact, if he hadn't died I doubt anyone would even remember blind melon.
MehBlah@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 347d
We will just have to agree to disagree. Who do you think would have a interest in covering it up? The media or those who loved him.
deltapi@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 348d
Hard Times - Paramore first thing I thought of
kersploosh@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 348d
I Am A Rock by Simon and Garfunkel
Ephera@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 348d
In that vein, I guess, "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel also deserves a mention, even if it's up for interpretation how depressing the lyrics by themselves are.
But the first line in the song is "Hello darkness, my old friend / I've come to talk with you again." and there is a cover version by the metal band Disturbed, which has no shame to really lean into that sort of vibe.
And yeah, after having heard the Disturbed version, listening to the original certainly feels like there is a massive disconnect between how sad the song perhaps should be and how upbeat the original is.
Zoomboingding@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 348d
In what world is The Sound of Silence considered upbeat
AceFuzzLord@lemmy.zip · 7 pts · 348d
The only 2 songs I could think of, Pumped Up Kicks, and 99 Luftballons/99 Red Balloons were already brought up. So I had to think of some different songs. And I can't. Looked through a bunch of songs on my phone and back of some of my CD cases and I can't think of any right now.
Closest I can think of was just a video of someone reacting to the Japanese vocaloid song 「ごめんね ごめんね」 ( I'm sorry I'm sorry )by Kikuo and not knowing what the song meant until looking up the lyrics. Even then, that's not a very upbeat song.
Edit:
I thought about "Belong" by R.E.M., but I would say it's near upbeat but not quite there. Also, the lyrics are more cryptic and confusing to dissect than depressing in my opinion.
Edit 2:
Wouldn't say it's quite upbeat either, but Mighty K.C. from For Squirrels as well. Not quite upbeat but definitely depressing lyrics considering it's about death.
mateofeo85@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 349d
original_reader@lemmy.zip · 7 pts · 348d
Billy Idol - Dancing with Myself Loneliness masked as liberation.
Bulletproof - La Roux Emotional numbness disguised as empowerment
Some Linkin Park songs (Bleed it out, Up from the Bottom, etc.)
There's so many such songs...
meco03211@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 348d
Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger?
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 4 pts · 348d
This was one I would absolutely belt out in the car when I was so over the DC life.
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
SinkingLotus@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 347d
noughtnaut@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 348d
Vamos a la playa - super catchy totally 80s pop song that was everywhere in amusement parks ..... and it's about nuclear hellscape.
agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 348d
A good chunk of They Might Be Giants' discography.
Hopeless Bleak Despair is about what's in the title.
Don't Let's Start "Everybody dies frustrated and sad and that is beautiful"
My Man is about being paralyzed.
That just scratches the surface.
ThatGuy46475@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 349d
Bullet by Hollywood undead
amelia@feddit.org · 6 pts · 348d
The Science of Selling Yourself Short by Less Than Jake
Snowpix@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 348d
"I could be an expert on codependency, I could write the best book on underage tragedy. I've been spendin' my time at the local liquor store, I've been sleeping nightly on my best friend's kitchen floor. And so I sit and wait and wonder, "does anyone one else feel like me?" I'm so overdosed on apathy and burned out on sympathy"
Yeah, I think the song checks out lol
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club · 6 pts · 348d
My Worst Enemy - Lit
Man, who is probably an alcoholic, wakes up the next day from a bender to find his girlfriend has left him.
thermal_shock@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 347d
So I listened to some of Lit's new stuff, they went full religious man. Bummed me out.
Stroke 9 on the other hand are fucking amazing and I love nearly all their tracks, their latest two albums are sick, Lake got me back into them, then went back to all their stuff I missed. Here's a screenshot of my ratings :)
solrize@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 349d
Almost anything by Tom Lehrer.
Auth@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 349d
Polish Dancing Cow song is upbeat and catchy but the lyrics are about a man struggling with his cocaine addiction.
GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 348d
I always found The Scientist by Coldplay to be a pretty upbeat song about the death of a loved one. And Viva la Vida upbeat, and all about the fall from grace.
Xaphanos@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 349d
Mark Knopfler has quite a few. Postcards from Paraguay. Quality Shoe. Romeo and Juliet. Boom Like That. It's a thing with him - contrasting the music with the theme.
whotookkarl@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 347d
Zero 7 - Waiting to die
https://youtu.be/ge1_eVMO-mU
Snowpix mentioned lots of ska/ska punk I gotta agree, my pick is The Aquabats - chemical bomb
https://youtu.be/Y3fXdcHQY4o
Maybe a bit of a stretch but just running with the musical tone doesn't match the lyrics Ben Folds - bitches ain't shit cover
https://youtu.be/gjFRy8jQ_0U
Codilingus@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 348d
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People.
Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 349d
Fuck You - The Used
grue@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 348d
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 348d
I have to disagree with Elanor Rigby. Yes it's a quick tempo, but the E minor key makes it very bleak even without the lyrics. And I may be wrong but it's also an overall pretty bleak song for Paul's typical compositions. So it's kind of always stood out to me.
I do love it very much though.
I would submit And Your Bird Can Sing as an upbeat melancholy song off Revolver.
grue@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 347d
Those strings go hard, though.
I guess it depends on your definition of "upbeat." It could mean cheerful and happy, or it could mean lively and fast-paced.
I don't think being in a minor key is necessarily enough to invalidate the first definition, let alone the second. I'm not gonna link it because fuck R*edit, but there's a thread there with plenty of examples of upbeat minor-key songs, including Uptown Funk, the Inspector Gadget theme, Get Lucky, Tunak Tunak Tun, Livin' LA Vida Loca, Get the Party Started, etc.
Jarix@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 347d
You are my sunshine
It doesn't get any better from there
Edit: I will never understand how to format things the way I want them to sorry
Contramuffin@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 348d
Surprised that people haven't mentioned Yoru ni Kakeru (Racing into the Night) by Yoasobi. It's a Japanese song about depression and commiting suicide.
Specifically, it follows a guy who falls in love with a depressed and suicidal girl. Over time, the guy himself becomes depressed and tired of life and they both decide to commit suicide together.
PsychoWiz@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 348d
^ Scrolled all the way down looking for this one.
OmnislashIsACloudApp@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 347d
pretty much anything by third eye blind
AliasVortex@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 349d
A solid majority of Bastille's discography comes to mind, though not as outright depressing as Pumped Up Kicks or Youth of a Nation, most of their tracks tend to be very instrumentally upbeat and lively, with gorgeous vocals, but thematically darker lyrics / topics. Happier comes to mind as immediately fitting the prompt (and having enough radio play to be recognizable), but The Draw, Haunt, and Skulls also fit well (I'd also included their cover of City High's What Would You Do, also long as being a cover isn't a immediate disqualifier).
I feel like they're kind of slept on since they don't get a whole lot of radio play outside of a handful of songs, but all their other work is just so good. Personal top favorite artist, hands down.
grue@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 348d
It'd be hard for a song with a title like "Pompeii" to be anything but dark, LOL
kandoh@reddthat.com · 4 pts · 347d
Ring around the rosey
And
Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear
Octavio@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 348d
actionjbone@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 349d
Paul Thorn - Bull Mountain Bridge
Jonathan Coulton - Shop-Vac®
geogaddi@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 349d
the mountain goats - no children https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS27S3mspjU
njm1314@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 347d
Mmmm Bop
MotoAsh@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 347d
yngmnwntr@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 348d
Timothy by The Buoys is a very happy song about men trapped in a mine collapse cannibalizing each other to survive.
WHARRGARBL@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 348d
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 348d
I mentioned Bruce & CCR in another nested comment a little before you posted, but I don't think I'm familiar with this Stevie song. I'll go check it out.
webpack@ani.social · 4 pts · 348d
for some reason there's a bunch of upbeat sounding Japanese songs that are actually disturbing if you look into the lyrics (for example racing into the night)
Lumisal@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 348d
Bad Apple
archonet@lemy.lol · 4 pts · 348d
No Sunlight - Death Cab for Cutie
FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 349d
I'm Only Me When I'm With You by Taylor Swift. Granted, I have no experience with healthy relationships, but the relationship in that song sounds extremely unhealthy and codependent
sjkhgsi@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 348d
Walking on broken glass - Annie Lennox
ivanafterall@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 347d
Rock-a-bye, baby
On the tree top
When the wind blows
The cradle will rock
When the bough breaks
The cradle will fall
And down will come baby
Cradle and all
We sing that shit to literal babies, what the fuck is wrong with us?
pH3ra@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 348d
Flo by Smash Mouth
Dozzi92@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 348d
Fish Yu Mang is a great album, and I'll never miss an opportunity to give it love. Definitely the depressed thoughts of a dude who suffers from crippling alcoholism, but somehow manages to sound fun and upbeat the whole time.
pH3ra@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 348d
That's my take as well, I started giving it more attention only recently and there are many gems in it. Padrino is one of my all time favourites of the genre
jaupsinluggies@feddit.uk · 3 pts · 348d
Mack the Knife https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ0OOHLWo4w
Jankatarch@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 347d
Sad lyrics and fast tempo :
Kazim Koyuncu - Narino
Bagpipe song with the lyrics "I lost my sanity", "I sat down and cried", and "I wish someone knew my pain" especially. Can find longer versions on youtube.
French Gal - Poupèe de cire
Lyrics are about feeling more like a doll than human. TRIGGER WARNING FOR FRENCH LANGUAGE
Kazim Koyuncu - Fadime
Kemençe song with lyrics along same lines. Takes a bit before beat changes.
Sad lyrics and happy music/tone :
Danny Gonzales - Downhill
Song argues with a young adult on how rest of their life will suck.
Istanbul12 Orkestrasi - Bile Bile
Song about being unable to accept rejection.
Ayase/YAOSABI - Into the night
I am 70% sure "upbeat sounding song about suicide" is a genre in Japanese music.
Huffkin@feddit.uk · 3 pts · 348d
I didn't see wake up boo by the boo radleys in here.
It's about suicide
Spider89@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 349d
Passion Pit - Sleepyhead
NihilsineNefas@slrpnk.net · 3 pts · 347d
HEALTH - everything from the band is banger after banger but with lyrics that'll leave you feeling a certain type of sad
Ileftreddit@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 348d
KittenBiscuits@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 348d
Really? I'll have to check out the lyrics now. Such an 80s staple that I think I just sang along and never really processed the words.
RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 348d
The title of the song is a reference to nuclear war.
Ileftreddit@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 348d
GoddessGundy@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 346d
My boyfriend said he thought about me when we listen to Saturday Night by the Misfits. I'm like.... do you want to murder me?...
The lyrics always sounded very murdery to me. I think they did an amazing job of making it sound romantic but bf read through the lyrics after that and hugged me when I got home and said he definitely didn't want to murder me.
Edit: Ok this one is purely personal but I just got done with work and it came out on the playlist, Achilles Come Down by Gangs of Youth.
I learned this song from my daughter. I let her control the music when we'd drive to school and back but I immediately loved this song because unlike me, she has an amazing voice. This is one I only ever heard underneath her crystalline soprano while she sang along.
It was always so beautiful that I didn't focus on the song so much as her. She made a haunting, sad song a beautiful, pleasant memory for me because now she's had her license for a while, she's doing her thing being an ambitious senior. I don't get to listen to her sing anymore between my work and her school/social schedule.
I miss the days when I stayed up after a 12 hour shift to take her to school because I miss listening to her sing. I brain was fuzzy and that morning sun seared my eyeballs but I cherish every morning now because I don't have many left. I acutally miss everything about my kids needing me now that one has been independent for quite a few years and the other two are almost independent. I'm listening right now and all I can hear is her voice.
Fuck that shit hits hard. Im going to be an empty nester soon. Fucking FUCK. Fuck does it hit hard. I should be proud. I am! Jesus am I. I don't know how I was blessed with these people, bio and adopted, that's how vlessed I am, but I don't want to look the gift horse in the mouth. Fucking wow, am I proud. But really I'm sad, too.
/soliloquy
BigBananaDealer@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 348d
most of the after laughter album by paramore
also hey ya by outkast is often played at weddings while being about a relationship failing
unicornBro@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 347d
Happier - by Bastille and Marshmello. It might depend on the listener tho.
Aint it fun - Paramore
Honestly, i don't like that a lot of radio music is so sad. I have to look to real oldies to find a happy song.
Almacca@aussie.zone · 3 pts · 348d
Twisting In The Wind - David Byrne
In fact, the whole album's full of dark yet upbeat songs.
JargonWagon@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 347d
Radiohead - No Surprises
ThePunnyMan@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 348d
It's a little more than kind of depressing but Bullet by Hollywood Undead comes to mind.
SkyezOpen@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 347d
I wish that I could fly!
wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 349d
The Muffin Song
EK13@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 348d
I think Enola Gay by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark is a perfect example.
It sounds upbeat and fun but it's about the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Some of the lyrics are incredibly powerful and I still get chills when I hear it.
hperrin@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 348d
Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank by Barenaked Ladies is about the real stalking of a Canadian celebrity by a mentally unstable man who thought she was in love with him.
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/31/A-love-sick-farmer-who-has-pursued-singer-Anne-Murray/8301378622800/
lemmyman@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 349d
Blackest Eyes by Porcupine Tree
LambdaRX@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 348d
Komm Süsser Tod from The End Of Evangelion.
vortexal@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 348d
I know that there are probably a lot that I'm forgetting but here are the ones I remember:
No more crying by Sound Holic (lyrics)
Border of my life by Sound Holic (lyrics)
THE END by A-One
IT IS SO by A-One
U.N. Owen Was Her? by A-One
Jankatarch@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 347d
For happy/energetic sounding but sad anime-style touhou songs there is also Stack, Stack, and Stack
absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz · 2 pts · 347d
Class A Team
TheBat@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 347d
Underwaterbob@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 348d
That's like Paul Simon's entire schtick. Alongside downbeat songs with uplifting lyrics.
Mac@mander.xyz · 2 pts · 348d
All Thats Left of Me is You by Vulfpeck
theywilleatthestars@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 349d
Ye, Renew the Plaintiff by Of Montreal
gingersaffronapricat@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 349d
The entirety of hissing fauna are you the destroyer by of Montreal
Zweiblum@feddit.org · 2 pts · 348d
I always find it funny how upbeat the Cambodia version by Pulsedriver is. PTSD and dropping bombs on cambodia. What a topic for a dance tune.
Taleya@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 348d
Checked out Apoptygma Beezerk's cover?
zlatiah@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 348d
Someone else mentioned this too, but if anyone is into Japanese songs: I think there are probably more songs (especially Vocaloid ones) with extremely messed-up (and convoluted) lyrics than those that do not... I don't think most of them are well-known outside anime/vocaloid circles though. Trying to think about the more "cute and depressing" ones I could find:
::: spoiler NSFL
These are just what I could think of for now... A lot of songs with mentions of depression, suicide, etc... Other forms of messup, Telecaster B Boy is about being trans & not fitting in society I believe (song is a banger)
And this one is not "depressing" as-is, but Senbonzakura (that super famous Japan-esque song sung by Hatsune Miku that everyone has heard of) is about Imperial/WWII Japan sooo... take that as you will :::
geogaddi@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 349d
The Antlers - Bear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnHCQe-Y0nw
chiruyuki@ani.social · 2 pts · 348d
Ruru's suicide stream ? Would that one count ? Damn it's like all the songs flew out of my brain the moment I read this question ahahahh
charade_you_are@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 348d
I always thought Free Four by Pink Floyd fit that category well.
FanciestPants@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 346d
Hey Jealousy by The Gin Blossoms comes to mind.
Appleseuss@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 348d
Little Foot Big Foot - Childish Gambino
JTskulk@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 347d
I think I have the best answer here: Gwar - Rock N Roll Never Felt So Good
Lyrics
jobbies@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 348d
On the documentary 'shifty' they claimed that 'the land of make believe' by bucks fizz was written about Margaret Thatcher/Thatcherism. Really puts a depressing spin on it.
Pat_Riot@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 347d
Fast Car
Pumped Up Kicks
Flowers on the Wall
sanguinepar@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 348d
Lots of great choices here - I'll throw in Moon Over Marin by Dead Kennedys.
Sounds like a bop, but is actually about the destruction of the environment.
TimewornTraveler@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 347d
The Motown hit Keep Me Hanging On by the Supremes is the classic example of this.
It was even recognized for its pathos and turned into a sadder slow version by psychedelic band Vanilla Fudge
Wolf@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 347d
This is probably a controversial opinion, but Ive always felt a little bad for the guy this song is about.
I think it's unfair for her to say he doesn't care a thing about her. He obviously does. If he didn't he wouldn't want her to still be a part of his life.
This song is just about two people who want different things out of their relationship, and the singer is just unable to accept it.
She has the ability to cut him out of her life if that's what she really wants, same as he does. She should cut herself free if it's too painful for her to be his friend.
TimewornTraveler@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 347d
I feel that. Maybe this song is her way of cutting herself free? Or by telling him to make a decision, she's giving him more autonomy than if she just left. Like she's saying, "Look, we need to commit to a decision, no more up and down, which way would you have it?"
Wolf@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 347d
I can see that, though it feels to me like from the context of the song they have already had that discussion at least once before.
I know that it hurts when you feel a certain way about someone and they don't feel that way about you- it can hurt a lot and it can take time to come to terms with it- and I don't' think removing yourself from their lives is an unreasonable solution if you are having trouble dealing with it- so I definitely feel empathy for the singers pov as well.
DrBob@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 349d
May I introduce you to The Smiths. Rusholme Ruffians and There is a Light That Never Goes Out are great examples, but really it describes most of their catalogue.
thermal_shock@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 347d
Bullet by Hollywood undead.
Singing about killing himself in a super upbeat song, even has kids at the end going "I wish that I could fly, way up in the sky", the part where he was singing about jumping off a skyscraper.
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club · 2 pts · 348d
Living La Vida Loca and Macerena are both pretty dark.
SkyezOpen@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 347d
The fact that macarena has been played at nearly every wedding I've been to is diabolical.
Jomega@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 348d
Charlie's Inferno is about an innocent man being tortured in Hell. It's a 50's style tune reminiscent of Mr Sandman.
remon@ani.social · 2 pts · 348d
Rise Against - Tragedy + Time
roscoe@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 347d
Brown Sugar
A lot of that album was pretty subversive but hidden behind upbeat rock. The olds didn't realize what the kids were listening to because they just heard pop rock.
gabbath@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 347d
Love - Forever Changes. The whole album.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lIfiGGgw0nJ6H3UcVvp1UbFhwr0LGPiBE
Prime@lemmy.sdf.org · 1 pts · 347d
Renai circulation, from the monogatari series. It's super cute but hidden inside is a cry for help.
bitjunkie@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 347d
Club America by The Cure
RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 348d
Boys of Summer is about toxic obsession.
happysplinter@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 347d
A lot of Elliott Smith songs.
cannon_annon88@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 349d
Just Ain't Gonna Work Out - Mayer Hawthorne
NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 347d
You’re Gorgeous
moondoggie@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 347d
Lots of mentions of The Boss, but not those other cheery Jerseyites. Bon Jovi with “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
EponymousBosh@awful.systems · 1 pts · 347d
Like half of Fall Out Boy's discography. "Hum Hallelujah" gets a special mention for literally being about a suicide attempt. Also "Dance In the Dark" by Lady Gaga, "Stomach Vs Heart" and "Humor of the Situation" by Barenaked Ladies ("Angry People" as well), "Slip Slidin Away" by Paul Simon, "When I Come Around" by Green Day...suffice it to say, I enjoy this trope a lot :P
theherk@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 347d
When You Die - MGMT
geogaddi@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 349d
Greenskeepers - Lotion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm86I_kezVY
cdf12345@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 347d
Mmmmbop
thatradomguy@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 347d
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kkrb4h4weW4
I can probably put some more but this one has been on me for a while.
magusfungus@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 347d
Porcupine Tree - Blackest Eyes
Mew - She came Home for Christmas
Fandangalo@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 348d
knife@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 347d
on melancholy hill - gorillaz