As anyone familiar with this weird thing we call life knows, it isn't always candy hearts and roses. Sometimes it throws shit at you, and sometimes you make poor choices which come back to bite you. Sometimes you feel hopelessly melancholy, and unable to find joy in anything. If you're like me and find solace in music in those moments of despair, sometimes you just need a good song to resonate with or comfort you. Here are four such songs:
1. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day
Green Day has a penchant for effectively encapsulating feelings of angst in their music. In one of their more popular singles, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong sings of feelings of immense loneliness, in his typical style of casual angst masked by an apathetic facade, and accompanied by an intricate, guitar-heavy arrangement. For those who don't dip much into this style of music, the harder rock style might become headache-inducing after awhile, but it's a great song to play on repeat when you're feeling lonely, or other negative emotions.
My shadow's the only one
That walks beside me
My shallow heart's
The only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone
Out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone
2. "Be OK" by Ingrid Michaelson
This one is more upbeat, with a less heavy, acoustic arrangement, and takes a more whimsical, but effective, approach. It served as a promotional song for "Stand Up 2 Cancer," and it's expressed longing to "be okay" is applicable to almost any situation in which someone is, decidedly, not okay. It's a more soothing alternative for that playlist you put on when the negative emotions start to get to you.
I just want to feel today
Feel today, feel today
I just want to feel something today
I just want to know today
Know today, know today
Know that maybe I will be okay
3. "Sober" by P!nk
This is one of my favorite songs, one which I discovered in high school, and one which I have often listened to in my darker moments. On the surface, the lyrics describe a vague drug which P!nk can't wean off, but a closer listen reveals that the message is much deeper than that. It's appropriate for a wide range of emotions, including guilt and self-doubt, and is an example of P!nk's prowess as a performer and songwriter, and her ability to convey angst in her music.
I'm safe up high
Nothing can touch me
Why do I feel
This party's over
No pain inside
You're my protection
How do I feel
This good sober
4. "Silhouette" by Owl City
This lesser-known song represents a more melancholy turn for the typically upbeat, imaginative Owl City, but it pays off. Owl City founder Adam Young, managed to create a song which epitomizes the emotion of despair, and is suitable for a wide range of related feelings, including anxiety, guilt, regret, and loneliness. This song, so beautifully crafted by Young, represents the reason why music matters so much to me.
I'm a silhouette
Asking every now and then
Is it over yet?
Will I ever smile again?
I'm a silhouette
Chasing rainbows on my own
But the more I try to move on
The more I feel alone
So I watch the summer stars
To lead me home
