October 11, 2010

When you need to feel: sad

There are soundtracks to movies and televisions shows, so of course there's an individual soundtrack to each of our lives.

Hum a few bars of Beautiful by James Blunt, Collide by Howie Day, or Canon in D by Pachebel (which I walked down the aisle to), and my mind immediately jumps to my wedding.

Play Soak up the Sun by Sheryl Crow and I'm brought back to the day of Bear's high school graduation.

Move Along by The All-American Rejects reminds me of the time my brother was in boot camp, and Home by Daughtry is so inexplicably tied to his deployment to Iraq that it's hard for me to hear the song without tearing up.

When writing, sometimes you need to draw up powerful emotions to capture a scene or understand how a character is feeling. One of the best ways to do so is to surround yourself with the right type of music.

Therefore, let me introduce you to a new feature here on THE TABBY CATT: When you need to feel.

Each week I will tackle a different emotion, listing songs I feel invoke or are somehow connected to the emotion at hand. Because of the subjective nature of music and emotions, you may not always agree with my choices, but please feel free to list your picks in the comments! (Disclaimer: I'm as mainstream as it gets, so you probably won't discover any underground gems on my lists, but maybe you'll learn to appreciate a popular song in a new way!)

I'm starting with sad songs this week, not because I'm feeling sad, but because hearing a sad song is what inspired this feature.

Grief:
  • Best I Ever Had by Vertical Horizon/Gary Allan
  • Candle in the Wind '97 by Elton John
  • Homesick by MercyMe
  • I Believe by Diamond Rio
  • I Will Remember You by Sarah McLachlan
  • I'll Be Missing You by Puffy Daddy and Faith Evans
  • Let It Be by The Beatles
  • Never Gone by The Backstreet Boys
  • One Sweet Day by Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey
  • Probably Wouldn't Be This Way by Leann Rimes
  • Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton
  • Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day
  • Amazing Grace
  • Taps
Bittersweet:
  • Angel by Sarah McLachlan
  • Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve
  • Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright
  • Here Without You by 3 Doors Down
  • Hurt by Christina Aguilera
  • Hurt by Johnny Cash
  • I Can't Make You Love Me by Bonnie Rait
  • If I Could Be Like That by 3 Doors Down
  • Iris by Goo Goo Dolls
  • It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday by Boyz II Men
  • Last Kiss by Pearl Jam
  • Never Ever by All Saints
  • Photograph by Nickelback
  • Simple Kind of Life by No Doubt
Loneliness:
  • All By Myself by Celine Dion
  • Are You Lonesome Tonight? by Elvis Presley
  • Blue by Patsy Cline
  • Creep by Radiohead
  • Desperado by The Eagles
  • Mad World by Tears For Fears
  • Need You Now by Lady Antebellum
  • Solitaire by Neil Diamond
  • Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park
Romantic Sadness:
  • Don't Speak by No Doubt
  • Everybody Hurts by REM
  • Gone by NSYNC
  • Goodbye to You by Michelle Branch
  • Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley
  • Landing in London by 3 Doors Down
  • My Immortal by Evanescence
  • Nobody Knows by Tony Rich Project/Kevin Sharp
  • So Sick by Neyo
  • The End of the Road by Boyz II Men
  • The First Cut is the Deepest by Sheryl Crow
  • The Freshman by Verve Pipe
  • This Used To Be My Playground by Madonna
  • Where'd You Go by Fort Minor featuring Holly Brook
  • Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley and Allison Krauss
  • Yesterday by The Beatles
  • You'll Think of Me by Keith Urban

7 comments:

Lydia Kang said...

Nice list! It's always good to have some go-to songs to get you in the writing mood. I have a huge bunch saved up on some playlists on youtube.

Pam Harris said...

Wow, this is a great new topic idea. You have some good choices. I would also add "Like You'll Never See Me Again" by Alicia Keys and "Pieces Don't Fit Anymore" by James Morrison (Quita hooked me on him). :)

Claire Dawn said...

Such an immortal list!

There are very few songs that will make me buy a whole album. Both I Can't Make you Love me and I Will Remember You did.

I need an ipod...

Anonymous said...

Is it sad that I don't know a lot of these songs? Will definitely be checking them out. Thank you! :)

Emy Shin (my new blog)

Digital Kitsune said...

Should be an interesting new topic. You had some good picks in there, I think I'll throw in few more:

1) Tsunami Bomb - Dawn on a Funeral Day
2) Tsunami Bomb - Swimming Through Molasses
3) Stabbing Westward - Sometimes It Hurts
4) Bone Thugs-n-Harmony - The Crossroads
5) Guns N' Roses - November Rain

Abby Stevens said...

Lydia - Great idea! I've never thought of putting a playlist on YouTube... although I am afraid I'd get sucked into the videos. Lol!

Pam - Love Alicia Keys! I was missing a good R&B song anyway. Nice addition. And I've never heard James Morrison, I'll have to check him out.

Claire - Thank you! And yes, you do need an iPod! How have you survived? without one! Lol!

Emy - No, it's not sad! We all listen to different stuff... :) And do check them out! All of them are great songs!

Mark - Who is this Tsunami Bomb you speak of? (j/k, j/k) I can't believe I forgot The Crossroads and November Rain. Great additions!

Abby Stevens said...

Oopsss... didn't mean for that extra ?, Claire! :D

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