Bum me out.

January 18, 2009 6:27 PM

Death Cab For Cutie has a song, I will follow you into the dark, which goes well with the Iron and Wine song Naked as we came. I'd like to find more songs that fit with these two.

The key identity seems to be that both songs concern the death of a lover (or can be interpreted that way easily). Also, they have stylistic similarities which I will not try to describe.

Please suggest other songs that fit this mold!

posted by prefpara to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

The Shins - "Gone For Good"
The National - "Fake Empire"
Tyler Ramsey - "A Long Dream"
Also see Bright Eyes and M. Ward
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:20 PM on January 18, 2009

(and those are based on sound, not lyrics)
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:21 PM on January 18, 2009

Soaky in the pooper, by Lambchop.
posted by dreamphone at 7:45 PM on January 18, 2009

Both song you mention are favorites of mine. If I were to make a mix with those two, I'd probably include the following, both for style and subject matter:

Ben Folds' "Magic"
Cloud Cult's "Transistor Radio" or "Everybody Here Is A Cloud"
Sufjan Stevens' "For The Widows In Paradise, For The Father's In Ypsilanti"
posted by yogurtisgenocide at 7:50 PM on January 18, 2009

Bright Eyes' "Oh You Are The Roots That Sleep Beneath My Feet and Hold The Earth in Place" is probably the best fit, musically and thematically.
posted by jeffmshaw at 8:14 PM on January 18, 2009 [1 favorite]

Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day
The Shins - Those to Come
Belle and Sebastian - It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Missing One, or a few dozen other of his songs
Nickel Creek - Tomorrow Is A Long Time (covering Bob Dylan)
Emmylou Harris - Boulder to Birmingham
Beth Nielsen Chapman - Sand And Water
Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch - I'll Fly Away
The Innocence Mission - Snow
José González - Heartbeats (covering The Knife)
Red House Painters - Follow You, Follow Me (covering Genesis)

If you like folksy Celtic stuff at all, Kate Rusby sings lovely tragic traditional songs - try Annan Waters, or I Am Stretched on Your Grave, or Drowned Lovers.

Sorry for all the cheesy YouTube tribute videos!
posted by oulipian at 8:17 PM on January 18, 2009

Barque in the Harbor, Great Big Sea
I'll Be There, The Escape Club
Water, Holly McNarland
posted by headspace at 9:52 PM on January 18, 2009

Some more suggestions with a similar sound centered around loss (or in some cases, general malaise :)

Iron & Wine - Trapeze Swinger (IMO even better than Naked As We Came)
Bright Eyes - Soon You Will Be Leaving Your Man
Julie Doiron - Some Blues
Bon Iver - Flume
Elliot Smith - Everything Means Nothing To Me (a link to Holovaty's cover :)
Beirut - Elephant Gun - a bit lush on the instrumentation, but the right mood
Azure Ray - November
Jeremy Messersmith - Novocain (his entire album is quite the sad bastard music, worth checking out)
Xiu Xiu w/ Sunset Rubdown - Apistat Commander
Shearwater - Rooks
Fionn Regan - Be Good Or Be Gone (ingenious video, btw)
posted by lhl at 12:37 AM on January 19, 2009

Wilco - on and on
posted by twistedonion at 3:40 AM on January 19, 2009

Emmylou Harris - Gulf Coast Highway
posted by notsnot at 5:06 AM on January 19, 2009

"Almost Lover" by A Fine Frenzy

Nthing Bright Eyes. When you're ready to come out of your funk, look for "First Day of My Life." Sounds similar, but more optimistic. If the songs you mentioned are the death, then "First Day" is the rebirth.
posted by Gotham at 10:07 AM on January 19, 2009

Some really amazing songs suggested - I might steal some ideas from this thread for myself...

Ryan Adams - Call Me On Your Way Back Home
Ryan Adams - The Shadowlands
Bon Iver - The Wolves (Act I & II)
Bon Iver - Blindsided
Lambchop - I'm Thinking of a Number
The National - Racing Like A Pro
The National - The Geese Of Beverly Road
Tom McRae - My Vampire Heart
Tunng - Jenny Again

Also - are you on Last.FM? Check out your neighbourhood - or the hive mind on there. Not to jump on someone elses post here, but do we have a group on Last.FM?

That might be useful.
posted by mjlondon at 5:21 PM on January 19, 2009

Possibly the saddest song - tonally - I've ever heard is Jump Little Children's CATHEDRALS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsbQ2ZvFLn0

But I'm also a big fan Innocence Mission's cover of Moon River for sheer bumitude
posted by rileyray3000 at 5:16 PM on August 11, 2009