Make this mellow girl angry!
May 3, 2009 9:54 AM   Subscribe

What is some good, angry music for non-metal heads, -punk rockers, etc?

I'm filled with rage, and bossa nova is not quite cutting it. For the most part I listen to the wimpiest or danciest of indie rock/pop, which is also insufficient.

What is something I can scream along to, without having to buy a new black wardrobe?
posted by palindromic to Media & Arts (56 answers total) 26 users marked this as a favorite
 
No Children, by John Darnielle. Bonus points for audience participation.
posted by puckish at 10:02 AM on May 3, 2009 [2 favorites]


Unsane - Body Bomb
posted by The Straightener at 10:07 AM on May 3, 2009


I recently made a "stress relief" mix CD for a friend that was half angry songs, half relaxing songs. I'm not really into metal or punk. In fact, I listen to a lot of wimpy indie music too. Here's what I put on the first half:

"Kill You"- Eminem
"Liar"- Sex Pistols (OK, this one is punk, but everyone listens to the Sex Pistols, not just punk rockers)
"Smells Like Teen Spirit"- Nirvana
"Ready to Die"- Andrew WK (You can scream along to his entire album, I Get Wet and its pop sensibilities mean you don't have to wear black or even put up devil horns)
"Firestarter Karaoke"- Dropkick Murphys (This is punk rock)
"Song for the Dumped"- Ben Folds
"Nugget"- Cake
"Nuclear War (On The Dance Floor)"- Electric Six (angry dance music!)
"Bow Down"- Westside Connection (Totally irrational anger! Awesome!)
"Zero"- Smashing Pumpkins
"Only a Pawn in Their Game"- Bob Dylan (Probably the angriest of the bunch. Can you scream along? Maybe. But it definitely gets the blood boiling.)
posted by PhatLobley at 10:09 AM on May 3, 2009 [1 favorite]


Disturbed and Three Days Grace always make me happy to scream along.
posted by Night_owl at 10:12 AM on May 3, 2009


I listen to my fair share of wimpy indie rock, but I've also found bands like Jesu, Isis, and Mastodon to be excellent. Try listening to them, preferably in that order.
posted by sinfony at 10:13 AM on May 3, 2009


Idiot Wind, by Bob Dylan
posted by KokuRyu at 10:17 AM on May 3, 2009


are we to understand that you want music you can "scream along to" that does not fall under the giant umbrellas of either Metal or Punk?
posted by namewithoutwords at 10:17 AM on May 3, 2009


The Execution of All Things by Rilo Kiley.

Then we’ll murder what matters to you and move on to your neighbors and kids.
Crush all hopes of happiness with disease ‘cause of what you did.

posted by jrossi4r at 10:23 AM on May 3, 2009


I'm getting really wrapped up in making an angry playlist, but realizing that it would be helpful to know at least a bit what you're angry about. My library covers all kinds of angry, heh.
posted by charmcityblues at 10:24 AM on May 3, 2009


"Art Star" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
"Beach Side Property" by Modest Mouse.
"When Will You Die For The Last Time In My Dreams" by Polvo.
"Charlotte" by Slint.
"Wrong" by Archers of Loaf.
"Drama Mine" by Sebadoh.
"Circumsized" by Three Mile Pilot.

Though it doesn't have any words, I've always found Kinski's "Semaphore" to be hugely cathartic and angry.

If you're feeling a little sassier, maybe try Refused's "New Noise."
posted by saladin at 10:27 AM on May 3, 2009 [3 favorites]


Anything by Andrew Jackson Jihad (particularly "Rejoice" and "Personal Space Invader")
"Climbing up the Walls" by Radiohead
"All these Governors" by The Evens (angry acoustic music by a hardcore legend and his wife)
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Fever to Tell" (it's an album)

That's pretty angry or yellable music that I'm pretty sure most indie-ish people like.
posted by azarbayejani at 10:31 AM on May 3, 2009


Joolz's "It takes great control to be angry ..." (War of Attrition?)
posted by coffeefilter at 10:36 AM on May 3, 2009


Pretty much the entirety of Elvis Costello and the Attractions' This Year's Model would fit the bill, plus a fair selection from My Aim Is True ("I'm Not Angry," "Less Than Zero," etc.) and the bulk of Armed Forces.
posted by macrone at 11:01 AM on May 3, 2009


At least two Built to Spill albums: Perfect from Now On (specific tracks include "Untrustable/Part 2 (About Someone Else)" and "I would hurt a fly") and Keep It Like a Secret ("You were right"). You might have to listen to them a few hundred times to really start feeling it -- at least, I did.
posted by xueexueg at 11:03 AM on May 3, 2009


The Weezer album Pinkerton might have some good stufff for you. "Getchoo" or "Why Bother" maybe.
posted by Midnight Rambler at 11:07 AM on May 3, 2009


Best answer: If you want the angry flip side of Brazilian bossa nova, try Chico Science/Nação Zumbi or Cordel do Fogo Encantado (music starts around a minute and a half in the second clip).
posted by umbú at 11:10 AM on May 3, 2009 [1 favorite]


Sleater-Kinney's Call the Doctor.
posted by thinman at 11:12 AM on May 3, 2009


I don't know if you'd call an Uncle Tupelo cover of a Soft Boys song "punk" or not, but their version of "I Wanna Destroy You" exorcises my rage. In a wistful major-chord indie kinda way.

Psssst. Come over here. Don't let them see you. Take this. No, take it. Really. I know. Yeah, I know. It's classic rock. Cock rock, at that. By a band your friends sneer at. Just, I dunno. Turn it up while you're alone in the car. Bang your head. I won't tell.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:13 AM on May 3, 2009 [1 favorite]


"The Rat" by The Walkmen from their album Bows and Arrows.
posted by hermitosis at 11:16 AM on May 3, 2009


The Pogues - Birmingham Six. Go to 1:50 to skip Streets of Sorrow.
Also Boys from the County Hell.
posted by permafrost at 11:25 AM on May 3, 2009


Okkvervil River - Black? It's a pretty angry song.
posted by sugarfish at 11:27 AM on May 3, 2009


"Inner Peace" or "Sorry" from my Nellie McKay (my ex-neighbor, yay) are pretty violent and angry while being about as far from screaming and metal as possible.

I can't find normal versions (which are beefier and more vulgar) in a nice free online way, but she does pretty nifty live versions, too, even if they're a bit censored.
posted by rokusan at 11:31 AM on May 3, 2009


Some of the Dresden Dolls stuff is wonderfully angry. Especially "Backstabber".
posted by JoanArkham at 11:40 AM on May 3, 2009 [1 favorite]


70's: All those guitar-smashing Who monsters (My Generation, Substitute, Won't Get Fooled Again, etc), The Guess Who's American Woman.

Newer: Limp Bizkit's Break Stuff maybe.
posted by rokusan at 11:40 AM on May 3, 2009


Older stuff:

Bad Religion and NWA were generally pretty pissed off.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:40 AM on May 3, 2009


Response by poster: You are all awesome. My torrents overflow.


charmcityblues:
This is anger at my S.O. - strong, well-deserved, and just an all-around muscular rage.
posted by palindromic at 11:41 AM on May 3, 2009


Not strictly metal in my book (but YMMV) - pretty much anything by Rage Against the Machine is top of my angry list.

Great indie rock classics to scream along with:
Pixies - "Tame"
Mudhoney - "Touch Me I'm Sick"
Violent Femmes - "Add it Up"

And since you didn't rule out hip-hop, there's loads of anger to tap into. Public Enemy, NWA, and Ice-T are a good start.
posted by Bodd at 11:42 AM on May 3, 2009


Ah yeah, duh, Smashing Pumpkins was made for this.
posted by rokusan at 11:42 AM on May 3, 2009


depends who you're venting at..

tracey bonham, "mother mother" and rage against the machine: "ghost of tom joad" or killing in the name of" all come to mind
posted by chasles at 11:43 AM on May 3, 2009


Foo Fighters - The Pretender
posted by Cobalt at 11:51 AM on May 3, 2009


alanis morrisette - you oughta know

old but i still like it
posted by Submiqent at 11:53 AM on May 3, 2009


How about some Alec Empire?
posted by serak at 11:56 AM on May 3, 2009


Early Ani Difranco -- her first self-titled album, the Imperfectly album, Out of Range, Puddledive -- lots of righteous rage in there, with almost exclusively acoustic guitar.
posted by liquado at 12:01 PM on May 3, 2009


My husband, reading over my shoulder, says "The Dresden Dolls doing Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs'!"

My suggestion would be the Jazz Butcher's song "Sixteen Years". A reflection on the Thatcher years, it has the extremely cathartic sing-along chorus "I hate you / I hate you / I hate you / I hate you / I hate you / I hate you / I hate you / I hate you!"
Sample here.
posted by Lexica at 12:02 PM on May 3, 2009


m79 by vampire weekend
posted by freddymetz at 12:03 PM on May 3, 2009


Geep: not Ani Difranco, if you're looking for heavy stuff; I misinterpreted the "non-metal heads, -punk rockers" line to mean that was NOT what you were looking for. :)
posted by liquado at 12:03 PM on May 3, 2009


Japanther (myspace)
posted by saxamo at 12:11 PM on May 3, 2009


What comes to mind in no particular order:

saul williams, 1987
joy division, new dawn fades
saves the day, rocks tonic juice magic (poor audio quality, sorry)

for some whole albums (if this isn't a passing wave of anger):
the appleseed cast, low level owl
pixies, doolittle

nthing Fever to Tell, also.
posted by a halcyon day at 12:28 PM on May 3, 2009


Helter Skelter, The Beatles
The Union Forever, The White Stripes
posted by mynameisluka at 12:32 PM on May 3, 2009


Best "RAR! I hate you!" song ever is Aftermath by Battery. Ignore the stupid girl pictures. Stupid girl also clipped the end of the song, so you'll need to find the whole thing elsewhere, but give it a listen - the rage is inspired. I was just screaming the chorus in my car yesterday.
posted by zerokey at 12:48 PM on May 3, 2009


While driving, I frequently scream along to First [YouTube playlist], the debut album from Midori (ミドリ), a four member jazz-punk fusion band from Osaka, Japan.
posted by prinado at 12:54 PM on May 3, 2009


Yes also to "Fever to Tell" anything by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs really.

Sugar Copper Blue. It is punk, I suppose, but with melody.

The Pixies Surfer Rosa is my go-to angry music album, followed by Doolittle.
posted by ephemerista at 1:09 PM on May 3, 2009


Get It Faster by Jimmy Eat World is my default angry yell-along song.
posted by wuzandfuzz at 1:10 PM on May 3, 2009 [1 favorite]




bah. this.
posted by namewithoutwords at 1:14 PM on May 3, 2009


how about some old skool stylings?

O Fortuna
from Carmina Burana is a classic of enraged declaration & protestation, with an excellent & tension-building progression from murmured whisperings to full on apocalyptic wailing chant ... (here are the latin lyrics if you want to lip-sync)

if you'd prefer a bit of dance with that, try the Apotheosis version

for more straight-up rock'n'roll, try Oasis' Fuckin' in the Bushes
posted by jammy at 1:38 PM on May 3, 2009


Some cuts by Gang of Four might fit.
posted by gimonca at 2:02 PM on May 3, 2009


Nick Cave's Murder Ballads record has some good singalongs/screamalongs. Visualize yourself as the characters - very cathartic.
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 3:04 PM on May 3, 2009 [1 favorite]


I came back to recommend the album The Ugly Organ by Cursive, specifically the songs "A Gentleman Caller" and "Butcher the Song."
posted by wuzandfuzz at 3:50 PM on May 3, 2009 [1 favorite]


Can't get much more primal than Fuck The Shit.

So easy to sing along to!
posted by Pallas Athena at 4:13 PM on May 3, 2009


Best answer: Indie anger with a sprinkle of self-pity's cilantro; no particular order:

Ladytron: Destroy Everything You Touch
Feeder: Shatter
The Duke Spirit: Cuts Across the Land
The Editors: Bullets
Starsailor: In the Crossfire
Death from Above 1979: Sexy Results (um, references the tawdry and hindsight-tarnished origins of what has become an inevitable slide into overly-adjectival blind fury.)
Heatmiser: Plainclothes Man (well, and a lot of Elliot Smith is Strawberry Fields-flavored honey poured over seething rancor.)
Veruca Salt: Used to Know Her
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Date with the Night ("Chop! Chop! Chop!")
The Black Keys: Hard Row
Tobias Fröberg: What Goes Around (naif Scandinavian folkie covers Timbercake. Trust me on this one. Slow invidious pop burn.)
Dogs: Dirty Little Shop (soft HARD soft HARD)
Snow Patrol & Martha Wainwright: After the Third Bar (because at some point you'll require a palate-cleansing pause from rage's quivering aspic. This is your tidy aperitif of ancestral anguish.)
Art in Manila: Our Addictions (examined life: "Were we ever free / if it was this easy?")
The Mountain Goats: Palmcorder Yajna (memory's brittle little indignities)
MC Sleazy: Don't Call Me Blur (mashup serendipity)
and, should there be any hope of weary reconciliation,
The Cardigans: I Need Some Fine Wine, and You, You Need to Be Nicer
posted by Haruspex at 4:41 PM on May 3, 2009 [1 favorite]


Speaking of Martha Wainwright, how about "Bloody Motherfucking Asshole"?
posted by naoko at 4:54 PM on May 3, 2009


Anything Steve Albini:
Try Atomizer and Songs About Fucking by Big Black, then get every album by Shellac.
posted by TrialByMedia at 5:15 PM on May 3, 2009


PJ Harvey (eg).
If you can momentarily set aside your distaste for punk, check out the Distillers (1,2).
And a good transition out from pissed off might be Patti Smith (eg).
posted by salvia at 11:26 PM on May 3, 2009




One of the few punk songs that I really like is "Holiday in Cambodia" by the Dead Kennedys.
posted by Daddysugar at 5:42 PM on May 5, 2009


« Older Please help before I make Google explode!   |   Help me choose a VPN provider. Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.