Songs similar to Tove Lo's Habits (Stay High)

January 25, 2018 5:25 PM

I feel like this shouldn't be that difficult to find as I'm making it out to be... but I am looking for songs that have to do with the idea that some sort of pain or fear is being numbed out. Tove Lo's Habits is perfect. I am looking for songs that are not necessarily stylistically similar, but rather thematically similar.
posted by gemutlichkeit to Media & Arts (26 answers total)

Rob Zombie - Feel So Numb 0% stylistically similar

Peaches - Fuck the Pain Away 10% stylistically similar
posted by gregr at 5:32 PM on January 25, 2018 [3 favorites]

Looking up numb on a lyrics website also turns up some likely hits.
posted by gregr at 5:34 PM on January 25, 2018

How about Johnny cash’s “Hurt”? Or is that a bit too distant thematically?
posted by alleycat01 at 5:48 PM on January 25, 2018

Sorry, that was dumb; I meant Hurt by Nine Inch Nails of course. I have the Cash cover on my favorites playlist (I like that version best) and was rushing.
posted by alleycat01 at 5:53 PM on January 25, 2018

I immediately thought of VU's "Heroin," though it takes a while to get to the part where the numbing is taking effect (when the smack begins to flow, natch).
posted by queensissy at 5:55 PM on January 25, 2018

Is Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" too obvious?
posted by Neely O'Hara at 5:59 PM on January 25, 2018 [2 favorites]

This thread can't go by without the late great Chester Bennington, Linkin Park, and Numb.
posted by joycehealy at 6:00 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

Snowman by the Nields.
posted by rtha at 6:03 PM on January 25, 2018

Not an addict by K's choice
posted by litera scripta manet at 6:40 PM on January 25, 2018 [2 favorites]

Ani DiFranco's Come Away From It (lyrics) begs someone to come back from the numbness.
posted by juliplease at 6:52 PM on January 25, 2018

Holly McNarland - Numb
posted by capricorn at 7:34 PM on January 25, 2018

"About A Girl" and most of Nirvana's MTV Unplugged album feels this way to me.
posted by sideofwry at 7:49 PM on January 25, 2018

Morphine, "Cure for Pain"

David Bowie, "Ashes to Ashes"

Laura Viers, "Icebound Stream"

Mountain Goats, "You or Your Memory"
posted by praemunire at 8:48 PM on January 25, 2018

Other dance tracks
Sia Chandelier
Lady Gag Just Dance
Morphine Cure For Pain
Amy Winehouse- all of them? You Know I'm No Good and Back to Black anyway.
Frank Ocean Novocaine.
Green Day Give me Novocaine

From someone else's POV: Concrete Blonde: Joey, and Sarah McLachlans Angel
posted by fshgrl at 9:12 PM on January 25, 2018 [3 favorites]

Between the Bars by Elliott Smith, notable for being from the point of view of the drink (“the people that you’ve been before that you don’t want around anymore, they push and shove and won’t bend to your will—I’ll keep them still”
posted by peppercorn at 10:45 PM on January 25, 2018

"Until we Bleed" by Lykke Li
"Gods & Monsters" Lana Del Rey
"My Sweet Prince" by Placebo
"Coma White" by Marilyn Manson
posted by OnefortheLast at 10:55 PM on January 25, 2018

Darkness, Darkness (the Richie Havens cover, the original was by the Youngbloods).
posted by jamjam at 11:17 PM on January 25, 2018

"Too Drunk to Dream" by the Magnetic Fields
posted by clair-de-lune at 12:25 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

Tracy Bonham - Mother, Mother
posted by alchemist at 1:24 AM on January 26, 2018

Bright Eyes Hit the Switch
posted by madonna of the unloved at 1:54 AM on January 26, 2018

Ou Est Le Swimming Pool - Dance the Way I Feel
Townes Van Zandt - Waiting 'Round To Die
Future - Mask Off (and many other songs by him and other contemporary hiphop artists - The Weeknd also comes to mind, check out House of Balloons in particular)
posted by Desertshore at 3:29 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

Chris Stapleton - Whiskey and You (Tiny Desk Concert version, which I love)
posted by bologna on wry at 8:05 AM on January 26, 2018

Swimming Pools by Kendrick Lamar might check a few of those boxes. And yeah, like Desertshore said, The Weeknd has a lot of songs like this--The Hills was the big one that came to mind for me.

Also:
Revolution - Aimee Allen
Addicted - IO Echo
posted by helloimjennsco at 8:08 AM on January 26, 2018

Songs about pain being numbed out from my many depressing playlists:

Ballad of Big Nothing - Elliott Smith
Between the Bars - Elliott Smith
Everything Means Nothing To Me - Elliott Smith
Portions for Foxes - Rilo Kiley
Fuck and Run - Liz Phair
Save Me - Aimee Mann
posted by fairlynearlyready at 9:23 AM on January 26, 2018

Special K by Placebo
posted by WeekendJen at 2:01 PM on January 26, 2018

Henry Krinkle - Stay.

I loooove it!
posted by Liliana at 4:38 AM on August 10, 2018