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Vocals + melancholy piano

paperlanterns — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:26:22 -0800

Songs with vocals that have piano primarily as the background - ones that sound similar to Jade McNelis' "Wins" (link provided) Hi, I was watching Grey's Anatomy this past week, and this song by Jade McNelis called "Wins" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jONdOVLe30c&feature=related) came on, and I was truly mesmerized.

Are there any specific songs the Hive Mind could recommend to me that sound similar? I love the piano background, and it has sort of a darker feel (similar to a Russian composition). I am looking for things like that. I know Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, Coldplay, etc, all make extensive use of the piano, and I have most of their songs.

But if you could offer specific names of songs (obscure and non-so-obscure) that have the kind of darker/melancholy melody of this Jade McNelis song, that would be great!

My apologies if this has been posted before. I did a search and came up with posts for piano melodies, but nothing really with vocals.

Songs about difficult Decembers?

MrVisible — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 23:43:22 -0800

My sister is having a rough month. She's toughing it out through a Jerry Springer-scale divorce drama while dealing with potentially serious medical problems. She's asked me to find songs for a compilation about difficult Decembers to help her get through. It's fine if it mentions Christmas but it shouldn't be a Christmas-centered song. She's already got "A Long December" by Counting Crows, and Merle Haggard's "If We Make It Through December." I was thinking about throwing in Tom Waits' "Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis" and possibly Imogen Heap's "Just For Now" (thanks to this thread), but I'm pretty stumped after that.

My sister is doing amazingly well considering the circumstances, but it's a rough time, and particularly tough due to the constant presence of cheery Christmas music.

I'd appreciate any help you have to offer.

Where can I find more of the piano music of Yoko Kanno?

mwang1028 — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:55:01 -0800

The piano music of Yoko Kanno in this solo blew me away. Where can I find more of it? Similar artists? A similar question has been asked previously, however emphasis seemed to be placed on the large jazz compositions of hers, while I'm interested in her solo piano compositions.

BONUS: If anyone can direct me to sheet music from Yoko Kanno, I would be much obliged.

"From now on, we'll have to muddle through somehow/So have yourself a Merry Little Christmas now."

Jaybo — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 21:12:34 -0800

"Emotionally ambivalent" Christmas Songs? An Entertainment Weekly article last year about the song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" said:

"'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' manages to be happy and sad at the same time, hopeful but full of melancholy, as all the best Christmas songs are,' says Bette Midler, who sings it on her new CD, Cool Yule. And the song's fascinatingly tangled history has left it with several very different sets of lyrics, from the near-suicidal to the downright ebullient. There's even a recent 'sacred' rewrite, 'Have Yourself a Blessed Little Christmas.' Which one you prefer may be the truest Rorschach test of your yuletide temperament."

So, in addition to "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", I'd like to know which other Christmas songs strike that balance between happy and sad, hopeful but melancholic for you?

La-la-la means I love you.

greytape — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:52:17 -0800

Melancholy love songs required for an unusual playlist. More inside. I'm trying to make a playlist with a very specific criteria. I'm looking fo songs that touch on one or more of the following themes:

- Doubts about a long-distance relationship
- Commitment issues generally
- Memories of amazing times together
- Hopes for a future relationship

Don't worry, I'm not making a break-up CD, I'm not that much of a jerk. Anything you can think of would be great, and just any brilliant melancholy lovesongs you can think of would be useul too. Thanks.

Help me locate this poem:- THE CONCEPTION

mycapaciousbottega — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 13:55:07 -0800

Poetry filter:- help me identify the author of this poem and maybe direct me to a volume containing it. The title (I think) is THE CONCEPTION... I bought a book of poetry in 1997. It was a collection of poems for each day of the year and I think it had 365 in the title. The poem I am trying to locate was found in this volume. I have tried my hardest to find the book or the poem as I misplaced my book when I moved flat in '97. I memorised the poem (moody teen that I was!) and am pretty sure I still have it word perfect. If you can help me locate the origins of the poem I would be very grateful for info on who wrote it, when was it written and where can I find it in book form?

Death did not come to my mother
like an old friend
she was a mother and she must conceive him
up and down the bed she fought crying
help me
but death was a slow child
and heavy
he waited and when he was born
we took and tired him
and now he is ready to do his good in the world
he has my mother's features
he can go amongst strangers and save lives

Sweet pain...

skjønn — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 00:11:26 -0800

I am head over heels in love with someone who is draining my life from me. Cut to 2 months ago. I was the happiest, most energetic person I knew. I almost always felt alive and vibrant. People would regularly ask me how I had so much energy. One of those annoying people who was ALWAYS cheerful.

Then I met my now boyfriend. Tall, gorgeous, intense chemistry. Within 48 hours of meeting eachother, we were having the best maekout of my life. It literally lasted 6 hours while we madeout on every surface of my apartment.

We start spending every waking moment together. TUrns out he not only lives around the block from me, we also work for different satellites of the same company.

I fell in love, quickly.

Slowly it becomes apparent that he has issues with depression. Good reasons for being depressed (bad breakup, abusive childhood, pressure at work, etc.) but sad most of the time nonetheless.

I really love him. But because I love him so, his sadness is making me sad. I just walked home crying from his place.

He treats me very well. He takes me out to nice places and restaurants. He's smart. He has his life together financially and career-wise. It's just this aura of melancholy that pervades his life.

Me, I'm less organized financially and career-wise. I'm just holding it together. But I've always been happy, energetic, cheerful, and optimistic to the core.

I yearn to spend time with him, but I feel so drained every time I do. We see eachother about every other day. I feel like he sucks all the happiness and energy out of me. He's nice. He's just sad.

I love him, and leaving him forever would make me really sad too. He's seeking therapy and it should start in a couple weeks. I don't want to leave him, but maybe I should. Please help me.

Help: weed related sloth / amotivational syndrome .

lalochezia — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 09:47:49 -0800

Help: weed related sloth / amotivational syndrome . So, I have this friend who lives in a country where marijuana use is tolerated. He’s happy as a clam. The drug enhances his creativity, makes sex, eating and simpsons watching way more enjoyable and is a pleasant indulgence every other week or so.

The problem happens over the next few days: the following day, he is in a torpor. Can’t be bothered to get out of bed. Not a hangover of headaches, etc, but just plain sloth – slightly heavy limbs, fuzzy thinking. If he has to get out of bed, no problem (i.e. for work) – but woe betide any weekend that sees MJ use the night before. Similarly, for the next couple of days, a mild melancholy decends on him where he’s a tad more miserable than usual.

Are there any pre / during / post chong activities or remedies this person can use to remove the listlessness and blueness from his post pot persona?

Please recommend some extraordinary, elegiac, darkly funny, or otherwise wintry books.

killdevil — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 14:40:15 -0800

Melancholy fiction for a dark season: here in the Northeast U.S. we're in the midst of a particularly miserable January. I'm looking for some contemporary fiction that echoes the bleakness of the weather. What extraordinary books have you curled up with recently that are elegiac, darkly funny or otherwise wintry in tone?