Music Monday: Sad Songs to Make You Happy

Sometimes a sad song weirdly just makes you feel happy. Something about the soulful and sorrowful tune has a paradoxical result of the listener feeling better. I thought I would highlight some songs that always make me happy (even if the songs themselves are the opposite) and might do the same for you.

Anthony Hamilton is one of those music artists who has been around for decades, putting out lots of great songs. "Coming From Where I'm From," is a longtime favorite of mine, with, "Charlene," being another older tune that still is a treat to hear that you can bop your head to, despite how sad both pieces are.

John Waite's 1984 hit, "Missing You," is clever as the song breaks down all the ways he misses a love, but then insists that he isn't missing them at all. It gives the whole song a bit of a vibe of a clever little twisted and depressed joke.

I made a post back in 2021 about greatly enjoying the piece, "Like I Want You," by Giveon. The man's voice is amazing, and this song shows how wild his vocals are; he sounds like the reverb has been turned all the way up, but it is just him! Despite the longing and sorrow in the song, it always makes me smile just hearing his amazing voice.

Joshua Malilay's song, "Warm Body (Demo)," is incredibly minimalistic with just a guitar and him singing about a relationship that fell apart. It just works and makes me feel chill, however.

I randomly stumbled upon the song "Drugs You Should Try It," by Jordan Bratton, some time ago. It is, wildly enough, a cover of a trippy Travis Scott song, but I adore his version. This lush and orchestral take gives everything a deep and introspective feeling.

Kacey Musgraves makes amazing songs, and one quite sad one is, "Justified." It was my song of the year in 2021, and I still adore it. She's just such great singer and lyricist.

To touch upon another cover, Tony Bennett's version of, "Fly Me to the Moon," takes a song that can actually come across as quite peppy, but by slowing the song down and giving his voice a sense of forlorn longing this happy little ditty suddenly becomes a bit sad, and my favorite version of this piece.

Mary J. Blige has a massive discography, but one of my favorite songs by her is the downtrodden, "Rainy Dayz," featuring Ja Rule. It's about how much those literal and metaphorical rainy days just suck. Sometimes you just have to get through a storm to enjoy better times!

Let's end on a big one. Should you read my blog regularly, you'll know I am a huge fan of Kendrick Lamar. One of my favorite songs by him is also incredibly depressing when you listen to the lyrical content--"Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe." It's all about fighting your inner doubts, negative self-talk, and how hard that can be. The kernel of hope in the song makes it extra special, however.

Irv Gotti Has Died

Irv Gotti has died at the age of 54 due to a stroke. Unless you like to study the minutiae of music you may not know who Gotti is, but you definitely know the music he worked on. In the late 90s and early 2000s, the man created chart-topping hit after hit with the Def Jam imprint, Murder Inc. Created with his brother, the Murder Inc. imprint featured artists such as Ja Rule, Ashanti, Fat Joe, DMX, and more. Gotti crafted hits featuring everyone from Jennifer Lopez, to Mary J. Blige, Lloyd, and more. 

Infamously abrasive and blunt, Gotti was an incredibly controversial figure, accused of money laundering for a drug lord (Murder Inc. offices were even raided by the FBI although he was later acquitted) and he was apparently sued for sexual harassment/assault with an unnamed woman in civil court last year. Gotti was without a doubt a creative genius who knew how to make good music even if he also appeared to also make questionable legal choices. A good deal of hit artists maybe wouldn't have achieved fame without Gotti and the musical landscape would look a lot different today without his work. Def Jam records said in response to his passing how he, "Defined an era," and based on his discography, one would have to agree, flaws and all.

"Sittin' On Top of the World," AKA When a New Song Sounds Retro

Music artist Burna Boy has a new song out with a guest verse by 21 Savage titled, "Sittin' on Top of the World." It came out this year but upon hearing it I could've sworn it was some tune from the late 90's or early 2000's. I didn't know why, but it made me think of songs that had a bit of rapping and a bit of singing back then like, "What's Luv," by Fat Joe and Ashanti or the, "I'm Real," remix with Jennifer Lopez and Ja Rule. There must have been a reason I thought this so I did some Googling and sure enough, "Sittin' on Top of the World," samples a song from 1998. "Top of the World," is a tune by Brandy featuring Mase. As a child of the '90s I knew the song and it must've implanted itself deeply enough in my brain that a brand-new production by Burna Boy funnily enough evokes my memories of past songs. 

I don't think Burna Boy is engaging in weaponized nostalgia as he isn't trying to outright make us think of that older ditty--he probably just saw the sample worked perfectly for his song. Still, it is a bit of a paradox that a brand-new song made me think of old ones. Younger folks probably didn't have this occur to them as the 90s were decades ago now (I cringed typing that and thinking about how I'm old), but props to Burna Boy for making something new out of something from the past.