Music for a Bad Mood

It’s been a bad week and I feel like wallowing. Suggestions for someone who’s angry and wants to stay that way?

For those that insist on an idea of one’s tastes for such things, last.fm tells me my most played artists are K’s Choice, Sarah Fimm, Tegan and Sara, Regina Spektor, Tool, The Beatles, Charlotte Martin, Mirah, Vienna Teng, Wolfsheim, VAST, Ani DiFranco, Sarah Bettens, Depeche Mode, Sarah McLachlan, A Perfect Circle, Imogen Heap, PJ Harvey, Eminem, and Pretty Balanced.

I’m also fond of EBM, Industrial, and similar genres but don’t really care for non-melodic metal. Nothing with cookie monster vocals, please.

I like my angry music. System of a Down, The Offspring, and Korn are my suggestions.

Rammstein is a favourite of mine. There’s a lot of melodic work that they do, with some real anger behind it. And even though it’s sung in German you get the feel for the emotion of the music. Plus a whole heap of their songs are based on German fairy tales. Love it.

Korn I will second.

Stabbing Westward’s “Thing I Hate” is a song I absolutely adore for maintaining rage.

Sierra Indigo reminded me: while bands and artists are great, please feel free to suggest specific songs as well.

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I keep thinking of Nine Inch Nails Wish.

Some Rage Against the Machine songs are pretty good. Killing in the Name Of, Revolver, and Wake Up do it for me. Pantera’s Fucking Hostile is alright although it doesn’t really fit with your tastes I don’t think. Some assorted Nine Inch Nails.

Corduroy - Pearl Jam

Bullet With Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins

Deep Dark Truthful Mirror - Elvis Costello

Gangsterville - Joe Strummer video

Skinny Puppy has just about every shade of rage/anger/despair you might desire. Personally I feel that Last Rights often does the trick.

Sielwolf also make imminently satisfying music, but some might find it a bit much.

And finally, a lot of the stuff on ant-zen is also very good. I especially enjoy Converter. That link has some snippets that can give you an idea of what they do. The first one (shock front. cd. ant-zen act 83. may 1999) is a bit more on the ambient side, but the other ones are what I know them for: full-on synthetic sensory overload. Their music is best listened to fairly loud, as there are sometimes tiny melodies hidden in the back, or implied in the textures of the sounds. A word of warning, though: DO NOT PLAY THESE SAMPLES AT WORK. They do not have lyrics or anything, but they are very saturated and might elicit a couple of strange glances your way. If that does happen, don’t panic, the music is so chaotic and noisy that you can easily claim a soundcard problem or something and people will most likely believe you. That’s one of the many positive sides of listening to powernoise industrial music.

I like listening to Totally Fucked, from the Spring Awakening sountrack. Also, the Sex Pistols.

When I had a big setback at work a few months ago, I turned to these:

Flash and the Pan, definitely – downbeat and apocalyptic.
Procul Harum, especially their first three albums. Everything is in a minor key, it seems.

Cap’n Jazz! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyDuUcRDNaM

Although the bands generally do feature cookie monster vocals, there’s nothing I like better than some good funeral doom metal when I’m not in a good mood. Try some Evoken and see what you think.

There are some good ones (and some not so good ones) here: wanderlist.com is registered with Pair Domains

and here: http://www.experienceproject.com/music_search.php?q=angry

And of course there’s Whipping Post. The Zappa version and the Allman Brothers Band version each has it’s own appeal.

I was able to find both on Youtube.

Tonio K, Life in the Food Chain
Killer mean lyrics, rock covers with “NEW” lyrics, Vampire love song to a Country Western Beat, H-A-T-R-E-D.
Described by Steve Smiles, Stereo Review critic, as best R&R album ever. Alway worth a listen. Goes back a few years. Other albums with some great stuff too.

Try some Nightwish, they are a melo-goth metal band with an operatic female vocalist. Example 2. Currentlymy favorite bad mood music.

How about some Manowar?

I crush your bones, I kill your face
I rip your flesh, I end the chase
You meet with terror, you draw the ace
I rule the world the rats that race.
My strength is hatred, torment and pain, HATRED, HATRED
With heart filled hatred black blood runs through my veins.
HATRED

No love for The Sexpistol’s hate? Hey they pracically invented this.

Or Big Black? Or the Swans. Two great songs about molesting children.

Or Feotus. Whan he was singing as Hitler.

Low Self Opinion by Henry Rollins!