# Singers who depress you **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585 **Category:** Cafe Society **Created:** [March 26, 2014, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585 "2014-03-26T04:28:36Z") **Posts on this page:** 20 **Page:** 2
### Author: ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23) #### Post date: [March 26, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/21 "2014-03-26T16:17:32Z")
Jeff Buckley, although he doesn’t make me sad as much as he makes me think he is theatrically wallowing in despair. Nick Drake is a good choice. So is Tori Amos, which is why I don’t listen to her so much nowadays. > [@Superdude](#): > > Full disclosure: As has previously been revealed on these boards, I’m a huge fan of [Counting Crows](http://countingcrows.com/). > > However, their lead singer, [Adam Duritz](https://www.google.com/search?q=adam+duritz&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=YVkyU7j0AqLCyQG6jYCgCA&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1600&bih=799), is the most depressing son of a bitch on the face of the earth. Johnny Cash would have told him to cheer up. I’m still mad at him for that time he framed Krusty the Klown for armed robbery. ---
### Author: ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog) #### Post date: [March 26, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/22 "2014-03-26T17:17:43Z")
Jim Morrison of the doors. Add his voice to the countless cheesy chords played by Ray Manzarek and I start stabbing my ears with pencils. ---
### Author: ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin) #### Post date: [March 26, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/23 "2014-03-26T18:54:15Z")
Paul Simon. Talk about a Gloomy Gus. I can enjoy the music and wordplay regardless, but Mrs. Cretin can’t take much of him. “He’s a downer, man” she says in her best Tommy Chong voice. ---
### Author: ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn) #### Post date: [March 26, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/24 "2014-03-26T19:14:10Z")
Tom Jones brought out a song last year that was so depressing, he should have been shot for doing it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3JWiPFT0v2c/maxresdefault.jpg "Tom Jones - Tower Of Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWiPFT0v2c) ---
### Author: ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi) #### Post date: [March 26, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/25 "2014-03-26T19:38:48Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > Tom Jones brought out a song last year that was so depressing, he should have been shot for doing it. > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWiPFT0v2c](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWiPFT0v2c) Don’t blame Tom, that’s a Leonard Cohen song. Another gloomy Gus, but he never depresses me. He has a sense of humor and his words are just too exquisite. ---
### Author: ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite) #### Post date: [March 26, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/26 "2014-03-26T20:37:03Z")
Johnny Ray. 😃 ---
### Author: ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty) #### Post date: [March 26, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/27 "2014-03-26T21:01:43Z")
Karen Carpenter. I absolutely love her voice but it is haunting and depressing even for some of the more upbeat tunes. The fact that she died slowly and tragically from anorexia doesn’t help matters. ---
### Author: ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost) #### Post date: [March 26, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/28 "2014-03-26T21:05:33Z")
Leonard Cohen ---
### Author: ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse) #### Post date: [March 26, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/29 "2014-03-26T21:08:15Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > Adele, when she does that “Someone like you” song. For God’s sake, go out and get drunk already, woman! Basically the whole album is hard for me to listen to, even though she has a great voice. ---
### Author: ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi) #### Post date: [March 26, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/30 "2014-03-26T22:39:57Z")
Marianne Faithfull. It’s the delivery, not even what she sings about. (And I get sad when listening to some Stan Rogers because I miss what he could have done, but it’s not depressing.) ---
### Author: ![doonesbury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@doonesbury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doonesbury) #### Post date: [March 26, 2014, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/31 "2014-03-26T23:04:58Z")
Sandy Denny. There seemed to be so much sadness in her songs, and she left us too soon. ---
### Author: ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark) #### Post date: [March 27, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/32 "2014-03-27T00:03:42Z")
The Eels. The lead singer’s life got all fucked up about the time his band got famous. ---
### Author: ![butterfiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@butterfiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butterfiles) #### Post date: [March 27, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/33 "2014-03-27T01:13:54Z")
Billie Holiday makes me sad, content, and then sad again. ---
### Author: ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp) #### Post date: [March 27, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/34 "2014-03-27T02:09:31Z")
> [@butterfiles](#): > > Billie Holiday makes me **sad, content, and then sad again**. Billie Holiday is our heroin, and heroin was Billie Holiday’s heroin. ☹ ---
### Author: ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya) #### Post date: [March 27, 2014, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/35 "2014-03-27T06:34:39Z")
Tori Amos ---
### Author: ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz) #### Post date: [March 27, 2014, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/36 "2014-03-27T12:05:27Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > It can be for whatever reason: Their music, something about their lives, something they remind you of. > > For me, Jim Croce hits the trifecta. Sad songs. Died extremely young. And he was one of the favorite singers of my first husband, who also died young (not as young as Croce). So every time I hear his voice, I turn into a blubbering mess. Okay, maybe not “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.” But otherwise! > > Am I alone in having one specific artist do this to me? My dad died two or three months after Croce died, and my dad really liked “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” and “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim”. “Time In A Bottle” brings me to my knees, albeit not quite as devastatingly as it used to but…um, yeah. ---
### Author: ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude) #### Post date: [March 27, 2014, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/37 "2014-03-27T12:56:44Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > Johnny Ray. 😃 Poor old Johnnie Ray. Sounded sad upon the radio. Moved a million hearts in mono. ---
### Author: ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy) #### Post date: [March 27, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/38 "2014-03-27T20:34:41Z")
Harry Chapin. ---
### Author: ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z) #### Post date: [March 27, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/39 "2014-03-27T20:39:55Z")
Amy Lee of Evanescence, especially “My Immortal.” ---
### Author: ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi) #### Post date: [March 28, 2014, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585/40 "2014-03-28T14:35:00Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > Harry Chapin. Lock up your razor blades before listening to **The Shortest Story**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-who-depress-you/684585.md?page=3)