A Late Start This Year
#1: Tom Reynolds, I Hate Myself and Want to Die: The 52 Most Depressing Songs You’ve Ever Heard, 271 pages, Music, paperback, 2006.
My first book of the year was a lovely holiday gift. It is exactly what the title says - a series of short essays on the 52 most depressing songs according to the author. While it could be viewed seriously, it is really a very funny book, very sarcastic, even when he obviously didn’t get the song (i.e., Ben Folds Five’s Brick, which he didn’t understand until later but left the entry in with corrections in parentheses). Each write-up includes song information, a bit about the background of the song, diving into the meaning of the song, and why it is depressing. Each song is grouped by reason for being on the list, including such categories as I’m Trying to be Profound and Touching, but Really Suck at It and I Had No Idea That Song Was So Morbid.
I have discovered 2 things by reading this book: (1) I know most of the songs listed, and (2) I love most of the songs I knew. I am obviously a bit skewed as to musical preferences - and loving every minute of it! While this isn’t great to read while in a bad mood (I did have to speak harshly to the book when it derided Pink Floyd as a band), and the choices are highly subjective (he was told that The Cure should be included, so he had to look them up to find what he felt was their most depressing song), I highly enjoyed its journey through my emo musical past.
My first book of the year was a lovely holiday gift. It is exactly what the title says - a series of short essays on the 52 most depressing songs according to the author. While it could be viewed seriously, it is really a very funny book, very sarcastic, even when he obviously didn’t get the song (i.e., Ben Folds Five’s Brick, which he didn’t understand until later but left the entry in with corrections in parentheses). Each write-up includes song information, a bit about the background of the song, diving into the meaning of the song, and why it is depressing. Each song is grouped by reason for being on the list, including such categories as I’m Trying to be Profound and Touching, but Really Suck at It and I Had No Idea That Song Was So Morbid.
I have discovered 2 things by reading this book: (1) I know most of the songs listed, and (2) I love most of the songs I knew. I am obviously a bit skewed as to musical preferences - and loving every minute of it! While this isn’t great to read while in a bad mood (I did have to speak harshly to the book when it derided Pink Floyd as a band), and the choices are highly subjective (he was told that The Cure should be included, so he had to look them up to find what he felt was their most depressing song), I highly enjoyed its journey through my emo musical past.