No magic here, fellow; it is but the charm of her makeups.
July 24, 2013 1:49 PM Subscribe
The modern male singer-songwriter has a type. She is thin. She wears a great deal of eye makeup. She is pale. She does not smile, and often walks in the rain. Most importantly, she is very, very sad....These Sad Girls are all terribly, terribly sad in their own unique ways, of course, but which one of them is the saddest? The Toast investigates.
I love the idea of this, but I feel like it's the sort of thing where to get it fascinating you really have to go crazy and analyze like 20,000 pop songs side by side.
basically what I'm saying is I command the author to go make herself a PhD dissertation out of this
posted by threeants at 1:55 PM on July 24, 2013 [10 favorites]
basically what I'm saying is I command the author to go make herself a PhD dissertation out of this
posted by threeants at 1:55 PM on July 24, 2013 [10 favorites]
Modern? The Verve Pipe? Everclear?
I miss the 90s of my youth too, but unless by "modern" you mean "post-industrial", then I don't get it. And even then I'd think we'd be reaching back at least through the 70s.
Then again, this is the kind of thesis that will only hold up through cherry picking anyway.
posted by weston at 1:56 PM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
I miss the 90s of my youth too, but unless by "modern" you mean "post-industrial", then I don't get it. And even then I'd think we'd be reaching back at least through the 70s.
Then again, this is the kind of thesis that will only hold up through cherry picking anyway.
posted by weston at 1:56 PM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
I totally read this wrong the first time. I thought the article was calling the singers themselves "girls," and attributing all of those tendencies to them. Which, as I think about it, makes it a better article.
posted by jbickers at 1:57 PM on July 24, 2013 [15 favorites]
posted by jbickers at 1:57 PM on July 24, 2013 [15 favorites]
Oh, they soooo left out this one: Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings.
posted by iamkimiam at 1:57 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by iamkimiam at 1:57 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
The inclusion of Ben Folds Five's "Brick" is an odd one, since the song's primarily about a secret abortion and is secondarily about a guy falling out of love with said girl, assuming they were ever in love in the first place.
posted by savetheclocktower at 1:58 PM on July 24, 2013 [9 favorites]
posted by savetheclocktower at 1:58 PM on July 24, 2013 [9 favorites]
Not to be that guy, but "Meet Virginia" is by Train. Counting Crows would have turned out a much better song.
This list made me insanely happy for it's inclusion of "Amphetamine". When were both like 14, my wife and I (having never met and separated by hundreds of miles) both loved this song. I dreamed of having a girl with serious emotional problems who needed me to take care of her; I'm pretty sure she dreamed of having a drug addiction instead of misdiagnosed mental health issues. Years later we found each other, but now it's mostly sitting on the couch watching Pretty Little Liars and eating ice cream rather than...whatever we were craving at 14. This is probably better though.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 1:58 PM on July 24, 2013 [34 favorites]
This list made me insanely happy for it's inclusion of "Amphetamine". When were both like 14, my wife and I (having never met and separated by hundreds of miles) both loved this song. I dreamed of having a girl with serious emotional problems who needed me to take care of her; I'm pretty sure she dreamed of having a drug addiction instead of misdiagnosed mental health issues. Years later we found each other, but now it's mostly sitting on the couch watching Pretty Little Liars and eating ice cream rather than...whatever we were craving at 14. This is probably better though.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 1:58 PM on July 24, 2013 [34 favorites]
The inclusion of Ben Folds Five's "Brick" is an odd one, since the song's primarily about a secret abortion and is secondarily about a guy falling out of love with said girl, assuming they were ever in love in the first place.
Yeah, 1997 was the summer of depressing but really good songs - Freshman by The Verve Pipe doesn't belong on this list either as it is also about either suicide or abortion. (I had always thought it was about date rape, so...)
posted by maryr at 2:01 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Yeah, 1997 was the summer of depressing but really good songs - Freshman by The Verve Pipe doesn't belong on this list either as it is also about either suicide or abortion. (I had always thought it was about date rape, so...)
posted by maryr at 2:01 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
My confusion of "has" with "is" resulted in significant lexical gender dysphoria.
posted by googly at 2:07 PM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by googly at 2:07 PM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
Oh god, the late 90s are all flooding back as an endless Mix radio playlist. I still like a lot of those songs, actually, but looking back on myself back then I was totally that jerktastic "Nice Guy" listening to sad songs about Sad Girls. Oy.
posted by kmz at 2:08 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by kmz at 2:08 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
I thought Lua was a weird choice too because it's about how they're both totally addicts
posted by sweetkid at 2:08 PM on July 24, 2013
posted by sweetkid at 2:08 PM on July 24, 2013
I had always thought it was about date rape
So did I!
posted by sweetkid at 2:09 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
So did I!
posted by sweetkid at 2:09 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I don't really like any of these songs exactly, but a lot of these sad girls are sad because sad things happen to them and I'm not sure their sadness is really romaticized/eroticized by the songwriter. I don't know -- maybe I'm just angry because this song reminded me of that Shawn Mullins song so I'm trying extra-hard to blow holes in an article whose thesis I feel empathy for and find amusing.
(Also, as weston noted, the average age of the songs are 13.5 years so 'modern' is a weird choice of terms. But on reflection perhaps the author meant modern rock, like what we used to call alternative. Maybe not. And not that actual modern songwriters don't have plenty of problems with women.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:11 PM on July 24, 2013
(Also, as weston noted, the average age of the songs are 13.5 years so 'modern' is a weird choice of terms. But on reflection perhaps the author meant modern rock, like what we used to call alternative. Maybe not. And not that actual modern songwriters don't have plenty of problems with women.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:11 PM on July 24, 2013
"Quotient" does not mean what the author thinks it means.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:13 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:13 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
"Quotient" does not mean what the author thinks it means.
How so?
posted by kmz at 2:19 PM on July 24, 2013
How so?
posted by kmz at 2:19 PM on July 24, 2013
Cat Stevens, bless him, produced a really perfect one of these all the way back in 1970: Sad Lisa. It's hits the notes so squarely it's like a pastiche.
posted by Acheman at 2:22 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Acheman at 2:22 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Music sure is dreary these days.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 2:23 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by BitterOldPunk at 2:23 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
kmz: The commentary suggests that the ideal is a girl who is very sad, and very hot. But "quotient" refers to division — the highest possible "Sadness-to-hotness quotient" would be achieved by a girl who was very sad, and very un-hot. A girl who is very sad and very hot has only a moderate sadness-to-hotness quotient. The commentary suggests that what he is actually evaluating is a sadness-hotness product (multiplication, not division).
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:24 PM on July 24, 2013 [19 favorites]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:24 PM on July 24, 2013 [19 favorites]
The inclusion of "Brick" suggests the author didn't work very hard at this.
posted by Bookhouse at 2:26 PM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by Bookhouse at 2:26 PM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
Ctrl-F Counting Crows "Meet Virginia" and it wasn't there, but the absence noted in comments.
Meet Virginia is by Train. I know this, because my friend that likes Train uses it as an example to defend the fact that she likes Train, even though I don't care that she likes Train. It's not like I think she's a bad person because she likes Train! I just don't personally like them. And even if I did judge her for it, Meet Virginia would not be a convincing argument.
posted by amarynth at 2:32 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Meet Virginia is by Train. I know this, because my friend that likes Train uses it as an example to defend the fact that she likes Train, even though I don't care that she likes Train. It's not like I think she's a bad person because she likes Train! I just don't personally like them. And even if I did judge her for it, Meet Virginia would not be a convincing argument.
posted by amarynth at 2:32 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
The commentary suggests that what he is actually evaluating is a sadness-hotness product (multiplication, not division).
Ah, you're totally right. I was thinking it was a regular ratio thing they were doing, but nope they're actually wanting both to be high.
posted by kmz at 2:33 PM on July 24, 2013
Ah, you're totally right. I was thinking it was a regular ratio thing they were doing, but nope they're actually wanting both to be high.
posted by kmz at 2:33 PM on July 24, 2013
Phaedra is her name.
posted by Artw at 2:35 PM on July 24, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by Artw at 2:35 PM on July 24, 2013 [7 favorites]
Counting Crows are way better than Train, but thinking on it quite a few of their songs really do follow the formula too. Though, if I remember right almost all the people in Counting Crows songs are based on real people, with several multiply occurring names. (Anna, Maria, Elizabeth.)
(Holy shit, they finally actually played the title song from August and Everything After? Wow.)
posted by kmz at 2:41 PM on July 24, 2013
(Holy shit, they finally actually played the title song from August and Everything After? Wow.)
posted by kmz at 2:41 PM on July 24, 2013
Phaedra is her name.
I dunno, she has her tragedies, but she seems to end up mostly OK. I mean, I'd pick a dependence on dangerous BDSM play over one on singer-songwriters any day. I know, the spelling is different, but shh, the joke!
I saw Ortberg's tweets when she was working on this piece and was giggling over them for a while yesterday:
I dunno, she has her tragedies, but she seems to end up mostly OK. I mean, I'd pick a dependence on dangerous BDSM play over one on singer-songwriters any day. I know, the spelling is different, but shh, the joke!
I saw Ortberg's tweets when she was working on this piece and was giggling over them for a while yesterday:
one way to get a sensitive singer songwriter to fall in love with you is to be a very thin white woman who wears eyeliner & refuses to smileposted by NoraReed at 2:48 PM on July 24, 2013 [6 favorites]
just don't eat dinner and stand in the snow and put on some eye makeup and wait for the singer songwriters to cluster around you
My first thought was "Sad Girls in Snow". But then I've read more webcomics than listened to 90s alternative music.
also, the main character's obsession with sad girls in snow was a bit of a joke.
posted by jb at 2:57 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
also, the main character's obsession with sad girls in snow was a bit of a joke.
posted by jb at 2:57 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
I was always more a fan of the girls that stood like Bill Wyman.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 3:01 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 3:01 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Me too, jb, but sort of mashed up. Actually my first thought was "Go to your happy place, Cuomo! Sad girls in snow!"
And then I actually start thinking about the Pinkerton ---> Megatokyo parallels...
posted by NoraReed at 3:01 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
And then I actually start thinking about the Pinkerton ---> Megatokyo parallels...
posted by NoraReed at 3:01 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'd heard that "Meet Virginia" was about Train's mom or grandma or something.
Incidentally, Train is the band I hate most in the world. They are about a thousand times worse than Nickelback.
posted by Metroid Baby at 3:03 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Incidentally, Train is the band I hate most in the world. They are about a thousand times worse than Nickelback.
posted by Metroid Baby at 3:03 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Coldplay's "Fix You" skips over the particulars of the Sad Girl's plight to focus on her delicious salty tears, and just how much she'd be worth if she abandoned her dreams and let Chris Martin take care of her Weltschmerz for her.
posted by Iridic at 3:18 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Iridic at 3:18 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
You are correct about meet virginia of course. I didn't mean that song at all, I meant "round here" by Counting Crows. Which is totally a Dizzy Girl song.
posted by sweetkid at 3:23 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by sweetkid at 3:23 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" was a song I liked a fair bit when it was out, but not nearly as much as I liked other Nine Days songs. Once, John Darnielle tweeted something about "Absolutely" and I drunkenly tweeted back something like "LOLZ NOT EVEN THE BEST NINE DAYS SONG #257WEEKSOBVS"
This is only drunken tweet I have ever regretted enough to delete the next morning.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 3:28 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
This is only drunken tweet I have ever regretted enough to delete the next morning.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 3:28 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
Teenagers have emotions you can't relate to anymore. News at 11.
posted by effugas at 3:31 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by effugas at 3:31 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
One of my friends and I were having a conversation just the other day about "She Will Be Loved", how much we hate Maroon 5, and were making exactly the point of this article. We went into considerably more detail because of our pure hate for Adam Levine, but the sentiment was the same.
And I shouldn't be like this.... But the way that Counting Crows get their name appended to any music that sounds vaguelykindasorta like them, reminds me of Napster days when all humorous songs were Weird Al, virtually anything melodic with a male singer could be labeled as R.E.M, and virtually anything by a female singer could be labeled as Sarah McLachlan. I assume this phenomenon still goes on in the world of ILLEGAL DOWNLOADING, but I'm too boring to know how it's currently playing out.
posted by Coatlicue at 3:46 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
And I shouldn't be like this.... But the way that Counting Crows get their name appended to any music that sounds vaguelykindasorta like them, reminds me of Napster days when all humorous songs were Weird Al, virtually anything melodic with a male singer could be labeled as R.E.M, and virtually anything by a female singer could be labeled as Sarah McLachlan. I assume this phenomenon still goes on in the world of ILLEGAL DOWNLOADING, but I'm too boring to know how it's currently playing out.
posted by Coatlicue at 3:46 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
No I'm just really tired and made a mistake, I do not think Counting Crows sounds like Train.
posted by sweetkid at 3:48 PM on July 24, 2013
posted by sweetkid at 3:48 PM on July 24, 2013
In regards to "Round Here": I'm pretty sure I've read Adam Duritz saying that song was supposed to be about something like... his anima? The female version/part of himself? So that's an commentary on how dizzy he thinks himself to be, if true.
posted by Coatlicue at 3:50 PM on July 24, 2013
posted by Coatlicue at 3:50 PM on July 24, 2013
Oh, they soooo left out this one: Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery
I can see that critique of the video, but I don't think it stands for the actual song. The song to me is more "I am a fucked up person in a fucked up relationship with a fucked up person, and I'm not sure I can fix any of those things."
Also, would "Jane Says" fit into this paradigm, or does Ferrell's co-junkie status turn it into a penetrating character study? What say we all?
posted by Diablevert at 4:03 PM on July 24, 2013
I can see that critique of the video, but I don't think it stands for the actual song. The song to me is more "I am a fucked up person in a fucked up relationship with a fucked up person, and I'm not sure I can fix any of those things."
Also, would "Jane Says" fit into this paradigm, or does Ferrell's co-junkie status turn it into a penetrating character study? What say we all?
posted by Diablevert at 4:03 PM on July 24, 2013
I dreamed of having a girl with serious emotional problems who needed me to take care of her
The song to me is more "I am a fucked up person in a fucked up relationship with a fucked up person, and I'm not sure I can fix any of those things."
The difference between these two things is of the utmost importance in this matter (what if you fall for Sad Girls because you're a Sad Boy?) and also sometimes hard to parse.
posted by atoxyl at 4:13 PM on July 24, 2013
The song to me is more "I am a fucked up person in a fucked up relationship with a fucked up person, and I'm not sure I can fix any of those things."
The difference between these two things is of the utmost importance in this matter (what if you fall for Sad Girls because you're a Sad Boy?) and also sometimes hard to parse.
posted by atoxyl at 4:13 PM on July 24, 2013
I don't care if it's a shit song, "Story of a Girl" is fun to sing to.
Just not around other people.
posted by Glinn at 4:18 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Just not around other people.
posted by Glinn at 4:18 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Sad Girls go well together with Sad Boys but they can't both be sad at the same time. Have to trade off. Just one bucket of tears between 'em.
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:20 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:20 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
I don't know...the opening shot of that video is overdosing thin, overmade-up, superhot sad girl's demise just before stumbling down the street consumed by tears and a bloody nose. Then the lyrics kick in, "Jesus Christ, girl..." If that's not every single word of what the article is about then I don't know what would be. But yeah, sad girls and sad boys go together like a pb&j sad drama sandwich, without the pb or j. So it doesn't seem all that incongruent to me that the song is about fucked up boy trying to white knight fucked up girl, but not having a fucking clue. pardon my language
"Sad Girls go well together with Sad Boys but they can't both be sad at the same time. Have to trade off. Just one bucket of tears between 'em."
I'm unfortunately and sadly serious when I say this, but that's part of what all the drugs are for.
posted by iamkimiam at 5:00 PM on July 24, 2013
"Sad Girls go well together with Sad Boys but they can't both be sad at the same time. Have to trade off. Just one bucket of tears between 'em."
I'm unfortunately and sadly serious when I say this, but that's part of what all the drugs are for.
posted by iamkimiam at 5:00 PM on July 24, 2013
Incidentally, Train is the band I hate most in the world. They are about a thousand times worse than Nickelback.
This is correct.
posted by psoas at 5:17 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is correct.
posted by psoas at 5:17 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
PSHAW to these songs listed. Moxy Früvous rules all!
Sad girl
Taking every cue from every ad, girl
Depression is romantic when it's a fad, girl
And being good is only when you’re a bad girl
Oh, sad girl
Maybe you’ve got every reason in this mad world
posted by nicebookrack at 5:28 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Sad girl
Taking every cue from every ad, girl
Depression is romantic when it's a fad, girl
And being good is only when you’re a bad girl
Oh, sad girl
Maybe you’ve got every reason in this mad world
posted by nicebookrack at 5:28 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Its unfair to put Bright Eyes in with these people, since he probably does mostly know Sad Girls and his fans, myself among them, like Sad Girls.
John Wesley Harding's song Goth Girl is a creepy little deconstruction of these songs.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:35 PM on July 24, 2013
John Wesley Harding's song Goth Girl is a creepy little deconstruction of these songs.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:35 PM on July 24, 2013
1) My husband is very sweet and romantic and has indeed found himself a girl with serious (but well controlled!) emotional problems to love.
2) I'm disappointed that Little Black Backpack is not on this list because it is awesome but I did just listen to it now and I was correct and it is still awesome. Also, as the aforementioned husband points out, it's a great song to which to bobble around like a muppet.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 5:59 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
2) I'm disappointed that Little Black Backpack is not on this list because it is awesome but I did just listen to it now and I was correct and it is still awesome. Also, as the aforementioned husband points out, it's a great song to which to bobble around like a muppet.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 5:59 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also, on the subject of Amphetamine, I have now been to two Everclear concerts and would go to probably three a week for the next year if I could. I am not sufficiently knowledgeable about music to talk about that side of it but I do know that during a very difficult time in my life the album So Much for the Afterglow meant a HUGE deal to me and it will always be poignant and important and intense and crazy and ridiculously meaningful for me, even though now I'm an adult and have other coping strategies.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 6:02 PM on July 24, 2013
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 6:02 PM on July 24, 2013
no Ryan Adams song about Slyvia Plath?
I wish I had a Sylvia Plath
Busted tooth and a smile
And cigarette ashes in her drink
The kind that goes out and then sleeps for a week
The kind that goes out on her
To give me a reason, for well, I dunno
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 6:09 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
I wish I had a Sylvia Plath
Busted tooth and a smile
And cigarette ashes in her drink
The kind that goes out and then sleeps for a week
The kind that goes out on her
To give me a reason, for well, I dunno
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 6:09 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
ME, BOPPIN ALONG TO THE CATCHY TUNE AND HARMONY: "...and while she looks so sad and lonely there, I absolutely love her when she smiles!"
LEXICA, UNIMPRESSED: "So. He loves her when she smies for him. When she's sad and depressed and down and needs support, fuck you, I'm off to find fun people and life. Call me when you cheer up, downer-girl. Is that what this song is saying?"
ME, NO LONGER BOPPIN: "Fuck. First, "Wonderful Tonight, now this. I hate it when you actually listen to the lyrics of songs I like."
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 6:14 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
LEXICA, UNIMPRESSED: "So. He loves her when she smies for him. When she's sad and depressed and down and needs support, fuck you, I'm off to find fun people and life. Call me when you cheer up, downer-girl. Is that what this song is saying?"
ME, NO LONGER BOPPIN: "Fuck. First, "Wonderful Tonight, now this. I hate it when you actually listen to the lyrics of songs I like."
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 6:14 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
The best Nine Days song is 'Bob Dylan', which is about being close to Bob Dylan 'cause you both write songs.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 6:18 PM on July 24, 2013
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 6:18 PM on July 24, 2013
Regarding Counting Crows, and Maria, and Adam Duritz:
The most commonly accepted explanation of Maria is provided by Duritz in a single quote, often cited: "She's just an idea of someone I came up with when I was writing 'Round Here.' I mean, she's me. It's through the eyes of a girl, but it's someone very much like me struggling at the edge, not sure if she's going to fall off on one side or the other. It's a theme that's stuck through songs. So she keeps popping up."
posted by redsparkler at 7:25 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
The most commonly accepted explanation of Maria is provided by Duritz in a single quote, often cited: "She's just an idea of someone I came up with when I was writing 'Round Here.' I mean, she's me. It's through the eyes of a girl, but it's someone very much like me struggling at the edge, not sure if she's going to fall off on one side or the other. It's a theme that's stuck through songs. So she keeps popping up."
posted by redsparkler at 7:25 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
I like the idea of the article more than the actual results, because it feels like (and the comments suggest) the author had the idea, and then polled Twitter for a handful of songs from the 90's and then called it a day. It makes the article a little too Buzzfeedy for me, which is a shame since I think it's a great starting concept. Just limp execution.
The inclusion of 'Brick' also suggests that of the songs, that was the only one she actually still kind of liked; as noted earlier, it really doesn't fit the template as it's a song about abortion rather than just about a Sad Girl.
But, same as there's usually a Song of Summer, there often seems to be a Sad Song of Summer to go with it, and one year it was 'Brick', so it always makes me think of that year.
(One year it was that godawful cover of 'Behind Blue Eyes' by Limp Bizkit. My dislike was so well-known that when it came on the radio my boss at the time would immediately turn it off, silence being preferable to Fred Durst.)
posted by gadge emeritus at 7:26 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
The inclusion of 'Brick' also suggests that of the songs, that was the only one she actually still kind of liked; as noted earlier, it really doesn't fit the template as it's a song about abortion rather than just about a Sad Girl.
But, same as there's usually a Song of Summer, there often seems to be a Sad Song of Summer to go with it, and one year it was 'Brick', so it always makes me think of that year.
(One year it was that godawful cover of 'Behind Blue Eyes' by Limp Bizkit. My dislike was so well-known that when it came on the radio my boss at the time would immediately turn it off, silence being preferable to Fred Durst.)
posted by gadge emeritus at 7:26 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
I kind of have a twisted love for some folks that everyone hates. Like for instance, I think Maroon 5 and Train can do some snappy melodies, and Nickelback's Teh Angst Teh Pain is always good for a laugh. Though sometimes listening to the lyrics, uh....
For example from this thread:
"She Will Be Loved:" She's a fucking 18-year-old beauty queen. EVERYONE ON THE PLANET LOVES HER. NO SHIT.
"Meet Virginia:" This song, like Ben Folds's "Kate," features a Wacky Girl with such a strange bag of quirks that you can never find in anyone in real life, even the super weird chicks you meet at Burning Man. Also, "wears high heels when she exercises," really? OWWWWWW! Even my really short boss who was trying to wear her heels again after badly spraining her ankle doesn't do this! I'm pretty sure. Kate, on the other hand, is an amusing band pothead. I'm pretty sure those exist, at least.
"Drive-By:" 2-ply Hefty Bag of love for the one night stand you ran off on? What? I'll let Todd in the Shadows do the rest of the commentary on that one.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:29 PM on July 24, 2013
For example from this thread:
"She Will Be Loved:" She's a fucking 18-year-old beauty queen. EVERYONE ON THE PLANET LOVES HER. NO SHIT.
"Meet Virginia:" This song, like Ben Folds's "Kate," features a Wacky Girl with such a strange bag of quirks that you can never find in anyone in real life, even the super weird chicks you meet at Burning Man. Also, "wears high heels when she exercises," really? OWWWWWW! Even my really short boss who was trying to wear her heels again after badly spraining her ankle doesn't do this! I'm pretty sure. Kate, on the other hand, is an amusing band pothead. I'm pretty sure those exist, at least.
"Drive-By:" 2-ply Hefty Bag of love for the one night stand you ran off on? What? I'll let Todd in the Shadows do the rest of the commentary on that one.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:29 PM on July 24, 2013
Barnaked Ladies Alternative Girlfriend probably counts, and there's a bunch more if I go through my playlists. Do Neutral Milk Hotel's songs about Anne Frank count? I never read her diary, so I don't know if she was sad.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 7:33 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 7:33 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Well, Lump's so sad that birds could land, is she fast asleep or rockin' out with the band?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:07 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:07 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
So it doesn't seem all that incongruent to me that the song is about fucked up boy trying to white knight fucked up girl, but not having a fucking clue. pardon my language
I dunno, I guess you could read it that way. The phenomenon the article is about is desire sugarcoated in pity; the Misty song opens on a note of irritation and selfishness, in contrast --- the lyrics are "Jesus Christ, girl, / what are people going to think / when I show up at one of several funerals / I've attended for grandpa this week." And the girl in it isn't described as said or wounded, but rather turned on by death. So the first couple verses are him becoming frustrated with her messed-up behaviour, and the last are him recognizing how he enables it, but can't seem to extricate himself. Certainly, though, the lyrics are ambiguous.
posted by Diablevert at 8:24 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
I dunno, I guess you could read it that way. The phenomenon the article is about is desire sugarcoated in pity; the Misty song opens on a note of irritation and selfishness, in contrast --- the lyrics are "Jesus Christ, girl, / what are people going to think / when I show up at one of several funerals / I've attended for grandpa this week." And the girl in it isn't described as said or wounded, but rather turned on by death. So the first couple verses are him becoming frustrated with her messed-up behaviour, and the last are him recognizing how he enables it, but can't seem to extricate himself. Certainly, though, the lyrics are ambiguous.
posted by Diablevert at 8:24 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Surely Alice by the Sisters of Mercy and See Emily Play by Pink Floyd are the prototypes for these? I remember friends at sixth form trying hard to be these kind of fragile romantic wrecks.
posted by Summer at 11:33 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Summer at 11:33 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
There's a song by either The Postal Service or another band like that that has a bunch of lyrics about a girl who collects records and wears vintage clothes, and it was so blatantly pandering to their fans but I couldn't resist it.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 11:36 PM on July 24, 2013
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 11:36 PM on July 24, 2013
Broken by Bad Religion... though they are both kinda messed up in that song I guess
posted by Admira at 1:18 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Admira at 1:18 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yes indeed. I prefer the rather more sensitive, delicate young ladies of my youth.
posted by Decani at 3:16 AM on July 25, 2013
posted by Decani at 3:16 AM on July 25, 2013
I'd forgotten about Lump! I can no longer hear that song without thinking of Lumpy Space Princess, who is definitely not a Sad Girl. She totally lumpin' fits the song, though.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:22 AM on July 25, 2013
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:22 AM on July 25, 2013
Feh. A Sad Girl is just a Manic Pixie Dream Girl after the meds wear off.
posted by jonp72 at 7:26 AM on July 25, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by jonp72 at 7:26 AM on July 25, 2013 [5 favorites]
Diablevert: " Also, would "Jane Says" fit into this paradigm, or does Ferrell's co-junkie status turn it into a penetrating character study? What say we all?"
This was the first song I thought of, but that's probably because I don't know most of these other songs well enough to know any of the lyrics.
posted by Room 641-A at 11:45 AM on July 26, 2013
This was the first song I thought of, but that's probably because I don't know most of these other songs well enough to know any of the lyrics.
posted by Room 641-A at 11:45 AM on July 26, 2013
Charlemagne In Sweatpants: There's a song by either The Postal Service or another band like that that has a bunch of lyrics about a girl who collects records and wears vintage clothes, and it was so blatantly pandering to their fans but I couldn't resist it.
Then there's Amsterdam by Guster for when you finally break up with that flaky chick.
posted by maryr at 12:03 PM on July 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
Then there's Amsterdam by Guster for when you finally break up with that flaky chick.
posted by maryr at 12:03 PM on July 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
"Jesus Christ, girl, / what are people going to think / when I show up at one of several funerals / I've attended for grandpa this week."
I don't know the song you guys are referring to, but that just sounds like he's been calling in "sick" to work a bunch.
posted by maryr at 12:04 PM on July 26, 2013
I don't know the song you guys are referring to, but that just sounds like he's been calling in "sick" to work a bunch.
posted by maryr at 12:04 PM on July 26, 2013
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Back when most of these songs came out I called them "Dizzy Girl" songs and they annoyed me so much even though I didn't know about white knighting so much and wouldn't have called myself a feminist.
posted by sweetkid at 1:54 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]