What’s This Playlist All About? The long-standing music pub presents the third volume in its “Big Moods” series, which soundtracks “the best, worst, and weirdest parts of life.” Here, they take on the ever-complex emotion of sadness, whether it’s brought on by big changes, crushing rejection, or an existential yearning beyond anyone’s comprehension. This list of 50 tracks is meant to be indulged in when you’re all alone and in need of a good, cathartic cry.What You Get: In no particular order, The FADER’s staff lays out a rather random list of tearjerkers, starting off with a handful of singer-songwriters who know exactly how to hit the essence of sadness on all sides, including Sufjan Stevens, Cat Power, and Elliott Smith. Soon, it slips into rap’s finest poets, from Eve to Kanye, before tossing in a little Bonnie Raitt and Nina Simone alongside pop giants like Mariah, Rihanna, and Britney Spears (I mean, who hasn’t stared outside the window on a rainy day with “Everytime” playing on repeat?).Best Pick: Johnny Cash’s iconic cover of “Hurt,” which has probably kept even Trent Reznor up all night in an emotional mess.Best Discovery: The Asheville-based indie pop band Coma Cinema’s mesmerizing acoustic ballad “Survivor’s Guilt.” Just see lyrics like these: “And I don’t care and I don’t know why / Maybe I’m no good inside / All this wasted time / To see your fucked up life become mine.”Could It Get Any Sadder Than This? Yes, yes, absolutely. There are whole swaths of sad-sack genres completely missing here—some grunge, some blues, maybe even some post-rock—and where the hell are The Smiths?! But mostly it’s the randomness of the list, like DMX going straight into Nico, that takes away from the whole misty mood-setting.
