This song surprised me because it came up when I was listening to my playlist on random play. I still have no clear idea how it made its way into my music collection.
Anyway, it's a cheery little ditty about a relationship that his dissolved into pure hatred and acrimony.
The Mountain Goats, "No Children":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPy_fiv3sAw
It has got one of my favorite lines: "And I hope when you think of me years down the line you can't find one good thing to say."
So I've got a weakness for songs that sound upbeat, but when you listen to the lyrics they are anything but.
Sorry to bring up Morrissey, but the only other song I can think of right now that fits this bill is "Glamorous Glue."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AkEEiTL94I
Oh wait, Pulp's "Common People" also fits this bill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqgXzPfAxjo
I swear I don't listen to all that much British glam-rock. Here, I can prove it!
Violent Femmes, "Country Death Song"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwj5_SNWYc8
The Ramones do it all the time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT1OKo1rT84
The Dead Kennedys too...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWO4JxM3nDc
Franklin Bruno - Clean Needle. it's about heroin addiction from the point of view of a guy who wants a girl/wife/lover to get off it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZmBbboZlQM
the weird thing is, this is the first song that came to mind, and in the related videos is The Mountain Goats doing a cover of one of this guy's songs
One of my all time favs for obvious reasons...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9_JjLnmZI
Come to think of it, this thread could apply to the whole NIN album Pretty Hate Machine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrcTsxs-anU
Or perhaps most of Depeche Mode's work...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRvVysmCLhc
Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer
:bouncegiggle:
OK, this one is inevitable. Gilbert O'Sullivan sings a bouncy little ditty about heartbreak and suicide.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eki_PRzNk-Y
Suzanne Vega's "Luca", a peppy little tune about child abuse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZt7J0iaUD0
First one that comes to mind for me is Del Shannon's "Hat's Off to Larry." What a malicious song to be so happy sounding.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk_FR3341bA
We should mention Tom Lehrer.
The '50s are often remembered as a completely wholesome Ozzie & Harriet time, but there were still people out there like Tom Lehrer putting out incredibly barbed satire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIlJ8ZCs4jY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeEYQOy4oQ4
I think the worst of these songs is the horror that is Paul Evans' Hello This Is Joanie about a guy who has a fight with his girlfriend, she leaves, dies in a car crash and the only way he can hear her voice again is to call her answering machine. Peppy, upbeat song but helluva depressing. :buggedout:
www.youtube.com/watch?=VRfS10Ae46o (http://www.youtube.com/watch?=VRfS10Ae46o) You have been warned! :buggedout:
Good ol' Guns 'n' Roses, though it's a bit tongue-in-cheek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXIuAz7aryo&feature=player_detailpage
For tongue-in-cheek, I'm reminded of this love song from Alice Cooper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFkRjrRFd_g
"I liked your late husband, Donald
But such torture his memory brings
Sliced up and sealed tight in baggies.
Guess love makes ya do funny things."
:bouncegiggle:
Mac the Knife
Some nice swinging jazz about a murderer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qrjtr_uFac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCPutYaGFlE
I love to imagine white-bread teeney boppers at a sock hop dancing to this tale of gambling-motivated murder. Am I the only one who is disturbed by the chorus cheering the killer on? "Go Stagger Lee... Go Stagger Lee..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_7c2UtiHWc&feature=related
A lot of his stuff is similar in tone, and fittingly enough is easy for me to work to when I'm working on my artwork.