I remember this song leaked well before the album came out, and I was excited for the album to tell me what he was actually saying. I buy the album, and the lyrics literally say "my ... girl." Biggest troll ever.

KikiG0501 t1_jcym7es wrote on March 20, 2023 at 3:43 PM

#2,280,234

Still Feel Like Your Man ~ John Mayer

thesaltwatersolution t1_jcyncx4 wrote on March 20, 2023 at 3:51 PM

#2,280,304

Shiny Happy People - R.E.M. it’s most likely about everyone being on Prozac in the early 90’s- “there’s no time to cry, happy, happy!”

The phrase Shiny Happy People is rumoured to have been lifted from a mistranslated CCP propaganda poster about the student protesters at Tiananmen Square which described the students as shiny happy people. …Meet me in the crowd…

critter2482 t1_jcyoa9c wrote on March 20, 2023 at 3:57 PM

#2,280,375

Hey Jealousy by Gin Blossoms

GratefulRed13 t1_jcyqrp8 wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:13 PM

#2,280,538

I Know You Rider - The Grateful Dead

Going down the Road Feeling Bad - The Grateful Dead

I once heard The Dead referred to as the joyful bearers of tragic news. I thought that was a pretty surprisingly apt description

Isteppedinpoopy t1_jcyrdeq wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:17 PM

#2,280,582

Replying to RockerElvis (#2,279,414)

Except fuck you. That one’s kinda uplifting

TrixicAcePolyamEnby t1_jcyruda wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:20 PM

#2,280,616

Replying to beadebaser (#2,278,884)

Also "Always the Last to Know".

soulsista12 t1_jcyrwk7 wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:21 PM

#2,280,621

Wouldn’t it be nice and most of Brian Wilson’s other songs

Xylemicarious t1_jcys64l wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:23 PM

#2,280,640

First one that came to mind was this:

Okkervil River - Black

Voxmanns t1_jcys716 wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:23 PM

#2,280,643

This kind of music is my jam.

A popular hit that's semi-recent...well I guess not anymore is "Pumped Up Kicks" which was about a school shooting but was written with this carefree tone that really makes it all the more deranged.

There's a band I listen to called HIM and they have a dancy 80s rock vibe mixed in with gothic music tones. Their shtick lyrically is playing with goth romance cliches so you get a lot of "I'll love you to death" kind of stuff. Other Finnish rock bands that were around in the early 2k have similar stuff (69 Eyes, The Rasmus, Negative) but it varies whether or not it hits what you're looking for.

I, personally, think a lot of post-grunge music does this as well. So Cold by Breaking Benjamin, Saferwaters by Chevelle, Deftones plays around with this quite a bit as well (I know they're nu metal but whatever subgenres are nuts).

You'll find it littered throughout a lot of other rock music as well but that's mainly a consequence of it having dark lyrics while trying to have a type of dancy vibe for commercial viability. I think the more esoteric you get in rock the more this goes away. Prog rock seems to be a good vein for this kind of stuff too (Tool, Pink Floyd, Rush) but they tend to flip through a lot of themes so it's hard to condense a single song into "happy but sad" in the specific way you're seeking.

Back to more pop stuff - Save Your Tears by The Weeknd is a good one. Maneskin's cover of Beggin' I feel does this as well.

Safe-Transition8618 t1_jcyvtal wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:46 PM

#2,280,899

LOL the Pharrell song "Happy" is actually in F minor. The background vocals in the bridge part crack me up because she's going "happy, happy, happy, happy" on a descending minor scale and if you isolate just those vocals it sounds anything but happy.

I_see_something t1_jcyw533 wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:48 PM

#2,280,923

Replying to Wikiwack (#2,279,454)

This isn’t really fast and catchy. The sound scape of this song is pretty sullen

I_see_something t1_jcywav2 wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:49 PM

#2,280,932

Replying to GratefulRed13 (#2,280,538)

Aren’t both those songs traditional folk tunes?

holydrokk437 t1_jcyx4ak wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:54 PM

#2,281,002

I always think of "People who Died" by The Jim Carroll Band

CodAdministrative765 t1_jcz0wcz wrote on March 20, 2023 at 5:18 PM

#2,281,286

One Way Ticket by Cass Elliott. Such joyous acceptance that everything's always shit. https://youtu.be/U2V2n4_szsY

GratefulRed13 t1_jcz1cx4 wrote on March 20, 2023 at 5:21 PM

#2,281,325

Replying to I_see_something (#2,280,932)

They both indeed are. I guess I didn’t know they had to be originals? And something like Rider is significantly different when the Dead do it compared to the traditional renditions.

The Dead may be a glorified cover band but they certainly make them their own(spin on it) when they decide to cover something.