Songs That Make Me Cry

Let Down



Radiohead has been my favorite band of all time ever since Kid A became my favorite album of all time, and OK Computer cemented their title in my head.

Out of all the paranoid/depressing songs on OK Computer, Let Down is the song that capture what OK Computer is all about. It captures the core of what it means to be depressed and alone. But what really puts the icing on the cake isn't the fact that the music has a cheerful feel to it. It's the fact that it describes a typical day in a city, and as someone who grew up lonesome and depressed in New York, it represents how I felt living my days in my apartment.

Lyrics that Hit Me the Hardest
One Day, I Am Going to Grow Wings
A Chemical Reaction
Hysterical and Useless
Hysterical and

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Both I - V and VI - X)



Radiohead may be my favorite band of all time, but Pink Floyd come in a very close second. Even though I love Radiohead, I do agree with most that Pink Floyd is the better band, and while most may point to Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall, Wish You Were Here will always be my favorite, and I knew pretty much decided that by time the first part of Shine On You Crazy Diamond was finished.

It could've easily been a sappy song with no emotion, but the band fucking nails it. The 8 minutes of buildup make me forget about my surroundings and when the lyrics do start, my mind just becomes focused on it. I haven't heard enough of Syd Barret (A former band member this song, and to a fuller extent, most of this album, was based on) when he fronted Pink Floyd, but you can feel the pain and nostalgia the entire band had for him.

But it doesn't only make me cry about Syd, it makes me remember all the great people I met at a special ed boarding school who were brought down by their symptoms (Suicidal thoughts, autism, drug addiction). The worst part is that I'll probably never see most of those people again, and when I do, I'll have the same reaction that the band had when Syd entered the studio.

"sighs"

If only they were understood.

Lyrics that Hit Me the Hardest
You were caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom
Blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter
Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr,
and shine!

When I first heard Kid A, I hated it. It wasn't just the fact that I hated electronic music at the time, but also because I thought that it was such a pretentious piece of shit, no wonder critics called it the best album of 2000's. But then, when I was feeling depressed, I decided to give Kid A another listen, and my view of music changed.

I realized it wasn't trying to be pretentious, but was Thom Yorke letting out stress, and out of all the songs that help shape Kid A, the album closer, Motion Picture Soundtrack, while not my favorite on the album, is a stunner to behold. Like Let Down, it uses cheerful music to contrast the heavy lyrics. I don't have much to say about it, until the final line is sung. It's a statement of how we handle our losses - lovewise, itemwise, or friendwise:

Lyrics that Hit Me the Hardest
I will see you in the next life (All while topped with harp-like strings)

u



Out of all the songs on the list, "u" is probably the one that comes to closest to being overblown. The screams in the beginning sound a bit cheesy, and the production is all over the place, but in the end, that's part of the nature of the song.

"u" is basically 4 minutes of Kendrick rapping about how shitty a person he is, with the first verse barely taking any breaths. It's pretty amazing to hear him go this fast...then after the second chorus is where it comes down.

With the sound of an alcohol bottle and gulps over the second verse, Kendrick doesn't rap so much as stutter his own words. I can't really say that much because it's really something you have to hear. Explaining it does it absolutely no justice.

Lyrics that Hit Me the Hardest
You even Facetimed instead of a hospital visit
Guess you thought he would recover well
Third surgery, they couldn't stop the bleeding for real
Then he died, God himself will say "you fuckin' failed"
You ain't try

Wake Me Up When September Ends



I don't consider myself that big of a Green Day fan. I mean, I don't hate them the way some people do and they have they're fair share of good, sometimes even great songs, but besides their hits, I've never been blown away by their albums like many people have...and in direct contrast to everything I just said, Wake Me Up When September Ends is one of my favorite songs of all time.

In 2009, on the final day of September when I was 9 years old, I've gotten news that my father had died early morning. I cried on the inside, and even though people weren't aware of it, it sparked a huge change in my outlook on life, in terms of how seriously I took it, my sad mood, and eventually, me discovering this song on YouTube.

I don't need to explain any further, because this song describes how I felt - hell, even how I still feel about this.

All the lyrics hit me hard but I had to choose...
As My Memory Rests
But Never Forgets What I Lost
Wake Me Up When September Ends

Passover



No explanation necessary (This time, I mean it for real!)

Lyrics that Hit Me the Hardest
Watching the reel as it comes to a close
Brutally taking it's time
People who change for no reason at all
It's happening all of the time

Two Headed Boy Pt. 2



Let me get this out of the way. Yes, Jeff Magnum's vocals are less like singing and more like he's being electrocuted while on a massage chair. That aside, when he "sings" even louder, it adds on to the feeling of heartbreak found in the album, and especially this song.

Like most songs on "Aeroplane", the lyrics are about how much Jeff misses and loves Anne Frank, a person who obviously is dead and was alive by the time this album was released. But instead of coming off as creepy and whiny (Almost, if it weren't for Jeff's vocals) is portrayed as something beautiful, thanks in part to Jeff's lyrics. It's like a tragedy as you see through Jeff's eyes, and no point does it feel like he's exploiting Anne. Now, if you're one of the lucky people who's able to ignore Jeff's voice, then you're in for something beautiful.

Lyrics that Hit Me the Hardest
And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying
As your mouth moves in mine, soft and sweet
Rings of flowers 'round your eyes
And I'll love you for the rest of your life when you're ready