Ever need to play a song that fit your mood when you were pissed off at the world? Ever have trouble finding a song that matched the loud fits of your anger with the lyrical expression of your rage? Well look no further, as for no reason whatsoever and having nothing to do with me turning a year older this week, here are my favorite songs I like to play when I'm in a less than sunny mood. Enjoy!
1. "You and Me" Archers of Loaf
When I first thought of making this list, I had some idea what I thought might be number one. Some rage core from Envy. Some screaming lullaby from Modest Mouse. Something depressing and fun from The Mountain Goats. But I'd completely forgotten all about the Archers of Loaf, and this song that I loved some ten years ago. And you know, the anger holds up well. Well done, gentlemen.
You've been so low lately.
Nothing seems to work out for you and me.
For you and me.
I've been so down lately.
You've been so low lately.
Nothing seems to work out for you and me.
Sister says we can buy it all back at the grocery store.
Baby brother really fucked it up this time.
This isn't fun anymore, it's not as fun as it was.
It's just the girl in her says it doesn't matter anyway. (?)
I've been so down lately.
You've been so low lately.
Nothing seems to work out for you and me.
2. "The Rat" The Walkmen
You've got a nerve to be calling my number
I know we've been through this before
Can't you hear me?
I'm calling out your name!
Can't you see me?
I'm pounding on your door!
You've got a nerve to be asking a favor
You've got a nerve to be calling my number
Can't you hear me?
I'm bleeding on the wall!
Can't you see me?
I'm pounding on your door!
Can't you hear me when I'm calling out your name?
When I used to go out, I would know everyone that I saw
Now I go out alone, if I go out at all
When I used to go out I'd know everyone I saw
Now I go out alone, if I go out at all
When I used to go out I'd know everyone I saw
Now I go out alone, if I go out at all
You've got a nerve to be asking a favor
You've got a nerve to be calling my number
I'm sure we've been through this before
Can't you hear me?
I'm beating on your wall!
Can't you see me?
I'm pounding on your door!
3. "Teeth Like God's Shoeshine" Modest Mouse
I'm sorry, but when Isaac screams "Oh my goddamn!" at the start of the final verse of this 7 minute song, that's just one of the greatest moments in rock music history. And a perfect pissed off anthem. One of Modest Mouse's best ever.
From the bottom of the sky — Goddamn!
Well I get claustrophobic
I can, you know that I can well!
From the top of the ocean — Yeah!
From the bottom of the sky — Goddamn!
Well I get claustrophobic
I can, you know that I can!
And he said…
"I am not allowed much danger!
Keep in line you're an old friend stranger
you'll burn me if effigy, and I'll burn you in effigy!"
A rattlesnake up in Boulder, Montana
he bit the leg of the old sheriff
Ha! That boy fell down on his harelip: Ow! — Ow!
Well I, I might be wrong,
but you, you tag along,
and we, we’ve all been wronged,
and I feel dizzier by the mile
Said hell! The money's spent.
Went to the county line
and paid the rent I said, "Uh-oh!"
I said "Uh-oh!"
Oh! If you could compact your conscience —
Oh! And you might…
Oh! If you could bottle and sell it you might have done —
Oh! And you might…
Oh! If you could compact your conscience —
and sell it — save it for another time,
you know you might have to use it…
And the televisions on.
Go to the grocery store, buy some new friends,
and find out the beginning, the end, and the best of it.
Well, do you need a lot of what you've got to survive?
Here's the man with teeth like God's shoeshine
he sparkles shimmers shines…
Let's all have another Orange Julius —
Thick syrup standin’ in lines.
The malls are the soon-to-be ghost towns,
well so long, farewell, good-bye.
Take 'em all for the long ride!
and you'll go around town
no one wants to be uptight anymore.
You can be ashamed
or be so proud of what you've done
but not no one, not now, not ever or anyone.
Take 'em all for the sense of happiness
that comes from hurting deep down inside.
Or you can add it up and give a shit, give a shit,
go to the family doctor it’s all worth it, all worth it —
All, all wrong, and its all, all gone.
Or, you can add it up and give a shit, give a shit,
I’m on the corner of this and this and this and this!
All, all wrong, and it’s all, all gone…
Here's the man with teeth like God's shoeshine
he sparkles shimmers shines…
Let's all have another Orange Julius —
Thick syrup standin’ in lines.
The malls are the soon-to-be ghost towns,
well so long, farewell, good-bye.
And the telephone goes off.
Pick the receiver up, try to meet ends
and find out the beginning, the end and the best of it
OH MY GODDAMN!!
Take 'em all for the long ride!
and you'll go around town
no one wants to be uptight anymore.
You can be ashamed
or be so proud of what you've done
but not no one, not now, not ever or anyone…
4. "Greater Omaha" Desaparecidos
Conor Oberst has made some angry anthems as part of Bright Eyes, but he saved his greatest youthful vitriol for his recording with Desaparecidos. Unfortunately in his solo efforts the last two years that anger seems gone, replaced with quiet folk reflection. I hope some time he listens to the message of this song about our fast food culture and remembers when his music spoke to the listener so much more clearly.
They're widening easy street to fit more suvs
They're planting baby trees to grow to shady peaks
A little shelter from the sun or the upper tax bracket
Here on the cul-de-sac we're not giving back until the community repents
Cause we can't afford to be generous
There's closing costs and a narrow margin
So go earn your degree and we'll take you out to lunch
You can work for us but you gotta eat em all up
Yeah one more mouth full and we will be happy then
Yeah one more mouth full and we will be happy then
Out west they're moving dirt to make a greater Omaha
Another franchise sold so there's even more restaurants per capita
And they all got a drive-thru yeah, who's got time to dine
Although the floors are clean, the color scheme it compliments me every time
So no one starves in this cattle town
The semis pass making squealing sounds
And its all you can eat and they will never get enough
They'll be feeding us, they'll be feeding on us
Just one more mouthful and they will be happy then
Yeah one more mouth full and we will be happy then
All those golden fields, lovely empty space
They're building drug stores now until none remains
I've been driving now for 100 blocks
Saw 50 Come and Go's, 60 parking lots.
Yeah one more mouthful and they will be happy then.
Yeah one more mouth full and we will be happy then
5. "Not a Pretty Girl" Ani DiFranco
A feminist diatribe or just a pissed off chick, this quieter song is an absolute marvel of lyrical brilliance and a call to arms for all women (and men too, I guess). I love the use of the word "do" in the opening stanza, instead of "am," -- it's just perfect.
that is not what I do
I ain't no damsel in distress
and I don't need to be rescued
so put me down, punk
maybe you'd prefer a maiden fair
isn't there a kitten stuck up a tree somewhere
but it seems like I've got everyone fooled
every time I say something they find hard to hear
they chalk it up to my anger
and never to their own fear
Imagine you're a girl
just trying to finally come clean
knowing full well they'd prefer you
were dirty and smiling
and I am sorry
I am not a maiden fair
and I am not a kitten stuck up a tree somewhere
and generally my generation
wouldn't be caught dead working for the man
and generally I agree with them
trouble is you gotta have yourself an alternate plan
and I have earned my disillusionment
I have been working all of my life
and I am a patriot
I have been fighting the good fight
and what if there are no damsels in distress
what if I knew that and I called your bluff?
don't you think every kitten figures out how to get down
whether or not you ever show up
I am not a pretty girl
I don't want to be a pretty girl
no I want to be more than a pretty girl
6. "Debaser" Pixies
No list of angry music could be complete without the Pixies.
i want you to know
slicing up eyeballs
i want you to know
girlie so groovy
i want you to know
don't know about you
but i am un chien andalusia
wanna grow
up to be
be a debaser, debaser
got me a movie
ha ha ha ho
slicing up eyeballs
ha ha ha ho
girlie so groovie
ha ha ha ho
don't know about you
but i am un chien andalusia
debaser
7. "A Warm Room" Envy
The lyrics to this song are in Japanese and screamed at the top of the singer's lungs for the entire song, so even if they were in English, you couldn't understand them. But damn if it isn't enjoyable sometimes to revel in this kind of rage.
8. "No Children" The Mountain Goats
This song is less a raging anthem and more a depressing take on a terribly failed marriage. But it warms the cockles of the hardest heart for its beautiful anger.
Give up on trying to save us
I hope we come up with a failsafe plot
To piss off the dumb few that forgave us
I hope the fences we mended
Fall down beneath their own weight
And I hope we hang on past the last exit
I hope it's already too late
And I hope the junkyard a few blocks from here
Someday burns down
And I hope the rising black smoke carries me far away
And I never come back to this town
Again in my life
I hope I lie
And tell everyone you were a good wife
And I hope you die
I hope we both die
I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow
I hope it bleeds all day long
Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises
We're pretty sure they're all wrong
I hope it stays dark forever
I hope the worst isn't over
And I hope you blink before I do
Yeah I hope I never get sober
And I hope when you think of me years down the line
You can't find one good thing to say
And I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out
You'd stay the hell out of my way
I am drowning
There is no sign of land
You are coming down with me
Hand in unlovable hand
And I hope you die
I hope we both die
9. "Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts" Wolf Parade
The opening lines set the perfect tone for this wonderful track that was one of my first introductions to the genius that is Spencer Krug.
So I got a fist
So I got a plan
It's the best that I can do
I would say it's in God's hands
But God doesn't always have the best goddamn plans, does he?
I ain't quite the beauty
Pulls out two guns and shoots at the pretty, pretty pure white
Gotta keep thinking, things, hunters and kings
To block out the view, I gotta get a
New bell to ring
New song to sing
A steady hand to ring
A readiness of things to do
A new plan to bring to the people
People I can trick them into thinking anything
Cuz you know and rust it’s just right in the light
It's gold, it's golden
And you know - I got
Water and holes in my hands
I'm a digger of holes in the land, of holes
And you know - It's the easiest way
I got water and I got holes, so
Lalalalalala
Sons and daughters of hungry ghosts, so
Lalalalalala
I got a hand
So I got a fist
So I got a plan
It's the best that I can do
We'll say it's in God's hands
But God doesn't always have the best goddamn plans, does he?
I can't believe in the guns
I can't believe in the view
I can't believe in those hunters and kings, and you sing
Lalalalalala
I got a new plan to bring
I got a new song to sing
And it goes
Lalalalalala
I got a new plan to bring and you know, and you know
It’s the easiest way
And you know
It’s the easiest way
And you know
It’s the easiest way
And you know it’s the easiest way - hey, so I go.
10. "Waiting Room" Fugazi
You can't have an angry song list without Fugazi either. One of their classics.
I wait, I wait, I wait
My time is like water down a drain
Everybody's moving, everything is moving
Please don't leave me to remain
In the waiting room
I don't want the news
I'm not a part of it
I don't want the news
I have no use for it
Sitting outside of town
Everybody's always down
Because...
They can't get up
But I don't sit by idly
I'm planning a big surprise
I'm gonna fight for what I want to be
I won't make the same mistakes
Because I know how much time that wastes
Function is the key
In the waiting room
Honorable Mentions:
- "That's When I Reach for My Revolver" Mission of Burma
- "Another Radio Song" Okkervil River
- "The Freed Pig" Sebadoh
- "Like Herod" Mogwai
- "When We Were Younger & Better" 65daysofstatic
- "Gouge Away" Pixies
- "Drain You" Nirvana
- "Debonair" Afghan Whigs
- "Kim, You Bore Me to Death" Grandaddy
- "Never Understand" Jesus & Mary Chain
And I don't even worry about the state I'm in
Head so heavy and I'm looking thin
But when the sun goes down I wanna start again
You never understand me
You never understand me yeah
Don't turn around until you look at me
Why don't you take a second and tell me what you see
Things I see you only disagree
You never understand that's what I want to be
You never understand me
You never understand me yeah
Not wishing to hide but you just can't see me
I tell you the truth but you don't believe me
Thinking of love but I can't hear what you're saying
Tomorrow I'm leaving
Cause I'm not stayin' yeah....
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