Mike:  Ryan Adams “I Taught Myself How to Grow Old”  I like this much better than I like his more rocker-type tunes, which are what I’ve heard more of from him.  His very slight rasp with his voice almost breaking works well for a melancholy piece.  The strings are lovely in this also.  Antony and The Johnsons “The Lake” Piano is so perfect for these sad pieces.  Nice vibrato here, intriguing voice and some very deep strings underlying it all.  The lyrics have much more a sense of poetry rather than lyrics per se.  Beautiful.  Neko Case “Make Your Bed” Oh, this is very good!  The quiet rage of revenge well told.  😊Band of Horses “Heartbreak on the 101”  Sing-songy raspy vocalist, wonder where he was on the 101, it’s a long road.  Nice violin here again, goes into plinky bits for emphasis.  One kind of thinks he might not quite yet be “over it.”  Well produced, strong story-telling. Beck “Lost Cause”  Live long enough and you probably know a lost cause or two, or ya might even be one, or have been one that finally stopped being lost.  Kind of light feel to the music, but certainly a sad subject.

Lorenzo  “The Smiths”  Beautiful voice, a classic sounding torch song.  The end repeating line is absolutely tragically sad!  Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds “Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere?”  I agree with your description of Nick Cave.  His release of last year, “Ghosteen,” is just stunning.  A gorgeous lament here, with very spare production, another excellent story-teller.  “Far From Me”   A song of feeling that someone is absent in more than one way, the relationship was as empty as he is left feeling now that it’s done, it seems to me from this.  Fabulous musicians here, it’s very hard to play this kind of thing, it can’t be rushed and it isn’t, even in a live setting.  “We Came Along This Road”  The live setting is really remarkable with him, he has such a tortured aura, very confessional and intimate delivery.    Love the violin here, too, very expressive. 

Samuel: Susanne Sundfor “Walls”  A big changeup from Nick Cave, here and a heckuva a lot more hope in her sadness.  A bit of vibrato in her voice, kind of sweet and again, a nice change from the dark and tortured (although I do enjoy a lot of that, too).  Somehow she reminds me a little of Melanie.  Weyes Blood “Wild Time”  Here again, very different.  I quite like this arrangement, the music has a very different feel and her voice is excellent.  I like this one a lot. 

George:  I must preface this with being very familiar with the era/genre of all of these.  We did every Lollapalooza tour from 1991 to 1997, so I saw all of these bands, and we also built buses for the GNR guys.  Grunge really worked well acoustically, nice choice to choose all acoustic versions, extra credit for deceased singers (another of my favourite kinds of singers, sadly ).  Alice In Chains “Down in a Hole”  Nice acoustic grunge here.  Nirvana “Something In The Way”  More deep sadness and gloom (which is perfect for the category, of course). Velvet Revolver “Fall to Pieces”  I personally am not a big fan of Slash, I have a hard time reconciling his personality enough to enjoy him, so sorry (despite the fact that we did build a bus for him).  Chris Cornell “Like A Stone”  He had such a great voice.  This was very well done, nice video, too. 

Greg:  The Young Dubliners “One and Only”  I know of the band, but I’d never heard much from them.  The tin whistles give me chills, with the subject matter.  I have several friends who suffered through childhood sexual abuse, including Jano Brindisi, who I posted a song from, quite a while ago, who wrote a great song about it, “The Eleventh Commandment,” (Honor Thy Children).  So a subject that resonates well with me.  I also will seek out some other stuff by them, I like their sound a lot, so thank you!  Ian Hunter “Irene Wilde”  I lived through the glam era, but many seemed to just kind of blur (like heavy metal bands for me), so I kind of stopped listening, we were much more into progressive if it was going to be electric.  That being said, interesting ballad with a bit of a twist.  Elton John “Ticking”  I actually went to an Elton John concert (a couple of years before this) and Family opened the show, for which I am grateful.  Anyway, this is how I like Elton John best, I just hated “Bennie and the Jets.”  Also loved when they did more orchestral production of his (and Bernie Taupin’s) material.  His playing, of course, is stellar and he’s got a great voice.  Crosby, Stills & Nash “To The Last Whale:  Critical Mass/Wind on the Water”  Just love this, I am very familiar with it, a staple of LA area radio while I lived there.  Stellar vocals, music with a message, so beautifully done.  Definitely agreed even more poignant today…I still haven’t forgotten the message.  Vote.   Tracy Chapman “Behind the Wall”  Oh, I remember this one very well.  What a beautiful voice she has, what a find in those days with the resurgence of female singer/songwriters.  Message music again, I quite approve.

Someone Else: Tenhi “Surunuotta” This one got me right from the start.  Love the minor key with an almost inaudible drone behind the guitar (?), then whispered vocals.  I don’t care that I don’t know the lyrics.  String squeaking, which I love (seriously).   Moves into the drone coming more forward (bowed strings).  Oh this is gorgeous and dark.  I will be seeking out more of this.  Thank you.  Joy Division “The Eternal” Properly dirge-like musically.  Bit of nasal quality to the vocalist, it’s in a good way though.  The lyrics are properly funereal as well.  John Cale “Broken Bird”  Familiar with his name, haven’t heard a lot, though, outside of the VU.  Like the harpsichord sound, along with the electric piano.  Bitter lyrics and passionate vocal deliver.  Anna von Hausswolff “Deathbed”  She just recently came to my knowledge (comparatively speaking), I really enjoyed her Dead Magic release and the video for “The Mysterious Vanishing of Electra,” this song will be new to me.  Organ notes with a sustained electric guitar riding over, almost impossible to describe this music, since I don’t know the technical terminology.  It is very moody (should be, with the title).  The guitar continues with big drum sound about halfway through. Then we have her vocals.  Definitely haunting. 

then, very good but I'm not passionate,

George addition:  Ogden Edsl “Dead Puppies”  Very sad!  I love dogs, but this is funny, although in very bad taste.  I did think of a funny/sad song, also featuring dogs.  This is Mason Williams’ “The Prince’s Panties.” 

suitkees:  Aimee Mann “One” Here she is covering the big hit written by Harry Nilsson, which was made famous by Three Dog Night.  This is a very different take on the song, Harry Nilsson was a fine writer and Aimee is a fine singer. Completely made this one her own instead of a female Three Dog Night version.  Narcisco Ypes “Romance” I know this piece, so can’t vote for it by my rules.  But it is just gorgeous and a favourite of mine.  Very mournful and so beautifully and articulately played.  It’s a tune sometimes performed by harpists much more accomplished than I am.  Michael Nyman “Memorial” This one is more strident than the last. A march, with strings very to the fore and some sort of honking something that shows up about 5 minutes in.  I much prefer Ypes.  But that’s just me.  Arvo Part “Spiegel im Spiegel  This is more my style.  Very beautiful strings and piano to the fore, lovely haunting melody.  André van Duin  “Als je huilt”  Just tragical!  :D

The Anders:  Sebastian “De gra katte”  More of an electronic feel here.  Because of the cats, I can’t help but think of the saddest cat of all time, Henri, who I adore.  There are some cat sounds in this too, very inventive.  This is perhaps a bit more anger blended into the sadness, which is perfectly legitimate.  Builds to a nice crescendo of frustration.

dr Wu23: As you probably know by now, we have lived through the same eras, so I know of all of these.  Definitely all wonderful tunes, so thank you for bringing them to those who may not.  “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”   Love Scott Walker and this tune.  Given the kind of treatment that you would hear with The Righteous Brothers, this is a wonderful classic torch song.  Neil Young “The Old Laughing Lady”  I adore his solo music, too, love the women’s backing vocals so much in this one.  And, as always, a master storyteller.  John Prine “Sam Stone”   This is probably my favourite John Prine LP.  Jackson Browne “For A Dancer”  Close ties to him, with David Lindley playing guitar (and many other instruments) for the band for so many years, and here, he’s playing fiddle.  Also had a housemate who had dated him (JB) for a time back in the early 80’s.  Very pretty ballad by a talented songwriter, ended up with kind of a bad reputation, however.