I know it’s over – Jeff Buckley

This cover of a Smith’s song wonderfully blends the melancholy writing of Morrissey with the soulful singing and guitar work of Jeff Buckley. Although his version of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen is the better known and more obvious pick, I have always been partial to this track and find the lyrics, which cover loneliness and loss, to be the more sorrowful. As far as I know there is no existing studio version of this song, only live versions. But the quality is great and the live aspect really helps to convey the raw emotion in the song.

Heaviest lyric: “If you’re so very good looking, then why do you sleep alone tonight? I know. Because tonight is just like any other night.”

Feels like we only go backwards – Tame Impala

This psychedelic track by an Australian band sounds fairly upbeat, but the chorus is relatable to anyone who has been stuck in a relationship that goes nowhere. The chorus of this song is stupidly catchy and will presumably be stuck in your head for days. The video is pure psychedelia and the opening drum beat just forces your attention. A great song.

Heaviest lyric: “It feels like we only go backwards baby, every part of me says go ahead, I got my hopes up again, oh no, not again, It feels like we only go backwards.”

My Dad – @peace

I absolutely adore this experimental New Zealand hip-hop group and this may be my favourite song of theirs. The closing song to an album entirely dedicated to heartbreak and regret, this song has a great, sort of spacey beat that just makes you feel lost. The lyrics follow the result of the protagonist’s infidelity, and what he attributes that to. Best heard in a completely dark room through good headphones.

Heaviest lyric: “And now, I watch as I burn down, everything we had, and I blame it on my Dad”

Answer – Tyler The Creator

Tyler the Creator is known for his incredibly crass lyrics that cover topics such as rape and ultra-violence. But an ongoing theme throughout his albums has always been his hatred towards his Father for leaving him. This song is so much more dramatic if listened in context with his other music. He has spent two albums declaring how much he hates and doesn’t need his father and now he finally admits that he wishes he could talk to him. Even more crushing, he admits that he probably wouldn’t have a music career if not for his father leaving, as much of his popularity came from this anger towards his father conveyed through music. The whole song is written in the style of a direct correspondence to his father starting with biting sarcasm moving to outright accusation and blame and ending in acceptance over the fact he misses his dad. The song also feature great back-up vocals from “Syd The Kid” of the wonderful “The Internet”.

It’s also worth checking out the music video. You can practically see Tyler start to tear up towards the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwkCXoboqGc

Heaviest lyric: “But it sucks you ain’t give a fuck and are considered a sperm donor now, the fuck is Okonma? I’m changing my shit to Haley.” (Tyler’s legal last name, and his father’s last name, is Okonma, but he often credits himself as Tyler Hayley or Wolf Hayley.)

Mad World – Gary Jules

I first heard this song on a trailer for the videogame “Gears Of War” and I instantly wanted to go out and buy that game. Damn advertising. This song is powerful. It manages to convince people that “Donnie Darko” is the greatest movie of all time. Originally by “Tears For Fears” this is a classic sad song, up there with “Cat’s In The Cradle” or “Father And Son” but I find it to be the most depressing of the bunch. If you somehow haven’t heard it before, press the play button with haste. Also has a very stylish music video.

Heaviest lyrics: “I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad, the dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had.”

Neptune Estate – King Krule

King Krule is a fantastic English musician. He has a fairly unconventional singing voice that I don’t think could be classified as technically proficient, but it carries a lot of soul and suits the music he makes. This song blends a dirty, slow, hip-hop-esque drum beat with Krule’s unique slow, miserable, singing that goes to no effort to hide his accent, and some great saxophone playing in the background to give it a jazz feel. He also makes a sneak appearance in the posted video, which is not completely as it seems…

Heaviest lyric: “Can’t you bare just one more night? I wanna be with you, I wanna be used, I hope you feel used”