A powerful song about loss, this classic has been covered by many artists. With its soothing music style and emotionally touching lyrics, you may find yourself reaching for tissues.
Joji’s soothing vocals and infectious beat make this track stand out on his new album. Its lyrics will have you longing for someone that may never come back into your life again.
Bon Iver – The Green Grass of Home
Bon Iver’s debut album was an instantaneous hit, landing multiple year-end best lists and inspiring a large following. On this song in particular, Vernon sings an emotive tale of love and loss which resonates strongly with listeners; its plaintive acoustic melody gradually gets overlaid with drum beats and guitar riffs to build into a monumental moment that culminates in its pivotal moment of the song.
The band’s second album is even more mesmerizing, with each track sonically representing a different location. The singer’s emotive falsetto lends this emotive track its emotional depth while remaining honest and beautiful.
Bon Iver’s latest release, i,i, is an astounding experimentation and folk-pop masterpiece from Justin Vernon. Drawing upon inspirations found within that cabin environment but exploring further musically. As such, the result is an intimate yet epic album which will remain an accompaniment of life for generations to come.
Joni Mitchell – Blue Skies
Dehd’s delicate songs on Flowers of Devotion and Blue Skies appear fragile but indestructible, like an iPod playlist on shuffle. Their distantly-recalled bliss hits you hard at first; but then their steady flow and subtle intensity feel like an armistice in an ongoing war against anhedonia.
T.C. Boyle has never shied away from testing his characters, and in Blue Skies this same logic applies to an extended family living in both Florida and California during a flood-ravaged climate. Cat’s eco-warrior parents Ottilie and Frank, her frat boy fiance Todd and insectologist brother Cooper all struggle to adjust to a new normal in which natural disasters seem to happen at least weekly, with drinking becoming the preferred form of self-medication.
Boyle excels at crafting stories that combine high-octane plotting with mordant humor and astute social commentary; his apocalyptic novels feel both terrifyingly plausible yet somehow not enough. Their lifestyles, built on pollution and suffering in developing countries, become ever more distant as their luxurious lifestyles vanish like snakes.
Sarah MacLachlan – I Miss You
Sarah McLachlan spent some time in isolation before founding Lilith Fair – the traveling music festival dedicated to women – and rising quickly up American charts with hits like Building a Mystery and I Will Remember You. She kept a journal that documented free association thoughts that barely solidified before disintegrating again; or repeated listenings of one of her favorite albums from Talk Talk: Spirit of Eden.
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy was born of this solitude. The title references Wilfred Owen’s World War I poem Dulce et Decorum Est, in which soldiers “fumble frantically” to fit their gas masks during chemical warfare – reminding us all that tragedy and horror can create “excerpts of grace”.
Her producer Pierre Marchand was trained by Daniel Lanois of U2 and Peter Gabriel fame; his production makes individual instruments sound as though they’re being drawn through a bruised purple blur; the effect is both haunting and beautiful, capturing that sense of innocence lost and grief simultaneously.
The Verve – You Make Me Feel
Four young Verve men recorded ten tracks in seven weeks at Sawmills studio on the river Fowey near Golant, Cornwall that could have become hits in America. Urban Hymns would eventually feature both “The Drugs Don’t Work” and “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” two number-one singles which became top hits.
Richard Ashcroft had always been something of an enigma within The Verve; on stage, he would crowdwalk and climb amp stacks as part of Nick McCabe’s noise, yet when it came time for recording sessions he emerged as clearly dominant force. This can be heard on tracks like this one where an orchestra lift is featured prominently – possibly sampling Andrew Loog Oldham’s lift from Mind Games by The Beatles – yet Nike used this song during their 1998 “I Can” campaign regardless of The Verve’s opposition towards commercial use of their music!
After Urban Hymns, The Verve disbanded, with Ashcroft embarking on an impressive solo career – recently releasing his fifth album entitled These People.
Richard Ashcroft – I’m Not Alone
After The Verve disbanded in 1995, Ashcroft went on to forge his own solo career releasing three UK top three albums as an artist. Ashcroft became close with Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis who often referred to him as ‘Captain Rock”.
He had an uncanny ability to convey a range of feelings, from that related to drug use in History or his first wife’s passing away – such as sadness for their first wedding anniversary – making him an exceptional singer who allowed listeners to experience everything without becoming overwhelmed.
Human Conditions is Ashcroft’s second album and showcases this characteristic perfectly; with large scale compositions that often incorporate church choir, orchestra or solo French horn. Yet critics can find fault with this record; sometimes it seems as though Ashcroft is trying too hard, with songs beginning with light acoustic picking before church choir, orchestra or French horn come rushing in to overwhelm listeners in sound – making this record difficult to listen to all the way through.
Frank Ocean – Swim Good
R&B singer Frank Ocean recently performed the early mixtape track Swim Good from his early mixtape release Swim Good in a cappella at his London show, directed by Nabil Elderkin and showing off his impressive vocal range.
After initially ghostwriting for pop stars like Justin Bieber, John Legend, and Brandy as ghostwriters, Ocean eventually went solo with his debut mixtape Nostalgia Ultra in February 2011. Since then his increasing fame has earned him appearances on Tyler, the Creator’s Goblin as well as Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne projects.
Channel Orange was released to widespread critical acclaim in 2012 and tackled themes of unrequited love, class differences, and drug dependency with Ocean’s deft storytelling and subtle yet expressive vocals. Deeply personal songs like Swim Good helped elevate him as an LGBTQ icon – this track details his grandfather Lionel McGruder Jr. who mentored and encouraged Ocean to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings; Swim Good has become a potent reminder of life’s fragile fragility while stressing self-acceptance.
Tori Amos – Tear in Your Hand
Amos burst onto the musical scene in the early ’90s like an extraordinary storm of change. Her original vocal style matched by fearless lyrics on subjects as disparate as religion, sexuality and personal tragedy made an immediate and universal connection for audiences worldwide.
She quickly established herself as one of modern music’s premier interpreters when she used her piano bar on tours to interpret Pat Benatar, Bob Dylan and Slayer songs – often using them to reinvent their songs in unique ways – an ability that earned Amos her legendary status.
After nearly 30 years since Little Earthquakes, Amos is still sounding unique and distinctive. Her influence continues to spread: St. Vincent acknowledged her on her recent single; Nadine Shah named her album after a line from Boys For Pele; and Emily Wells frequently credits Amos as being an influence on her own work.
Bob Dylan – I Want to Spend Time With You
Bob Dylan defined an entire generation with his music; he was its embodiment in words and voice. A master lyricist, his abilities ranged from poetry, poignant philosophy, political commentary, even comedy sketches – yet none came close to this masterwork, which marries folk classic with Camus novel in one darkly beautiful song.
Ed Sheeran’s moving ballad “Don’t” will have you sobbing in no time – its heartbreaking ballad will leave you in tears within seconds! A song to soothe those who’ve experienced any form of hurt by someone they loved; its message speaks directly to any family who have had members taken from them by drug or alcohol abuse; its words offer hope by reminding those hurt by someone close that happiness lies just ahead; its lyrics offer encouragement that allows people to find hope again after someone has hurt them, not despair in that regard; its inclusion should make any list of songs that make people feel something.