A playlist for your week six blues

Below is a pie chart of my most listened-to artists. You might be thinking: is she ok? No. I am not. However, I do have a great grasp of sad music. So, without further ado, allow me to present my Spotify playlist for the week six blues.

I am very embarrassed that “country rock” seems to have made it onto my most-played genre list (Image credits: author’s own screenshot)

What are the week six blues?

The week six blues are a natural continuation of their predecessor, the week five blues. I tend to find that week six is actually worse: the work is piling up, the money’s running out, it feels like you’re being repeatedly banged over the head by a shovel… Instead of creating a playlist full of upbeat tunes to combat this despair, I’ve filled it with melancholic, sad, and slightly unhinged songs since I prefer to wallow in my own sadness. Starting with:

The Classics

Classics not in an oldie sense, but in an obvious sense. For example, the sad-girl-music to end all sad-girl-music: Mitski. Oh, how she has seen me at my worst.

I’ve added some of her sadder songs to this playlist, including but not limited to: Drunk Walk Home (the screaming in the last 30 seconds of this song perfectly encapsulates that essay-crisis hysteria), Class of 2013 (my favourite Mitski song, also unhinged-sounding), and I Bet on Losing Dogs (a true classic). 

She rightfully earned the top two spots on my 2021 Spotify Wrapped (Image credits: author’s own screenshot)

In a similar vein, I’ve added some classic Phoebe Bridgers songs, Cellophane by FKA Twigs (Robert Pattinson, you will pay for your crimes) and various other sad songs that have been popularised by TikTok (The Night We Met, Something in the Orange, etc). Also, did you know that Michael Cera actually makes surprisingly great music? Now you do. 

Interesting mix of artists there (Image credits: author’s own screenshot)

The Oldies

For a slightly different vibe (more suited for melancholy walks along the river Cam than late-night library meltdowns) there is plenty of Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan included.

While Johnny Cash’s music is usually more upbeat, he does indeed sing the saddest song of all time: Hurt. Leonard Cohen is one of my favourite artists (listen to So Long Marianne or The Partisan and tell me it doesn’t change your life), and Bob Dylan makes up for his vocals with his incredible lyrics.

An example of what week six can do to a person (Image credits: author’s own screenshot)

The Nineties

90s shoegaze, indie and/or alternative music are always trusty sources for a depression playlist. Radiohead, Mazzy Star, The Cranberries and Elliott Smith are classics of the genre.

Fade into You and Needle in the Hay were my top two songs on Spotify last year, which tells you where my mental state was at. For a more modern indie sound, Alex G is my personal favourite. 

Top three songs from Spotify Wrapped 2022 capture a worrying state of mind (Image credits: author’s own screenshot)

Acquired taste

Maybe the most acquired taste picks include The Mountain Goats, Neutral Milk Hotel and Car Seat Headrest. While I personally love music where the male singer sounds like he is in physical pain, I acknowledge it is not to everyone’s taste. However, This Year by The Mountain Goats, and In the Airplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk hotel are life-changing songs, if you can make it to the end. 

Heard a fellow soul in pain, recorded it for my private story (Image credits: Kirsty Falconer)

Stick it out, folks! Only two more weeks to go. In the meantime, why not have a listen?

Featured image credits: Kirsty Falconer, (from left to right: pixxietails via Creative Commons, musichype via Creative Commons, kristiapaz via Creative Commons, svennevenn via Creative Commons, small oranges via Creative Commons) 

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• Five ways to shift your Week Five/Six blues