Weekend Listomania (Special Bonjour, Tristesse! Video Edition)

Well, it's Friday, and you know what that means. Yes, my Oriental amanuensis Hop-Sing and I are off to...well, actually I can't tell you where we're off to because I'm in the midst of firing the disloyal little toad (hint: That Mitzi Gaynor album is missing again) and I don't want to involve lawyers.

But in any case, posting by moi will be completely not happening until Monday.

Thus, in my absence, here's a little project for us all:

Coolest Post-Elvis Song or Record Referencing The Emotion of Sadness or the Word Sadness Itself (Title or Lyric!!!)

No arbitrary rules this time -- just take your meds and promise you won't slash your wrists when all this is over.

And my totally top of my head Top Eight is:

8. Little Miss Sad -- The Five Emprees



A big hit in the Chicago area, summer of '65. My across the hall college neighbor that fall turned me on to it just this year. Thanks, Eric!

7. Sad Songs (Say So Much) -- Elton John



I've never owned an Elton album or particularly even wanted to, but for some reason this song gets under my skin.

6. Still I'm Sad -- The Yardbirds



You know, for a blues band, these guys sure did a lot of modal Middle-Eastern sounding stuff.

5. Sad Peter Pan -- Smashing Pumpkins



You thought it was going to be that Melon Collie shit, didn't you?

Inspirational verse:

It's the plan of most
To discover that magnificent ghost
When did I get perverted
And my innocent eyes diverted from the view so grand
Imbued with distractions
I'm greedy like Senior Babbitt
I'm just chasing that electric rabbit
I'm a reluctant rebel
I just want to be Aaron Neville

I'm really glad Billy Corgan takes himself seriously because after reading that it's a wonder anybody else does.

4. I Was Young When I Left Home -- Bob Dylan



It's like a distillation of all the melancholy in the world. And people said he couldn't sing...

3. Sad Little Girl -- The Beau Brummels



There is a school of thought, to which I occasionally subscribe, that BB's frontman Sal Valentino is one of the greatest rock voices ever.

2. The River -- Bruce Springsteen



As Thelma Ritter says in All About Eve -- what a story; everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end.

And the number one it's-all-so-sad song, don't give me a hard time about this or I'll harm you, quite obviously is ---

1. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry -- Hank Williams



Still the most profoundly blue piece of music ever recorded.

Awrighty, then -- what would your choices be?

[Shameless blogwhore: My parallel Cinema Listomania (theme: Genre parodies) is now up over at Box Office. As always, if you could see your way over there to leave a comment, an angel gets its wings, blah blah blah.]