The Band: Twisted Rose

The song: Watch The Stars

Why it is important: Suicide

It has taken me over a week to put this blog together. Why? You may ask, was it because the song talked about suicide? Yes, not because it is a complex topic. It was because I had too much to listen to, read and write about and had trouble keeping the blog and list of songs brief. List of songs? I wanted to do a B-side about suicide. And that list of songs ended up long, so I had to do some pruning.

I finally have the listening together, and I am ready to do some writing so you will have some listening. Twisted Rose was a new band in my listening sphere. This song dropped out of the internet ether into my inbox. So I listened to it.

Info und Bookinganfragen: info@twisted-rose.de http://www.twisted-rose.de

From the press release that came with the song:

With their new single “Watch The Stars,” Twisted Rose is again addressing suicide. The song was composed and written by Chris Bones. In it, he describes his feelings when he lost someone very close to him through suicide and how he had to stand by and could do nothing. Here are some thoughts on the other songs on this playlist.

I used Music Grotto as a source for some of this list and will try to annotate where I used their material. YouTube didn’t cooperate with posting links for some songs so you will have to do it manually do it yourself.

Side “A”

Watch The Stars by Twisted Rose

Watch The Stars explores suicide through the perspective of a person who has lost someone close to them and the pain that they are feeling. It is important to acknowledge our pain from losing someone. That could be the loss of a family member, a friend, a coworker, or someone who touched your life, like a musician, an actor or another social media person.

Everybody Hurts by R.E M.

This song comes with several good performances on YouTube that I would encourage you to watch as you listen to this amazingly moving song.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rOiW_xY-kc

Every aspect of Everybody Hurts talks about helping stop teenagers from committing suicide.

Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones.

YouTube: Rolling Stones – Paint it Black 2006 Live Video HD

Paint It Black is written from the point of view of a depressed person who wants everything to turn black because that is how they view everything in their life.

‘I look inside myself and see my heart is black / I see my red door and must have it painted black / maybe then I’ll fade away and not have to face the facts / it’s not easy facing up when your whole world is black.’

Don’t Try Suicide by Queen

Don’t Try Suicide is an anthem about why committing suicide is wrong. A grand anthem to ‘don’t do it, don’t you try it.”

A Little More by Machine Gun Kelly Ft. Victoria Monet

YouTube: Machine Gun Kelly – A Little More (Explicit) ft. Victoria Monet

Machine Gun Kelly rattles off a list of things wrong in the world that he witnesses and concludes that “all we need is a little more love.” This track turned me into a fan of MGK.

The Outsider by A Perfect Circle

YouTube: A Perfect Circle – Outsider (Director’s Cut)

The Outsider is one song off an album that deals with the theme of addiction and how suicide is never far away from that life.

I have a long list of songs and albums about addiction that I will make a separate blog to explore.

Side “B”

Heaven by Nanci Griffith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQXfj5hK9BQ

I shift gears, move away from rock and roll, and explore Country/Western and folk music for their rich history of hurtin’ songs.

Heaven, the singer, wants to escape the pain of their life and go to Heaven.

Hell No (I’m Not Alright) by Nanci Griffith

I love this track on several levels. For one, this song explores the feeling of not being alright and that our lives are not all fun and games. We need to be honest and tell people how we feel. And they need to be patient and listen to us without pushing solutions, just listen. It is OK to talk about feeling suicidal. For two, she growls, Hell No (I’m Not Alright).

Drunken Angel by Lucinda Williams

This song is about This song is a tribute to (and accusation against) fellow singer-songwriter and beautiful loser Blaze Foley. I recommend you do a little internet searching and discover the music of Blaze Foley and Lucinda Williams.

How Do You Get That Lonely by Blaine Larsen

YouTube: Blaine Larsen – How Do You Get That Lonely (Official Video)

Blaine has the perfect C/W voice to ask the question, How Do You Get That Lonely? A friend once commented that he didn’t know how anyone could get so desperate that ending their life was the best answer.

Whiskey Lullaby by Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZbN_nmxAGk

Alcohol is often hand in hand with suicide. It is often a slow death, drinking their lives away. Sometimes it comes quickly at the pull of a drunken finger on a trigger.

Fire and Rain by James Taylor

While browsing tracks dealing with suicide, I was surprised to see this one on a list from Music Grotto. I will add their take on the topic.

“The classic number was released in 1970 and is one of Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 greatest songs of all time. The song talks about the suicide death of Suzanne Schnerr – James Taylor’s childhood friend. In the song, James also opens up about his struggles with depression and drug addiction.

When dealing with depression, most people want to find a way out, so mental illness and substance addiction are closely associated. However, drugs offer temporary numbness to the situation but do more harm than good in the long run.”

Alone Again (Naturally) by Gilbert O’Sullivan

A long-time favourite song of mine and one that I didn’t think of as being tied to suicide, but it is—an even better song now.

There we have it, 14 songs, seven a side. A full album of songs that explore the topic of suicide. All thanks to the seed from Watch The Stars by Twisted Rose and the contributions of others. If you have a favourite song about suicide that is not on this list, please leave a note in the comments and thank you.