That’s the name I gave a playlist I made some time ago.

It seeks to express and celebrate a particular moody, dark, sorrowful aesthetic. It’s not appropriate for every occasion, but it actually brings me a great deal of joy & a real sense of power to dabble in a darker vibe from time to time. I can’t put my finger on the exact reasons why, but it feels really good to lean into art that channels negative emotions now and then. It brings me a closer to the edgelord in me, for better or worse.

I just now googled around a little bit, and found this interesting blog. Check it out if you are curious about a well-informed exploration of why humans are attracted to music that channels sadness.

This playlist has two main inspirations: a very cool Blue Monday-themed playlist I found last year (I blatantly borrowed some tracks from it) and the excellent movie Only lovers left alive.

Now for the visual.

I love putting sounds and visuals together. Sometimes a combination just works, trust me (always trust charlie dickens).

When words fail to convey, count on music. And when music can’t be verbalized, turn to visuals.

Bearing in mind the limited imaginative breadth of words, allow me to freewheel and to demonstrate.

When I listen to some of the songs in this playlist, I have a recurring vision in my head.

It’s me.

On a surfboard.

On a wave.

That’s at least 30 feet tall.

And the water is pitch black.

Chew on that image for a while. I mean, really bask in the glory that is me ridin’ that dark wave like I am the baddest, most fearless motherfucker in world.

And now look at this visual I curated in conjunction with this playlist.

Sternenfall by Anselm Kiefer, 1995. I do not own this image.

This may give you an approximation of this playlist’s context.

I don’t even surf.