I really like Soundgarden. I haven't listened to his solo material before. It's probably a good time to start. I remember when he passed, It's still hard to believe he's gone.
My go to when I'm suicidal is the Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails. It's the perfect album when I need to feel okay with not being okay. Also gives my depression a name and a face that I can insult and yell at when my brain is being mean to me.
I call random customer service phone lines and wait in line and then hang up after 30 seconds of listening to the saddest person on earth asking if I'm there or if I can hear them.
I reserve some wordless music for when my sadness gets critical. That way, they always sound bittersweet without me listening them to death.
Lourié's 5 Préludes Fragiles. Makes me feel aware of how easy I am to break at the moment, but also how pretty survivalism through fragility can be.
Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess. It's not about a dead princess, just one in the past, but it makes me feel like I'm that princess, rich and sad and stepping around in a bright, cream-beige ballroom. Instead of just solely sad.
Debussy's Images. II. Hommage à Rameau. A quiet plaintiveness with occasionally rising energy helps me tend closer to neutrality.
Stanchinsky's Prelude in the Lydian Mode. As the n-tuplets get desperate, I get desperate to fix everything. But then the curses stop and we return to a pretty but occasionally sickly quiet. The nonsenses are pinpricks in its floral thoughts.
Glinka/Balakirev's The Lark. Reminds me that I'm fluttering, not just floundering.
In any order, but I usually start with the Fragile Preludes (especially the middle few of the set). Lyrical songs are usually for higher energy/mood to me
Alan Walker has some bangers. Personal favourites are On My Way, Not You, and End of Time
Alec Benjamin is also amazing. Favourites are If I Killed Someone For You and Boy in the Bubble
Also Pokemon Mystery Dungeon has some of the best instrumental-only pieces IMO. Don't Ever Forget from PMD Explorers is my all time favourite sad song (partly because of the context around when that song played in game but it stands just as well on its own).
I've found that Charlie Cunningham has some stuff that can really motivate or put stuff in perspective. Stuff like Pathways or Headlights can feel like a hand on the shoulder.
I listened to both tracks. He has a really great voice. Reminds me of the time I spent in high school listening to indie lo-fi music. I'll check out more of his music.
I didn't know Jacques Brel by name but I when to check it out and the first YouTube suggestion was Ne me quittes pas and I recognize it, very sad and very beautiful indeed.
When I'm feeling what I can only describe as 'general despair at the state of things' (weltschmerz?) I have to admit that Babylon Zoo's Spaceman does a great job in vocalising what I feel.
Well if you're already into Brel... I can confidently give you Brassens. I consider him to have been the greatest poet. It's difficult to convey just how beautifully he told mundane things (les copains d'abord, l'orage...), how he made life and death sweet (le testament, la prière...), how he brought the humblest people under the limelight (la complainte des filles de joie, l'auvergnat...), and elevated already beautiful works of poetry (Paul Fort, Victor Hugo) into musical classics (Gastibelza, le petit cheval...).
I listened to those Brassens tracks you recommended. I quite liked them. I must confess I don't speak any French but I enjoyed them. "Les copains d'abord" was probably my favorite of the four. I looked up the translation, It's a sweet song. Thanks for the recommendation!