Sometimes, a bad mood can only be cured by listening to some angry music and punching the air. (Just the air, though. Not a person. I can’t be clearer about that.) If you’re feeling particularly rotten and are stuck in a bad mood, there are a few rock songs from the 1980s that might just make you feel better. If not better, then at least understood. Let’s take a look!
“I Don’t Care Anymore” by Phil Collins (1983)
Going through a rough breakup? Phil Collins released this particular rock tune after going through a tough divorce. And it’s one of Collins’ most spiteful songs. “I Don’t Care Anymore” has an overall dark vibe to it, not unlike the spooky “In The Air Tonight” from several years prior. But Collins managed to pack a lot of rage into something that is musically quite beautiful, complete with Daryl Stuermer on the guitar. Fans at the time loved “I Don’t Care Anymore”, too. It made it all the way to the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
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“Bigmouth Strikes Again” by The Smiths
How about some jangle pop-flavored alternative rock for your sour mood? “Bigmouth Strikes Again” by The Smiths was released in 1986 and is one of the English outfit’s most self-deprecating, frustrating songs in their discography. And if you get it, you get it. Any musician who has struggled to make it in the music industry, or anyone who has ever felt their every action is under a microscope, will understand what Morrissey is moaning about in this song. “Bigmouth Strikes Again” topped the UK Indie chart back in the day, so clearly a lot of people related to it. Personally, I love Placebo’s cover.
“Waiting Room” by Fugazi
I couldn’t leave some good post-hardcore off of this list. “Waiting Room” by Fugazi is a personal favorite among rock songs of the 1980s that are perfect for a bad mood. Ian MacKaye wrote this song for the band’s debut EP in 1988, and it’s about how short-lived his earlier band, Embrace, was. While this song has an angry and aggressive vibe (it’s a post-hardcore song, after all), it’s a particularly hopeful song about waiting “for the right people and the right moment,” according to MacKaye.
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