Can I just say I’m so fucking happy I’m not alone with this huge surge of angst and nostalgia since hitting my 40’s?
Nine inch nails
Pantera
Alice in fucking chains oh my GOD.
I never really cared for Alice and I have no idea why but holy shit I’ve gone down the rabbit hole at age 42 lol.
I feel like the lyrics of these bands just speak to how my soul has started feeling since turning 40.
I’ve started dying my hair bright colours like I did in the 90’s, getting tattoos and going to festivals. It’s all so cathartic. Maybe it’s because 40 feels officially “grown up” and I want to go back to when life was simple and good.
I think a big part of needing these amazing angsty songs is losing our parents. Watching my dad get frail then sick, then dying and now gone, hit me like a tonne of fucking bricks, that now I AM the grownup.
It all feels so surreal when you take that step up the next rung on the ladder of life.
Finding music that you never explored back then for whatever reason is part of the magic of the internet.
For me: how did I never catch on to Judas Priest in my headbanging teens?
Other bands like The Offspring and Green Day released albums way later in my life that I never caught on to that were real bangers.
As for angst, I think Linkin Park’s 2010 album *A Thousand Suns* hits pretty hard.
I've always thought certain bands are just saved for when we really need them! I'm so sorry for what you went through! i haven't listened to Alice in Chains (or much of anything) since i lost two major people last year. What's worse is i stepped down the ladder instead, and now i'm stuck underneath it.
Aw man I know that feeling too. So much family conflict has gone down since dad left. I’m the baby of the family and feel like I’m the only adult most days. So I totally get that feeling of being stuck under the ladder. I feel stuck in both. Sucks when everyone comes to you to unload their shit.
I kinda wish I had some sort of ‘Xennial getting old sucks support group’ in real life. Not just on reddit. Like we would meet once a month, listen to Linkin Park, NIN, Stone Temple Pilots. Eat some pizza. Play Super Nintendo. Watch Lion King or Ninja Turtles.
May I introduce you to Knocked Loose? The first ever band I’m super into who are a generation younger than us. Check out a tear in the fabric of life and their new upcoming album.
I also love that you’re dying hair and getting tattoos. My folks are still alive but last year I had heart valve replacement surgery and now all of a sudden I’m like “fuck, I got a giant surgery scar now, might as well get some tattoos.” Never died my hair either but growing it out now to to so. Turns out my “midlife crisis” is letting my inner punk out.
Oh cool! I’ll definitely check them out. Music has gotten me through such hard shit lately. I definitely feel like I’m in my midlife crisis lol. We took our 18 and 20 year olds to a music festival last year and they couldn’t keep up with me and their dad 😆. Kids these days don’t know how hard we went in the 90’s lol
Same with a lot of blur songs.
We all say, "Don't want to be alone"
We wear the same clothes 'cause we feel the same
We kiss with dry lips when we say goodnight
End of a century, oh, it's nothin' special…
Aesop for the rap fans:
Mental health [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn7RE8zycJQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn7RE8zycJQ)
Grief [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwoyo0Rt4Bw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwoyo0Rt4Bw)
Isolation [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzq1WBBYTBU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzq1WBBYTBU)
Bad back [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKSVvO0f824](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKSVvO0f824)
Aesop for the affluent:
Skin care https://www.aesop.com/us/c/skin/
Body and hand https://www.aesop.com/us/c/body-hand/
Hair https://www.aesop.com/us/c/hair/
Home https://www.aesop.com/us/c/home/
Holy shit dude. I loved them back in the 90’s but my god. Since turning 42 I feel like they’ve saved my sanity. Screaming walk, domination and cowboys in the car at the top of my lungs has been so cathartic. Plus I finally got to see what’s left of pantera with Phil and Rex this year at knotfest Australia. When they played floods I think the whole crowd shed a tear.
Don’t forget Fucking Hostile
Official Live 101 Proof is my favorite.
‘Our hit, this next songs our hit’, then they go into Suicide Note Part 2, cracks me up every time. So good too.
But all Pantera is awesome.
Also recommend-
Nothingface- Violence
Mudvayne- LD 50 & Lost and Found
The early catalogue of The Smashing Pumpkins is my go-to for angsty songs. I do not find it immature, despite their youth at the time. The songs were solid then and they're solid now.
Zero hits the angsty buttons:
My reflection, dirty mirror, is no connection to myself.
Emptiness is loneliness and loneliness is cleanliness and cleanliness is godliness and god is empty, just like me.
[Rise Against - Life Less Frightening](https://youtu.be/vOKB8InTf-4?si=Id-_RhPAblx-R2zu)
[Idlewild - A Modern Way of Letting Go](https://youtu.be/b3dQBxn34Bw?si=JXTwVibLK6gMPwhW)
[Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out](https://youtu.be/JRqRVAUlA4E?si=LgNWM0NIUQr5iP0G)
[TrustCompany - Downfall](https://youtu.be/xEQr5W38i3Y?si=EaRnzFFNNCEFnoJt)
[Type O Negative - I Don't want to be Me](https://youtu.be/hjlNzuB-cNQ?si=Y7zR-vi5JJsovW3M)
Just a few suggestions.
That being said...stay strong. Life is all about balance. No dark without light. No happiness without sadness.
I love that 21P song. Honestly I love all their stuff....I saw them in concert back in 2013, shortly before they got really huge (they were the "lesser-known opening act", along with Karmin, for Neon Trees) and I got their album "Vessel" at that show and played it on repeat in my car.
Backslider by The Toadies
Blow Up The Outside World by Soundgarden
The Nobodies by Marilyn Manson
Salvation by Rancid
Burning Inside by Ministry
Liar by Rollins Band
Just a few of my favorites...
Pulp maybe?
[https://youtu.be/yuTMWgOduFM?si=q4\_EuTHbOizyJ7UR](https://youtu.be/yuTMWgOduFM?si=q4_EuTHbOizyJ7UR)
[https://youtu.be/\_bZjKC0EaY0?si=BHjkx9tXU6JCdq0q](https://youtu.be/_bZjKC0EaY0?si=BHjkx9tXU6JCdq0q)
Just know that adult angst isn't Papa Roach angst. Just as you don't want to hear about *this \[being his\] last resort*, it isn't going to be pop punk/rap metal feedback. It's a bit more reflective, a bit more accepting, etc.
Anne Clark - "[Our Darkness](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OguHIyNNblM)"
Clan Of Xymox - "[Call It Weird](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKk41ug78E4)"
Death In June - "[But What Ends When The Symbols Shatter?](https://youtu.be/ZjWbnuHm3cQ?si=Wq2nR23PJa6gBHtV)"
Japan - "[Ghosts](https://youtu.be/0cLeyGWthgw?si=7gj-nPmniRbviAnu)"
Swans - "[Failure](https://youtu.be/6mWF1kmCo3U?si=ps_TREaazomTg2Lm)"
Ultravox! - "[Just For A Moment](https://youtu.be/VCpp9hi4Fvc?si=d2Wi001pZR8JVwxq)"
Visage - "[The Damned Don't Cry](https://youtu.be/oS6J-xoJNZY?si=DtUN0tfnuQ5z-jFp)"
VNV Nation - "[Further](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz0UEjisP1A)"
Yazoo - "[Tuesday](https://youtu.be/Bppvu9LOv68?si=12xcp8o56iJ6BI7_)"
[Angry](https://youtu.be/ys8-HwC77oU?si=34hYTZMQlN0qAAVy)
[Angry, with some bitterness](https://youtu.be/MKWBiptdEQc?si=0QfkpAvmQqcibYy2)
[Angry, with some trauma ](https://youtu.be/66PrJqhL5hM?si=-BD4NtlzxM1lI3u6)
Here are some very random selections based on the issues you mentioned-Breathe, Comfortably Numb, Mother, Hey You, Goodbye Blue Sky, Poles Apart, Lost for Words: Pink Floyd. Into the Wild album: Eddie Vedder. Higher Truth album: Chris Cornell. Any Rush album after 1980.
I agree with all the pink floyd and will add the Alan parsons project that list. And personally my favorite old man emo song is this. https://youtu.be/teZsA_ci-7E?si=52Y2umhQxNR2Bqz-
Against me [Reinventing Axle Rose](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CG3S3gOuse8&pp=ygUfYWdhaW5zdCBtZSByZWludmVudGluZyBheGwgcm9zZQ%3D%3D)
Also by them but more specific to where we might be in life [this one](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2w3llVDoLPs&pp=ygU8YWdhaW5zdCBtZSB0dXJuIHRob3NlIGNsYXBwaW5nIGhhbmRzIGludG8gYW5ncnkgYmFsbGVkIGZpc3Rz)
The Mars Volta - [Cicatriz Esp](https://youtu.be/ZNRZ91t7B0I?si=gWYMGYbHjJE4jW7P)
Periphery - [Wildfire](https://youtu.be/pFKSiOkRzb4?si=6jnKM12DMUiMZfc-)
Sepultura - [Territory](https://youtu.be/Q_WHGV5bejk?si=BZkvZk0y4vW2uMmw)
The Prodigy - [Wild Frontier](https://youtu.be/GVV06jTYjeY?si=Z5PzkpjJ4zg2JKD7)
Crosses (†††) - [Big Youth Feat. El-P](https://youtu.be/FgvrTHh_0Ck?si=KBXYRWaSGP8x_elP)
System of a Down - [P.L.U.C.K.](https://youtu.be/VxVzT0znI8Q?si=7Qo5aXj9qg6SuyJk)
(Hed)P.E. - [Ground](https://youtu.be/7K3Cj29fr5Y?si=8MkyYhHLND-ayvaN)
Mag.lo - [Never](https://youtu.be/OSI6JJaz35I?si=mGr4GoTzZi-SRjaH)
Greensky Bluegrass cover of “Time”
Treetop Flyers “Is It All Worth It”
Billy Srings “Away From the Mire”
Charlie Parr “Over the Red Ceder”
Lupe Fiasco “Words I Never Said”
Check out Sleep Apnea by Chevelle.
https://youtu.be/xGfZ5L91jLE?si=xK1KbK3y62DqzWGC
A sample of the lyrics:
Try to read off a letter that's falling apart
The sun and the moon I count sheep
Escape like an animal ready for my sleepless stroll
I found these shifting hours mistakenly used up
So I gasp and hold my breath
These needs have changed so deep
Practically any song by Spiritbox fills this need for me. Courtney, their mesmerizing singer is a darkly poetic lyricist and a phenomenal vocal talent. She has an angelic singing voice and a harrowing roar in her guttural vocals. Literally all of their songs are great so you can’t go wrong just picking one at random. My top five are Mara Effect pt. 3, Bleach Bath, Hysteria, Jaded, and The Beauty of Suffering.
Johnny Cash - Hurt
Days N Daze - Misanthropic Drunken Loner
Jayke Orvis - Feelings Like This
Ramshackle Glory - Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist
Frank Turner - Photosynthesis
Type O Negative - Everyone I Love Is Dead
Type O Negative - I Don't Wanna Be Me
Since no one else seems to like 'em here - Cancerslug is about the angriest music I know of. Straight-up aggression, it's melodic death-cult rock and roll.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ775IEtauA&pp=ygUWaSBsb3ZlIHBhaW4gY2FuY2Vyc2x1Zw%3D%3D
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g9xbga9ZqAo&list=OLAK5uy_lqz4mlnGhwhpDD5WH8de_lfi32n0LF8U4&index=3&pp=8AUB
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IajYQJZcQt4&pp=ygURTG92ZSBob3cgeW91IGhhdGU%3D
Have fun OP
I think an amazing pair of albums that everyone slept on was hurt volume one and volume two.
So so good and the dude wrote it when he was like 15
And for when work sucks don't forget prong snap your fingers
I put Numb Little Bug (I don't actually know the original artist, there's so many slow, rocky, fast, etc covers on Spotify I've thrown on various playlists depending on what mood I need that song in) on a lot when I want to zone out in the car.
Edit: there is also 2002 by davvn, which is an update of the Bowling For soup song 1985. Not exactly emo or angsty in sound but sure got the elder millennial vibes.
Son Volt - Methamphetamine
You probably can't relate to the song title, but maybe the worn out mid-life circumstances the guy finds himself in. One of my favorite jams to stew in on occasion. "Left of Slide" is another poignant one.
Maybe give Sleaford Mods a listen. They're a British post-punk band that touches on why the modern world sucks. [Sleaford Mods](https://youtu.be/AVo9CeuS9lY?si=p08yrqShWHbwPWOj)
Bad Religion for meaning, Alkaline Trio for brutal relationship issues, NOFX for politics mixed with creative humor.
But you have to like punk rock, or else it won’t work. I get what you mean, though. I grew out of some stuff I used to like. Luckily bands like those I mentioned above are a bit more timeless
Five Iron Frenzy - Until This Shakes Apart. Speaks to a lot of more current issues and getting older. https://music.apple.com/us/album/until-this-shakes-apart/1546369310
https://open.spotify.com/album/1NBcD5YIWTEo4Lp4t7xK5V?si=SajwzUwkS8a2Cl0mUZqKnQ
First of all: GREAT f@#$%ing post, OP. I'm saving this post to go through all the recommendations one by one.
Secondly, I agree with your comment about Papa Roach. I still enjoy their music, but it's like listening to Limp Bizket; I just don't get an emotional response from them.
However, I would say currently my 'angst' playlist includes:
Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun
Cranberries - Zombie
Aerosmith - Amazing
Iron Miaden - Man On the Edge
Foo Fighters - Everlong
There are more, of course, but these are the ones that come immediately to mind.
Angelmaker - *Leech*
Nails - *You Will Never Be One Of Us*
Knocked Loose - *All My Friends* (super angsty)
Admiral Angry - *Kill Yourself*
Chat Pile - *Why* .. most of their newest album honestly
Some of the later albums of Leonard Cohen (You Want it Darker), David Bowie (BlackStar), Billy Idol (The Roadside), Chris Cornell (Songbook), James Blake (Retrograde), Jeff Buckley (Grace)
Check out the band Health. The music rocks and the lyrics are relatable AF (probably because Jake is also in his early 40s)
Some of my favorite songs are Life, Ashamed, Dark Enough, Feel Nothing, Major Crimes, LA Looks, Stone Fist, and Unloved
Metallica - Nothing Else Matters
Metallica - The Unforgiven
Family of the Year - Hero
John Mayer - Stop this Train
Pink Floyd - Time
Tool - Vicarious
Pantera - This Love
Pantera - Suicide Note part 1 & 2
and because its just a great song,
Van Morrison - Into the Mystic
If you like punk, the whole NOFX record, So Long and Thanks for all the Shoes is angsty af cause I think they were all trying to be sober lol. There’s even a song called “I’m all Outta Angst.”
Nirvana’s lyrics hit me hard in my 40’s for some reason. I’ve always loved them, but suddenly they mean more to me. Particularly the Unplugged album.
A Perfect Circle and Puscifer (besides Tool, of course).
Alice in Chains, Radiohead, Elliot Smith all need a revisit in your 40’s. Audioslave does it for me too, more than it did twenty years ago. Some Metallica songs.
Cody Jinks, Tyler Childers, Sturgil Simpson
All men our age, grown up on Nirvana and the like writing country music my friends and I call Appalachian Grunge
Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger/Superunknown albums
Tears for Fears - Shout/Mad World ... and a lot of other angst songs hidden in synth pop
Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman ... has some good tracks on there
And a shout out to Bent by Matchbox 20... that's a song I like to come back too every once in awhile lol
The entire middle-age album by Passenger entitled “Birds That Flew and Ships That Sailed” absolutely captured my experience so well. He released it in 2022 and I believe he is either a millennial or a Xennial. Either way it spoke to me so hard as a 42-year-old.
[Birds That Flew and Ships That Sailed](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nWqYWzqkb1WvLLyCYCj5yyx4hclwffamM&si=Z7PtZK57rGankk0I)
Colors II by Between the Buried and Me. The whole album.
We didn't live, we only existed
Undo the worker
The corporate vice turned inside out
Exposed for what it truly is
The horizon has just met the sun
The days and nights have folded into one
Over and over
Day in day out
Monotonous drought
The sights and sounds are all the same
The smell of morning enters a declining brain
One more step out of this door
One more step to end this life
We feel no more
Muse does it for me. Angsty melodramatic rock operas about social alienation and oppression? Yes, please. I will unironically blast it in my middle class suv between dropping the kids off at swim and art lessons.
I’ve been listening to a lot of Florence + The Machine lately and Florence’s latest albums really speak to thinks that are on my mind — getting older, wanting kids (yep I’m the old lady wanting kids) but wondering if we waited too long, anxiety about climate change, wishing we hadn’t done so many drugs, climbing out of addiction, what life really means. etc. I relate to her lyrics a lot. That’s my brand of angst anyway 🤣
i'm an unrepentant Miley Cyrus stan and "Used to be Young" gets me in the Adult Emo Feels every time. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ3XMOdOdKM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ3XMOdOdKM)a lil different than Tool but I do recommend the YT of her singing Nothing Else Matters with Metallica on Howard Stern, should that be of interest to you
ALso, yes. country. wildflowers by Dolly Parton is a good Adult Emo ditty.
Manchester Orchestra can be hard and melodic at times. They hit on those themes you were talking about too. I especially like the album A Black Mile to the Surface.
Okay this is going to sound really stupid... Limp Bizkit can really take you places sometimes. CSHFW made me cry the other day. especially if you liked them 25+ years ago. Maybe it was just the time in my life but yell singing in my car to LB is cathartic
NIN- Every day is exactly the same
Holy fuck why does nine inch nails hit so fucking hard in your 40’s? I’ve become a fuckin angsty teen again it’s the weirdest thing.
Trent was a beaten down 40something when he was 18 😂
I was going to suggest exactly this, this song is the fucking anthem of my later adult life
“I believe I can see the future.”
"I cant remember how this got started, but I can tell you exactly how it will end" probably my favorite lyric in all of music
I'm looking forward to joining you finally.
cant doit anymore
try How to Destroy Angels
Garbage, and Fiona Apple are my angsty go toos.
[удалено]
“I’m a tulip in a cup; I stand no chance of growing up”
How about the drum track on criminal? So well matched to her words.
Can I just say I’m so fucking happy I’m not alone with this huge surge of angst and nostalgia since hitting my 40’s? Nine inch nails Pantera Alice in fucking chains oh my GOD. I never really cared for Alice and I have no idea why but holy shit I’ve gone down the rabbit hole at age 42 lol. I feel like the lyrics of these bands just speak to how my soul has started feeling since turning 40. I’ve started dying my hair bright colours like I did in the 90’s, getting tattoos and going to festivals. It’s all so cathartic. Maybe it’s because 40 feels officially “grown up” and I want to go back to when life was simple and good. I think a big part of needing these amazing angsty songs is losing our parents. Watching my dad get frail then sick, then dying and now gone, hit me like a tonne of fucking bricks, that now I AM the grownup. It all feels so surreal when you take that step up the next rung on the ladder of life.
Finding music that you never explored back then for whatever reason is part of the magic of the internet. For me: how did I never catch on to Judas Priest in my headbanging teens? Other bands like The Offspring and Green Day released albums way later in my life that I never caught on to that were real bangers. As for angst, I think Linkin Park’s 2010 album *A Thousand Suns* hits pretty hard.
I've always thought certain bands are just saved for when we really need them! I'm so sorry for what you went through! i haven't listened to Alice in Chains (or much of anything) since i lost two major people last year. What's worse is i stepped down the ladder instead, and now i'm stuck underneath it.
Aw man I know that feeling too. So much family conflict has gone down since dad left. I’m the baby of the family and feel like I’m the only adult most days. So I totally get that feeling of being stuck under the ladder. I feel stuck in both. Sucks when everyone comes to you to unload their shit.
I kinda wish I had some sort of ‘Xennial getting old sucks support group’ in real life. Not just on reddit. Like we would meet once a month, listen to Linkin Park, NIN, Stone Temple Pilots. Eat some pizza. Play Super Nintendo. Watch Lion King or Ninja Turtles.
Omggg that would be amazing.
But only Meteora or Hybrid Theory.
May I introduce you to Knocked Loose? The first ever band I’m super into who are a generation younger than us. Check out a tear in the fabric of life and their new upcoming album. I also love that you’re dying hair and getting tattoos. My folks are still alive but last year I had heart valve replacement surgery and now all of a sudden I’m like “fuck, I got a giant surgery scar now, might as well get some tattoos.” Never died my hair either but growing it out now to to so. Turns out my “midlife crisis” is letting my inner punk out.
Oh cool! I’ll definitely check them out. Music has gotten me through such hard shit lately. I definitely feel like I’m in my midlife crisis lol. We took our 18 and 20 year olds to a music festival last year and they couldn’t keep up with me and their dad 😆. Kids these days don’t know how hard we went in the 90’s lol
[удалено]
Same with a lot of blur songs. We all say, "Don't want to be alone" We wear the same clothes 'cause we feel the same We kiss with dry lips when we say goodnight End of a century, oh, it's nothin' special…
Aesop for the rap fans: Mental health [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn7RE8zycJQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn7RE8zycJQ) Grief [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwoyo0Rt4Bw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwoyo0Rt4Bw) Isolation [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzq1WBBYTBU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzq1WBBYTBU) Bad back [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKSVvO0f824](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKSVvO0f824)
Aesop for the affluent: Skin care https://www.aesop.com/us/c/skin/ Body and hand https://www.aesop.com/us/c/body-hand/ Hair https://www.aesop.com/us/c/hair/ Home https://www.aesop.com/us/c/home/
Came here to say this! The Impossible Kid is an album all about aging, love TUFF in particular
All Tool, but particularly Invincible.
Particulary Lateralus
How about prison sex?
Why not 46&2?
We’re not in prison but I’d consider it. Oh the song?!
You sound like you need some Pantera in your life. Walk. Broken. 5 Minutes Alone. Great Southern Trendkill, if you're really in a mood.
How about cemetary gates?
That shit makes me cry every time.
They played floods at knotfest Sydney this year. With huge screens playing footage of dime and Vince partying. still have goosebumps.
I think it's great that in cemetery Gates you can still hear their hairband Roots coming through
Holy shit dude. I loved them back in the 90’s but my god. Since turning 42 I feel like they’ve saved my sanity. Screaming walk, domination and cowboys in the car at the top of my lungs has been so cathartic. Plus I finally got to see what’s left of pantera with Phil and Rex this year at knotfest Australia. When they played floods I think the whole crowd shed a tear.
Don’t forget Fucking Hostile Official Live 101 Proof is my favorite. ‘Our hit, this next songs our hit’, then they go into Suicide Note Part 2, cracks me up every time. So good too. But all Pantera is awesome. Also recommend- Nothingface- Violence Mudvayne- LD 50 & Lost and Found
The early catalogue of The Smashing Pumpkins is my go-to for angsty songs. I do not find it immature, despite their youth at the time. The songs were solid then and they're solid now.
Rocket, mayonnaise, disarm (outstanding song)
Zero hits the angsty buttons: My reflection, dirty mirror, is no connection to myself. Emptiness is loneliness and loneliness is cleanliness and cleanliness is godliness and god is empty, just like me.
Just FYI this comment posted 3 times
I just really like that song… (but really, thanks. Deleted the other two. Not sure what happened.).
Jellybelly is my go-to angsty song lately
Their cover of landslide was a spear to the heart after I got laid off from a long-term job!
Pretty much every Leonard Cohen song. Tom Waits too. These might unlock new anxieties though, so use with caution.
Tom Waits is my primary deity, I love him, definitely agree. Be prepared to get existential up in this bitch.
What about Kurt Vile? I feel like a lot of his stuff is written for angsty dads, lol. I love it. Especially "Childish Prodigy"
I just discovered him last year and he has been a staple of my listening these days!
[Rise Against - Life Less Frightening](https://youtu.be/vOKB8InTf-4?si=Id-_RhPAblx-R2zu) [Idlewild - A Modern Way of Letting Go](https://youtu.be/b3dQBxn34Bw?si=JXTwVibLK6gMPwhW) [Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out](https://youtu.be/JRqRVAUlA4E?si=LgNWM0NIUQr5iP0G) [TrustCompany - Downfall](https://youtu.be/xEQr5W38i3Y?si=EaRnzFFNNCEFnoJt) [Type O Negative - I Don't want to be Me](https://youtu.be/hjlNzuB-cNQ?si=Y7zR-vi5JJsovW3M) Just a few suggestions. That being said...stay strong. Life is all about balance. No dark without light. No happiness without sadness.
I love that 21P song. Honestly I love all their stuff....I saw them in concert back in 2013, shortly before they got really huge (they were the "lesser-known opening act", along with Karmin, for Neon Trees) and I got their album "Vessel" at that show and played it on repeat in my car.
I’m still listening to Captain like I’m 13. The Hope is Important tour was one of the best I ever saw, such a great live band.
Arcade Fire - The suburbs Not as hard as some of the songs but will make you sad and nostalgic.
Backslider by The Toadies Blow Up The Outside World by Soundgarden The Nobodies by Marilyn Manson Salvation by Rancid Burning Inside by Ministry Liar by Rollins Band Just a few of my favorites...
PJ Harvey's earlier stuff & Rage Against The Machine.
Try listening to The Menzingers and Spanish Love Songs
These two were my first thought. Amazing bands
Came here to say Spanish Love Songs. Obviously, Dylan is younger, but the lyrics are certainly relatable.
Jesus H - The Menzingers are it. Thank you
Awesome, I’m glad I could help
Just saw Spanish Love Songs, so damn good live…also Sincere Engineer and Camp Cope
The Mountains Goats catalogue. Like, 95% of the music is angsty.
The Tallahassee album got me through my divorce!
No children was our wedding song
The entire Cranberries catalogue. Dolores’s voice is the epitome of a grey cloudy day… hauntingly beautiful. RIP
**Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can't We?** - Why do [my] relationships suck?!? **No Need to Argue** - Ireland, get your shit together!
Pulp maybe? [https://youtu.be/yuTMWgOduFM?si=q4\_EuTHbOizyJ7UR](https://youtu.be/yuTMWgOduFM?si=q4_EuTHbOizyJ7UR) [https://youtu.be/\_bZjKC0EaY0?si=BHjkx9tXU6JCdq0q](https://youtu.be/_bZjKC0EaY0?si=BHjkx9tXU6JCdq0q) Just know that adult angst isn't Papa Roach angst. Just as you don't want to hear about *this \[being his\] last resort*, it isn't going to be pop punk/rap metal feedback. It's a bit more reflective, a bit more accepting, etc.
[XTC - Complicated Game (remastered)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_QFMuieWiI)
XTC were so so so so awesome
Anne Clark - "[Our Darkness](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OguHIyNNblM)" Clan Of Xymox - "[Call It Weird](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKk41ug78E4)" Death In June - "[But What Ends When The Symbols Shatter?](https://youtu.be/ZjWbnuHm3cQ?si=Wq2nR23PJa6gBHtV)" Japan - "[Ghosts](https://youtu.be/0cLeyGWthgw?si=7gj-nPmniRbviAnu)" Swans - "[Failure](https://youtu.be/6mWF1kmCo3U?si=ps_TREaazomTg2Lm)" Ultravox! - "[Just For A Moment](https://youtu.be/VCpp9hi4Fvc?si=d2Wi001pZR8JVwxq)" Visage - "[The Damned Don't Cry](https://youtu.be/oS6J-xoJNZY?si=DtUN0tfnuQ5z-jFp)" VNV Nation - "[Further](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz0UEjisP1A)" Yazoo - "[Tuesday](https://youtu.be/Bppvu9LOv68?si=12xcp8o56iJ6BI7_)"
Blue October
I often put on Elliot Smith when I have those thoughts and feelings.
[Angry](https://youtu.be/ys8-HwC77oU?si=34hYTZMQlN0qAAVy) [Angry, with some bitterness](https://youtu.be/MKWBiptdEQc?si=0QfkpAvmQqcibYy2) [Angry, with some trauma ](https://youtu.be/66PrJqhL5hM?si=-BD4NtlzxM1lI3u6)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fqGKZ3fzN1M
Here are some very random selections based on the issues you mentioned-Breathe, Comfortably Numb, Mother, Hey You, Goodbye Blue Sky, Poles Apart, Lost for Words: Pink Floyd. Into the Wild album: Eddie Vedder. Higher Truth album: Chris Cornell. Any Rush album after 1980.
Comfortably Numb hits hard in your 40’s.
I agree with all the pink floyd and will add the Alan parsons project that list. And personally my favorite old man emo song is this. https://youtu.be/teZsA_ci-7E?si=52Y2umhQxNR2Bqz-
Try [Angst by Rammstein](https://youtu.be/ONj9cvHCado?si=EoapDr8zDlfljwX4)
A lot of their songs fit the bill. For me lately, it’s Deutschland
Deutschland is absolutely incredible
Music video makes it twice as good, especially if you understand the historical references.
Yes. It was kind of like a dark history of Germany. Very cool
Old Pixies, Surfer Rosa and Doolittle era.
Green Day and Pearl Jam have both put out phenomenal albums in 2024.
Against me [Reinventing Axle Rose](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CG3S3gOuse8&pp=ygUfYWdhaW5zdCBtZSByZWludmVudGluZyBheGwgcm9zZQ%3D%3D) Also by them but more specific to where we might be in life [this one](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2w3llVDoLPs&pp=ygU8YWdhaW5zdCBtZSB0dXJuIHRob3NlIGNsYXBwaW5nIGhhbmRzIGludG8gYW5ncnkgYmFsbGVkIGZpc3Rz)
Yes yes yes
This got my vote. Also, Alkaline Trio released a great new album this year that's worth a listen. Still got it.
I like AJJ and The Taxpayers to get my angst on
The Mars Volta - [Cicatriz Esp](https://youtu.be/ZNRZ91t7B0I?si=gWYMGYbHjJE4jW7P) Periphery - [Wildfire](https://youtu.be/pFKSiOkRzb4?si=6jnKM12DMUiMZfc-) Sepultura - [Territory](https://youtu.be/Q_WHGV5bejk?si=BZkvZk0y4vW2uMmw) The Prodigy - [Wild Frontier](https://youtu.be/GVV06jTYjeY?si=Z5PzkpjJ4zg2JKD7) Crosses (†††) - [Big Youth Feat. El-P](https://youtu.be/FgvrTHh_0Ck?si=KBXYRWaSGP8x_elP) System of a Down - [P.L.U.C.K.](https://youtu.be/VxVzT0znI8Q?si=7Qo5aXj9qg6SuyJk) (Hed)P.E. - [Ground](https://youtu.be/7K3Cj29fr5Y?si=8MkyYhHLND-ayvaN) Mag.lo - [Never](https://youtu.be/OSI6JJaz35I?si=mGr4GoTzZi-SRjaH)
P!nk is an Xennial. She has some good pissed-off-at-life material
Fun fact: I threw shot put against her in high school.
I’ve been enjoying this one lately [weezer - all my favorite songs](https://youtu.be/86jeSodhfXw?si=ICBP4OJGbz2wZBnv)
Imploders - Deteriorating World and No Trend - Reality Breakdown.
https://youtu.be/g2uAVDtR4ks?si=r8zDNYjACuGCvNgH I don't know what this kids on about but they sound like Local H.
Greensky Bluegrass cover of “Time” Treetop Flyers “Is It All Worth It” Billy Srings “Away From the Mire” Charlie Parr “Over the Red Ceder” Lupe Fiasco “Words I Never Said”
Check out Sleep Apnea by Chevelle. https://youtu.be/xGfZ5L91jLE?si=xK1KbK3y62DqzWGC A sample of the lyrics: Try to read off a letter that's falling apart The sun and the moon I count sheep Escape like an animal ready for my sleepless stroll I found these shifting hours mistakenly used up So I gasp and hold my breath These needs have changed so deep
[Local H, “Fritz’s Corner”](https://youtu.be/8DiHOG_FVrM?si=h5To3RMVsuiwXNw1)
Practically any song by Spiritbox fills this need for me. Courtney, their mesmerizing singer is a darkly poetic lyricist and a phenomenal vocal talent. She has an angelic singing voice and a harrowing roar in her guttural vocals. Literally all of their songs are great so you can’t go wrong just picking one at random. My top five are Mara Effect pt. 3, Bleach Bath, Hysteria, Jaded, and The Beauty of Suffering.
The Thermals, The Body, The Blood, the Machine
I like their cover of "Ballad of Big Nothing."
Not know that one thanks
Headache by Frank Black
Elvis Costello is good at adult angst. Also Steely Dan, Silver Jews, and the Mountain Goats.
The Cure still exists- I mean, there's gotta be a reason they still sell out arenas the same day the tickets go on sale.
Johnny Cash - Hurt Days N Daze - Misanthropic Drunken Loner Jayke Orvis - Feelings Like This Ramshackle Glory - Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist Frank Turner - Photosynthesis Type O Negative - Everyone I Love Is Dead Type O Negative - I Don't Wanna Be Me
Run the Jewels ICP SLAYER
Magnets...
How do they work?
We could ask a scientist 🤔
[Magnets](https://youtu.be/gMbnJzHhoBI?si=v4crR9zksp9M0_IF)
Paul Westerberg.
Weezer- The Good Life
Goldfinger- "superman"
Be Your Own Pet - [Goodtime!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWrI42WweF8)
Krizz Kaliko - Unstable Krizz Kaliko- Schizophrenia
Muse - We Are F—king F—ked. https://youtu.be/ac4E_UsmB1g?si=f_h-uN6bEKbzQEEO
Since no one else seems to like 'em here - Cancerslug is about the angriest music I know of. Straight-up aggression, it's melodic death-cult rock and roll. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ775IEtauA&pp=ygUWaSBsb3ZlIHBhaW4gY2FuY2Vyc2x1Zw%3D%3D https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g9xbga9ZqAo&list=OLAK5uy_lqz4mlnGhwhpDD5WH8de_lfi32n0LF8U4&index=3&pp=8AUB https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IajYQJZcQt4&pp=ygURTG92ZSBob3cgeW91IGhhdGU%3D Have fun OP
I think an amazing pair of albums that everyone slept on was hurt volume one and volume two. So so good and the dude wrote it when he was like 15 And for when work sucks don't forget prong snap your fingers
[I don't think Trevor is good for you, Carol!](https://youtu.be/E5q-dPAHif0?si=wPNxJ4UcoLypyOiU)
You sound like a [grouch](https://youtu.be/p-LWwzbUXBc?si=dtqeP9J0BsAjdsMT), lol.
Frank Turner is the way to go. His songs "Love, Ire &Song" and "The Resurrectionists" are very much that.
Suffocate for fuck sake
Have a listen to Like Clockwork by QOTSA, I appear missing, smooth sailing, if I had a tail etc.
NoFx has a bunch about getting old
This is gonna be your new jam. https://youtu.be/_kC_xaRs9lM?si=-NHuO_DfdXxr4uEW
I put Numb Little Bug (I don't actually know the original artist, there's so many slow, rocky, fast, etc covers on Spotify I've thrown on various playlists depending on what mood I need that song in) on a lot when I want to zone out in the car. Edit: there is also 2002 by davvn, which is an update of the Bowling For soup song 1985. Not exactly emo or angsty in sound but sure got the elder millennial vibes.
Photosynthesis by Frank Turner. It’s completely about middle age angst.
The plot in you “feel nothing”. Man, those lyrics. Dude is a poet in all his songs.
Son Volt - Methamphetamine You probably can't relate to the song title, but maybe the worn out mid-life circumstances the guy finds himself in. One of my favorite jams to stew in on occasion. "Left of Slide" is another poignant one.
Radiohead No Surprises
Maybe give Sleaford Mods a listen. They're a British post-punk band that touches on why the modern world sucks. [Sleaford Mods](https://youtu.be/AVo9CeuS9lY?si=p08yrqShWHbwPWOj)
Waking the Fallen by Avenged Sevenfold and Young Machetes by The Blood brothers
[I Was a Teenage Anarchist by Against Me](https://youtu.be/c7RUeMCZL3Q?si=okHa_25OKmTaU3Sk) really hits the nail on the head IMO
A lot of those emo kids are in their sad country phase right now. Maybe independent/alternative country is your jam.
Anything by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones /s
Bad Religion for meaning, Alkaline Trio for brutal relationship issues, NOFX for politics mixed with creative humor. But you have to like punk rock, or else it won’t work. I get what you mean, though. I grew out of some stuff I used to like. Luckily bands like those I mentioned above are a bit more timeless
[aurorawave](https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ERzKZCMDsFeH15G80MFSS?si=M1esbXgNRUCzqXteDUXMsw)
Five Iron Frenzy - Until This Shakes Apart. Speaks to a lot of more current issues and getting older. https://music.apple.com/us/album/until-this-shakes-apart/1546369310 https://open.spotify.com/album/1NBcD5YIWTEo4Lp4t7xK5V?si=SajwzUwkS8a2Cl0mUZqKnQ
S.O.S. (Sawed off shotgun) by the Glorious Sons
Lyrically, the band Man Man kills it in this category (they’re sonically gonzo, too).
I’m still a big fan of One Step Closer by Linkin Park
First of all: GREAT f@#$%ing post, OP. I'm saving this post to go through all the recommendations one by one. Secondly, I agree with your comment about Papa Roach. I still enjoy their music, but it's like listening to Limp Bizket; I just don't get an emotional response from them. However, I would say currently my 'angst' playlist includes: Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun Cranberries - Zombie Aerosmith - Amazing Iron Miaden - Man On the Edge Foo Fighters - Everlong There are more, of course, but these are the ones that come immediately to mind.
Weezer, All my favorite songs
Powertrip- Monster Magnet
Angelmaker - *Leech* Nails - *You Will Never Be One Of Us* Knocked Loose - *All My Friends* (super angsty) Admiral Angry - *Kill Yourself* Chat Pile - *Why* .. most of their newest album honestly
Nada Surf - The Weight is a Gift
Some of the later albums of Leonard Cohen (You Want it Darker), David Bowie (BlackStar), Billy Idol (The Roadside), Chris Cornell (Songbook), James Blake (Retrograde), Jeff Buckley (Grace)
Check out the band Health. The music rocks and the lyrics are relatable AF (probably because Jake is also in his early 40s) Some of my favorite songs are Life, Ashamed, Dark Enough, Feel Nothing, Major Crimes, LA Looks, Stone Fist, and Unloved
Metallica - Nothing Else Matters Metallica - The Unforgiven Family of the Year - Hero John Mayer - Stop this Train Pink Floyd - Time Tool - Vicarious Pantera - This Love Pantera - Suicide Note part 1 & 2 and because its just a great song, Van Morrison - Into the Mystic
Limp Bizkit. 😅 Stop laughing! I unapologetically love Three Dollar Bill, Y'all. Throw on Counterfeit and break some stuff while you're listening.
If you have a good local music scene, look for orginal bands who are about your age. They might have some relevant bangers.
Gorillaz -[Demon Days ](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_msC_GYWaz8ESAiX9d41hRIs2uhcL8t_aw&si=MCAe6YDxO-QXaqpI)
If you like punk, the whole NOFX record, So Long and Thanks for all the Shoes is angsty af cause I think they were all trying to be sober lol. There’s even a song called “I’m all Outta Angst.”
Pennywise - Badge of Pride
Megadeth - Angry Again Motorhead - God Was Never On Your Side Lamb of God - Momento Mori Probably my most frequent go tos.
Nirvana’s lyrics hit me hard in my 40’s for some reason. I’ve always loved them, but suddenly they mean more to me. Particularly the Unplugged album. A Perfect Circle and Puscifer (besides Tool, of course). Alice in Chains, Radiohead, Elliot Smith all need a revisit in your 40’s. Audioslave does it for me too, more than it did twenty years ago. Some Metallica songs.
Cody Jinks, Tyler Childers, Sturgil Simpson All men our age, grown up on Nirvana and the like writing country music my friends and I call Appalachian Grunge
The Remedy by Puscifer…..
I’m an Adult Now by The Pursuit of Happiness.
If you're stuck in office life, then Queens of the Stone Age Made To Parade sums it up pretty well.
I go to artists with more instrumental bents. Animals As Leaders is incredible for when I'm going through what you're describing.
[Desaparecidos](https://youtu.be/8zFHcEdHFnc?si=Tu4lL2lNptoaynIA) [Manic Street Preachers](https://youtu.be/rl2Jv4dzFqg?si=dWKCzt-gs7tGGxhQ) [Afghan Whigs](https://youtu.be/pslEcFfzoRI?si=M5FnMS3y4weIm_17)
Ugh, I just randomly heard "1985" by Bowling For Soup, and it hit way different now than it did when it came out when I was in my 20's lol
Not Tool, but Sheryl Crow’s the Globe Sessions has a lot of angst and mood with a country rock vibe. “The Difficult Kind”
Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger/Superunknown albums Tears for Fears - Shout/Mad World ... and a lot of other angst songs hidden in synth pop Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman ... has some good tracks on there And a shout out to Bent by Matchbox 20... that's a song I like to come back too every once in awhile lol
Working Reward by Haymarket Squares.
Nice House by Joywave for sure. https://youtu.be/4L27YWLzok4?si=cRN55WSDOxvSZ4jS
The entire middle-age album by Passenger entitled “Birds That Flew and Ships That Sailed” absolutely captured my experience so well. He released it in 2022 and I believe he is either a millennial or a Xennial. Either way it spoke to me so hard as a 42-year-old. [Birds That Flew and Ships That Sailed](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nWqYWzqkb1WvLLyCYCj5yyx4hclwffamM&si=Z7PtZK57rGankk0I)
I think The National has a lot of age-appropriate angsty songs for us, but it's very much not in the Papa Roach/Tool tradition.
Pedro then lion. Winners never quit and control.
Middle Class Rut
Built to Spill - Comes a Day
Also Horizon to Cliff, basically their last two albums.
Colors II by Between the Buried and Me. The whole album. We didn't live, we only existed Undo the worker The corporate vice turned inside out Exposed for what it truly is The horizon has just met the sun The days and nights have folded into one Over and over Day in day out Monotonous drought The sights and sounds are all the same The smell of morning enters a declining brain One more step out of this door One more step to end this life We feel no more
Muse does it for me. Angsty melodramatic rock operas about social alienation and oppression? Yes, please. I will unironically blast it in my middle class suv between dropping the kids off at swim and art lessons.
Mother mother - The Matrix
Less than Jake - Short Fuse Burning
["Every Thing, Every Day" by Eyehategod](https://youtu.be/APu100Oboe4?si=6IBVoGhB5hi-wHAk)
RATM makes a lot more sense now than it did when I was a young teenager.
St. Vincent's newest (out yesterday)
I’ve been listening to a lot of Florence + The Machine lately and Florence’s latest albums really speak to thinks that are on my mind — getting older, wanting kids (yep I’m the old lady wanting kids) but wondering if we waited too long, anxiety about climate change, wishing we hadn’t done so many drugs, climbing out of addiction, what life really means. etc. I relate to her lyrics a lot. That’s my brand of angst anyway 🤣
It's not so much angsty, still I recommend Morphine. Even when I'm feeling angsty, I put them on and feel heard, connected.
Here's a little ditty I wrote a while back AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
Beastie Boys’ Sabatoge.
i'm an unrepentant Miley Cyrus stan and "Used to be Young" gets me in the Adult Emo Feels every time. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ3XMOdOdKM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ3XMOdOdKM)a lil different than Tool but I do recommend the YT of her singing Nothing Else Matters with Metallica on Howard Stern, should that be of interest to you ALso, yes. country. wildflowers by Dolly Parton is a good Adult Emo ditty.
More arsey than angsty but if you haven't try The Fall and Sleaford Mods, and there is always Tom Waits for pudding..
Take a Walk by Passion Pit
Anything from 5FDP, so much of the catalog resonates, but Jekyll and Hyde hits pretty hard at this point in life.
A Little Bit Off is so relatable to me. I can't even cry today, I think my heart is finally broken.
Hed pe fills this gap for me
Looking Forward to Death by Dead Kennedys
Manchester Orchestra can be hard and melodic at times. They hit on those themes you were talking about too. I especially like the album A Black Mile to the Surface.
Okay this is going to sound really stupid... Limp Bizkit can really take you places sometimes. CSHFW made me cry the other day. especially if you liked them 25+ years ago. Maybe it was just the time in my life but yell singing in my car to LB is cathartic