Global Comment

Worldwide voices on arts and culture

5 playlists for when you’re both sad and full of rage

A good playlist can help us to work through some real shit. Sometimes, we need to sob to ballads when we’ve been dumped, other times, the perfect 80s pop playlist can pep us up when we need to get moving. We might want to be inspired to change, or we might need to indulge our fury towards someone who wronged us.

The right combination of the right songs in the right order can lead us from despair to hope, from inaction to action, or simply hold our hand as we get through a tough evening, reminding us that someone else has felt the way we feel right now. And that can be enough.

So when you feel both angry and devastated, maybe a playlist of music that’s perfect for those vibes will help you to process what’s happening in the news, or with that person you despise, or when you think about climate change or racism or transphobia. Or just when you’re a big muddle of emotions and trying to work out what you feel and why.

Here are five of the best, all made by humans, not algorithms:

Songs to scream when you are angry by giulia

Angry and sad and tired and upset and hurt by devyn/bee

Heartbroken girl era by zoe

Angry songs for angry girls by holly gale

Sad/mad songs by Lexi

Image: Andrea Piacquadio