Artist: Calvin Harris
Song: I'm Not Alone
Label: Columbia
Website: calvinharris.tv

Trent Reznor, who has possibly the most bitter and horrendously fragile heart in rock, composed this farewell to the aspects of Love during the Fragile sessions, and was so personal and remorseful it wasn’t even released until a few years later on an Internet-only compilation.

Lou Reed was never a subtle person, but on no song did he so emulate the pathetic beauty of Baudelaire than on this spiral into sweet addiction. Personal note: the first time I heard this song, I literally felt sickened. Oh, the power of confessional writing.

Teen love eventually equals teen angst, and no one ever got this more than Morrissey. The feeling of being buried in the rejection of a lover you never had is a tale wonderfully told all through its six minutes of sorrow. “Love is natural and real…but not for such as you and I, my lover.” Morrissey’s voice was never so pure and so submissive.

The Cure have to be one this list. But of all their self-deprecating songs, this is the one that makes you sick to your stomach with anxiety about the future. “Over and over we die, one after the other.” And that’s not even the half of it. Any song that begins “It doesn’t matter if we all die!” isn’t going to be an inspirational hymn of any sorts. Listen without sharp objects in hand’s reach.

“I am just a restless liar/I am just an imbecile/I will only complicate you/Trust in me and fall as well.” Guitars wail through this song. Maynard Keenan’s voice whispers of sullen depravity and then shouting in a merciful plea. This is all the metal paranoia one could ever possibly endure. And it is awesome.