I listen to ambient music when down. helps

When I'm 'down' I listen to Grunge.

But to ease it, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel.

While I should feel depressed from unemployment and being away from friends, I'm actually more content now than in a long time.

But I'm not good at the whole "let music guide your mood" thing. I get bored by whatever doesn't click.

The Bangles, The Monkees, stuff like that. Although I wouldn't describe either of those as strange.

Probably some black metal or something.

raw power-iggy & the stooges

Me too, I tend to only play tunes when I'm in the mood.

big science.

Exile on Main St always, always cheers me up.

radiohead - in rainbows cd2
jandek - blue corpse
vaselines - the way of the vaselines
syd barret - the madcap laughs
sonic youth - evol
mudhoney - superfuzz

Zooey's voice always massages my soul, of course. Plus the songs on here are all fantastic and relaxed, it all just sits well.

William Basinski, gospel, free-jazz people like Marion Brown. I guess The Kinks, as well. Or The Faces.

yeah, same here! and listening to "heroin" is, uh, somehow quite life affirming for me.

Home Movies soundtrack, at the end of every semester of college.

For some reason, "VU", while not my favourite Velvets record at all (still great though), is always one of my top "feeling down" records. Also the third album. Not the Velvets counts as "strange" sad music though. Also yeah, definitely beefheart. Especially "Safe as Milk".

More!

Keiji Haino - Affection


Pharoah Sanders - Karma


Suicide - s/t


Ciccone Youth - The Whitey Album


Just off the top of my head. I mention hundreds though. Basically, great music is what eases me when I'm down. No need to be specific.

Beefheart, definitely
Pet Sounds
VU&Nico + VU s/t
Astral Weeks
Françoise Hardy's debut
(Most) Ween
A Love Supreme
Pretty much any dub that I listen to

...plenty more.

In the context of this place, this is gonna sound like a piss-take, but

But in the context of the thread, it makes sense. Sure is a strange pick.