The 25 Most Exquisitely Sad Songs in the Whole World (with streaming audio). The list even includes Neil Diamond’s “Shilo.”

Stereogum: “When the opening guitar of their smash ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ rung out, we looked around, frantically; would any of these kids respond, even in passing recognition of the tune? And they responded alright. With a water bottle straight to Neil Finn’s head! What followed just compounded Neil’s embarrassment: He was rattled, the band audibly contemplated aborting the song, but Finn felt for sure he could rely, at least during this one song, on the crowd picking up the slack by singing along. ‘It’s alright, everybody! Come on!’ Neil waved the crowd on to sing the legendary hook. And … nothing. By this point we were far back into the crowd, and you had to be there to appreciate just how thunderous this silence was.”

The 15 Most Outrageous Claims in Pop Music History.

Washington Post: “Even at this accelerated pace, though, the fiddler’s movements remain fluid and graceful; he seems so apart from his audience — unseen, unheard, otherworldly — that you find yourself thinking that he’s not really there. A ghost. Only then do you see it: He is the one who is real. They are the ghosts.”

RELATED: Grimes Poznikov: “In 1987, after being ticketed by the police for playing his trumpet 13 decibels above the legal sound limit, Mr. Poznikov quit his act, moved out of his rented apartment and began sleeping in the streets. He stayed with friends from time to time — particularly his off-and-on girlfriend, Susan ‘Harmony’ Tanner — but the freedom of the outdoors always pulled him back to the sidewalk, he told a reporter last December.”

Listen to the new NIN album for free. (via MeFi)

[UPDATE: Okay, so I’m seven songs in and it’s not bad (I like “Hyperpower!” and “The Good Soldier”). “Capital G,” however, is the silliest Nine Inch Nails song of all time. Someone should tell Trent to stay out of politics. He’s better crooning and wailing in melodramatic angst, as if tied up at some BDSM sex party.]