Not every road trip is a symbol of celebration and freedom; sometimes you're just wallowing in grief, or perhaps fleeing the soul-shrapnelizing ruin you've created back home. Regardless of your misery's root cause — and, let's face it, it's probably your own dumb fault — there's no better place to mourn ostentatiously than alone in a car late at night, when no one's around to witness your pitiful, spluttering sobs.
These five songs all come from a bountiful crop of mid-'00s miserablism, with no shortage of guilt, disappointment, regret and even death in their grim words. But they're all beautiful, cathartic and useful in their own way — kind of like ipecac for your tear glands. Once they're over, when you've come back and are safely nestled beneath the damp covers of your musty futon, be sure to grab your laptop, click here and cry yourself to sleep.
For more entries in this summer's weekly Road Trip: Songs to Drive By series, click here.
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