"The reason I titled this shoot me is because I really don't like the idea of piggybacking off of the ideas, but a list of songs or whatnot seems like a thing anyone can answer. And right now I'll give you the breakup songs I have on the list now.
I was trying to save this for Bloody Valentine's Day, which is AFTER Valentine's day, but...whatever. (sigh)"
1.
Brendan Benson "Cold Hands Warm Heart": The reason I like this is because it is straightforward. The man is asking to break up with the girl for a while, because he just believes the relationship is going to fail miserably if hung onto too long. By the time you hear him sing "I hate to say it, but it's obvious/I'm telling you, girl, there's no future for us," I can imagine some people had to face hell trying to say this to their soon-to-be-former significant others.
2.
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter "LLL": The three L's are "like, love, and lust," where while reminiscing of better days, Jesse uses her smoky voice to describe the trouble with love and the feeling afterwards.
3.
The Magnetic Fields "Yeah, Oh Yeah!": This track is simple, straightforward, lyric-wise, but just plain cruel, but that's what happens when you take a marriage too far. Someone is going to get hurt.
4.
Mountain Goats "No Children": Sure, Magnetic Fields may not feel happy in the marriage, but John Darnielle just hopes for the worst. I know. You hear him say "I hope..." all through the song. Nonetheless, it gets the point across well.
5.
Camera Obscura "Hey, Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken": This song is just immensely produced like a '60s girl group and fits well for someone who is alone and lamenting the failure of their other relationships on the way.
6.
The Cliks "Oh Yeah": This song deals with Lucas Silveria's failing relationship simply, and the chorus is him trying to get things back to the way it used to be, and to no avail, either.
7.
Super Furry Animals "Run Away": "Those who cry and run away/live to cry another day". Imagine the pain of realizing the end of a relationship, and a wish to be able to end it yourself. Now, apply it to song.
8.
Magnetic Fields "Too Drunk To Dream": Poor Stephin Merritt. I can't ever imagine love that goes so wrong all he has to do to forget him is to get drunk. I guess that's how bad relationships attempt to hit you in the end.
9.
Arab Strap "If There's No Hope For Us": This song is near quotable when it comes to the hardcore truth about an upcoming breakup, and Aidan Moffat isn't pulling any punches, either. "You say we'll still be friends, but we both know that we won't", "If there's no hope for us, then there's no hope for anyone/What chance can we have if even you and me just can't have fun?" "Girl: Got my bags there all packed, you know I need some time to think/Aidan: You just say what you think you'll need/I think we both might need a drink." It's cruel and brutally honest what comes out of his mouth, but the funny part is that its all true.
10.
Head Automatica "Beating Heart Baby": I call this band the modern Beatles with venom. This song is all about the feeling of lust between two people who don't even desire each other. Yet, that being an ironic thought that those who don't get along, when having a thawed out relationship, can turn out to be nice lovers.
11.
Chromeo "Needy Girl": "You're a needy girl/I can tell when I look in your big brown eyes/You want my world/But how can I do yours if I can't do mine?/I try to change/But sometimes I swear I don't feel the same/It's all about what you want, what you say, how you feel, how you play the game". I know someone around here can sympathize for Dave at some point.
12.
Atmosphere "F**k You Lucy": The real Lucy in all of his songs just happens to be all of the things he doesn't or all the things he shouldn't want to like. Lucifer: Lucy Ford. Makes plenty of sense, I suppose. In this case, it DOES sound like an ex-girlfriend, and one that sounds more honest in a breakup rap tune than you'll ever know. "This garbage I like that these people seem to like/Is about you, and how I let you infect my life!" Whatever Lucy really is, you can be happy that Slug is rid of her now.
13.
The Futureheads "Skip To the End": "If I could cheat, I would skip to the end, and decide if it's worth going through with/Skip to the last paragraph before we start/Is it a happy ending, or a broken heart?" Don't you wish you knew more about whether the love you have with somebody is even going to last? That should be a superpower.
14.
Death Cab for Cutie "Title and Registration": Everybody knows at some point you can't have a breakup tune without the likes of Death Cab for Cutie, I don't care what indie snobs say. But the idea of being reminded of the old times in a relationship and a wish to simply shrug it off and move on is what I find both saddening, and, on Gibbard's part, hopeful.
15.
Chromeo "RAGE": I'll say that any breakup song worth its salt gets right to the point about how they are feeling or why they are feeling it. But when's the last time a breakup song told you exactly how they felt about you doing something? Well, they don't do it like "Rage". Dave 1 makes sure his ex really gets the idea that he is in a state of rage, and just had to use the opportunity to vent.
16.
The Flaming Lips "Maybe I'm Not the One": This was written for the movie The Heartbreak Kid, and the song is nothing but him saying that over and over to mock Spanish-flavored psychedelic tango, as if the love might be more than he can handle. It certainly is both catchy and satisfying, too.
17.
Head Automatica "Scandulous": It's Daryl Palumbo from GlassJaw again. Apparently, this is going to be a breakup song to the dirtiest women who left him shaking his head and wondering why he even bothers finding love with them. And he does it in a soul-pop mixture that will make you envy his voice and pity his heart.
18.
Tegan and Sara "Monday Monday Monday": I've heard plenty of Tegan and Sara songs, all of which has at SOME degree of anxiety or unhappiness. Mix the two and it sounds like a mourning for the relationship that will never surface back to good again.
19.
Quarashi "Stun Gun": I admit that the only thing showing a breakup is the venomous second verse. But the deal was spit and shook when Tiny declared, "She's a flirty who plays dirty in this game/It's a shame that my ex wants to act this way/What a hag, man, what a bunch of crap to say, when I've been nothing but fair with you until THIS day". Right after that, Tiny really lets her have it, too. Can you believe it was one of the last singles before Quarashi broke up?
20.
Pansy Division "Can't Make Love": Ever had problems trying to find guys to make love to and keep forever, only to find that nice guy just wants some booty?
21.
The Wombats "Kill the Director": Cameron Diaz finally has a band to call her bluff. The Wombats hated
The Holiday and wrote about it, all while making this that song about "a gender I'll never understand". Pay attention to this one.
22.
Colin Meloy "We Both Go Down Together": The story goes like this. Boy meets girl. girl loves boy. Boy rapes girl. Girl plots cliff-related muder. Both of them plummet. Now, all of this to acoustics reminds you why you love Colin and his Decemberists projects.
"Well, that is my playlist.
What about yours?"
