Today is Valentine’s Day, and I’m not going to lie. I am not a fan of this holiday. I know there are many of you out there who share the same sentiment, so I’ve come up with a special Top 10 list for all of you. This is not a list of happy love songs to listen to with that special someone. Instead, I offer you a list of my favorite songs of heartbreak to ever come out of this fine city. While this list may not help you establish a romantic mood with your loved one, perhaps it will ring true to those who are having a difficult time finding the joy in today. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been dumped, betrayed, lost a loved one, separated from a loved one, or whatever other cruel trick fate can play on you. If you’re feeling the pain, then this Top 10 list is for you.
10. Airline, "Whatever It Is"
Although I am sincerely looking forward to the release of their full-length, Farewell Republica, their debut EP left me a little cold. However, I was advised by a friend to give this track another chance, and I'm glad I took the time. This is a nice, bittersweet little tune that I'm glad managed to break into my Top 10 list.
09. THe BAcksliders, "Pour Another Glass"
Between Kim Pendleton's gorgeously heartbreaking voice and the title, "Pour Another Glass", how could this song NOT chart?
08. The Chemistry Set, "Retreat"
I don't know which is more heartbreaking: this song, or the fact that The Chemistry Set is no more. Really, the latter is sadder, but this song is still plenty sad.
07. Fishing For Comets, "Lies"I believe I've said this before, but Camille's voice is like that best friend who knows exactly what to say to make you feel better. So even in this sad tale, with lines like "It's useless I suppose to hold on to something that's not there", it still feels like everything's going to be okay. But make no mistake, this is still a sad one here.
06. Pleasant Grove, "Nothing This Beautiful"
Pleasant Grove take the basic "boy meets girl, boy loses girl" song structure and turns it into a ten minute epic masterpiece. Genius. That's all I can say. Pure freakin' genius.
05. Sugarbomb, "Posterchild For Tragedy"
In their time, Sugarbomb got a reputation for being a great "party band" of sorts. However, this song hints to the fact that Sugarbomb could have been so much more had they only stayed together. The song is about, in Les' own words, "losing a loved one... permanently".
04. Kristy Kruger, "The Night You Never Came To Meet Me"
I almost put "This Is Now" in place of this song, but the same friend who convinced me to give Airline a second listen got me re-listening to this song, and it has now become one of my big faves off of the Songs from a Dead Man's Couch CD. A beautiful tale of a love that never quite happened.
03. Rahim Quazi, "Coffeebreak"
Sometimes the best songs are the simplest songs. The lyrics here are not filled with flowery words; there are no complex similes or metaphors here. So what does that leave? A bare bones song that cuts to the core of what heartbreak is.
02. Old 97's, "If My Heart Was A Car"
This may seem like a little of an upset here. I mean, I could do an entire heartbreak playlist centered exclusively around Old 97's tracks. It was hard to narrow it down to one, but I felt that there needed to be a song to represent the angrier side of heartbreak, and I could not have selected a better tune than this.
01. Sara Radle, "Get Used To Disappointment"Before leaving Dallas to become a Rental, Ms. Radle released You Can't Make Everyone Like You, an album filled with great pop melodies and sad lyrics. This album opener here tells the story of being afraid to fall in love, only to fall in love anyways and then receiving the heartbreak feared. Sara's vocals capture the sadness perfectly. Her voice when singing the final refrain, "Do you think we'll make it/Please tell me now I must now/Get used to disappointment/I'll just go" sounds like a woman who knows the feeling all too well. This right here is not only the best song about heartbreak to emerge from the area, I believe this song is an essential for anyone experiencing the sadness of love, whether in Dallas, Des Moines, or even Denmark. If you don't feel the heartbreak in the lyrics, then you have obviously never known true love.
There you go, Happy Valentine's Day. On the other hand, perhaps it's not so happy after listening to these songs. Oh well. Don't say I didn't warn you.
1 comment:
I'm glad that you gave Airline's song another chance, it's one of my all-time faves and makes it on almost every mixed CD I make. I was at the show when Kristy Kruger debuted "The Night...". Another instant classic.
You've done a great job with yet another great list of songs. I bet that if this was the life track for Lloyd Dobler, he'd be satisfied.
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