Neil Sedaka once sang “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do,” which isn’t a lie. Sure, when you break up with somebody you miss a lot about them. Their scent (yeah, it’s creepy but you know what I’m saying), their laugh, even something stupid like their love for shark week. But the absolute worst thing about breaking up is when you lose music to the relationship. You show them an awesome band/album, and then eventually that band/album manages to sum up your relationship with that person. Don’t you hate that? But as the saying goes, “time heals all wounds” and it works in this situation too. You’ll eventually regain those songs back in your repertoire, allowing you to look at the past with fondness instead of bitterness. Here’s a list of a some songs that I can listen to again.
Taking Back Sunday – ‘Make Damn Sure:’ This was my first serious girlfriend, I was 19 and probably emo or whatever was cool back then. We played the hell out of this album. I remember she hated one of the graphic lines in the song “scissor shaped across the bed/you are red/violent red.” It was my favourite. We broke up.
Mazzy Star – ‘Fade into You:’ Back then I just wanted desperately to be in love with someone, so I threw the “L” word around like it was popcorn at a movie theatre. In the end it was more infatuation than anything. The thing about this song is that when it plays it could make you say that word to anyone. Plus I used it as my ring-tone for a girl. This would eventually lead me to getting beat up in a bar for not turning the song off.
Our Lady Peace – ‘Clumsy:’ This girl probably knew more music than I did at the time. She made me two mix CDs and OLP was on both of them.
Big Star – ‘Thirteen:’ This was a summer fling. It was fast, passionate and consisted of stuff you’d find on the pages of a romance novel. She always used to say, “making you a mix CD would be like giving a jeweler a plastic bracelet.” So she’d write me letters, and I’d stick to the mixes. We listened to this in her parent’s house on a scorching hot summer day, sans clothes.
Nada Surf – ‘If You Leave:’ Even though she was a year older than me (and would never let me forget it), this girl was my boss at one of the many random jobs I had before settling into a career. It started as a work place crush, eventually leading into something pretty special. I put this song on a mix and gave it to her the night before I left for Europe. I remember her calling me in tears on her drive home that night, yelling at me for deciding to put this song on.
Black Keys – ‘The Lengths:’ Has someone ever played a song for you? It’s probably the best thing ever. A girl played me this on piano. She remains the only girl to ever buy me vinyl. Of course the vinyl she bought me was The Black Keys’ two latest albums. So glad I can listen to those again!