In the days immediately following a breakup most people retreat into their music collection to find solace. Or their collection of finely aged scotch, but that’s beside point. Listening to unbearably depressing music after the dissolution of a relationship is a time honored tradition for misanthropes all over the world. There’s something cathartic about listening to some rock star describe the same emotions you’re experiencing. Of course, the “heart on their sleeve” is probably accompanied by a “big fat paycheck” that you wont be privy to, but that’s neither here nor there. They get you. You get them. You are brothers in arms.
It’s really rainy and miserable in Gainesville right now which means that there’s probably some kid lamenting a lost love and listening to The Smiths. This blog is for that kid, hypothetical or otherwise. Here is a list of The Best Breakup Albums to drown your sorrows in when you don’t have the luxury of a wine collection. Feel free to stream some of the tracks and revel in the sorrow.
Bob Dylan- Blood On The Tracks
You should own this record anyway, regardless of whether your significant other has just stomped on your heart and run off to Acapulco with a pool boy named Julio. The songwriting on Blood On the Tracks is the most honest of Dylan’s career. While many of the songs mine the themes of regret and loss, there’s also some scathing vitriol on here that would be perfect to quote back to your former amore. “You’re an idiot babe/It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe”, anyone?
Key Lyric: “And though our separation, it pierced me to the heart
She still lives inside of me, we’ve never been apart.” - “If You See Her, Say Hello”
Alanis Morissette- Jagged Little Pill
Rule #1: Don’t fuck with Alanis. Especially if you happened to be a delightfully cartoonish character on Full House. I’m looking at you, Uncle Joey. The rumor behind this album is that Full House alum Dave Coulier inspired much of this vindictive anger. The sheer rage behind these songs is enough to make you think twice about ever dumping Alanis Morissette. You know Ryan Reynolds is quaking in his boots right now. This album is perfect for vengeful singalongs that will help you purge yourself of the wreckage of your last relationship.
Key Lyric: “And every time you speak her name
Does she know how you told me you’d hold me
Until you died, till you died
But you’re still alive” - “You Oughta Know”
Fleetwood Mac- Rumors
What do you get when you combine a ton of blow and an incestuous rock band? You get Rumors, an album written in the wake of the breakups of several inter-band relationships. Upon listening to Rumors you can actually feel just how uncomfortable it had to be to record. Mick Fleetwood makes Stevie Nicks sing backup on “Go Your Own Way”, a song that basically labels Nicks a slut. Not exactly a conciliatory gesture. As a whole, this album is rife with the kind of emotional turbulence that comes with the cessation of not one, but several relationships.
Key Lyric: “Packing up, shacking up is all you want to do.” -“Go Your Own Way”
Beck-Sea Change
Sea Change finds Beck abandoning the white-boy hip-hop, soul, and general zaniness in favor of stripped down ballads. Armed primarily with an acoustic guitar, Beck describes the end of a relationship with a resigned tone that is infinitely heartbreaking. While Nigel Godrich produced this album, he seems content to remain in the background so that the lyrics shine through. This creates the effect of intimacy that is so prevalent that one can imagine Beck singing these songs on a front porch somewhere.
Key Lyric: “Had to act like I didn’t even care/But I did so I got stranded standing there”- “End of The Day”
Ryan Adams-Love Is Hell
Heartbreaker may get more press, but this is the most evocative of Adams’ 96,000 breakup albums. This album can be so bleak that it’s almost uncomfortable to listen to. Adams’ describes suicidal notions, drug abuse, and the most agonizing depression in extreme detail. It’s not exactly the type of material that will infiltrate your “Spring Break, WHOOOO!” playlist. However, the songs are so achingly beautiful that the album eventually becomes a comforting friend.
Key Lyric: “Just three words my love: You meant everything” -English Girls Approximately
Frank Sinatra -Sings For Only The Lonely
The title kind of says it all. Sings for Only The Lonely is the quintessential album to listen to a 3am with empty wine bottles strewn across the floor. Sinatra once called them “suicide songs” and he wasn’t far off. The songs are so exquisite that you feel like you can actually see Sinatra’s loneliness coming through the speakers. It’s almost unsettling to hear Old Blue Eyes sounding so completely naked.
Key Lyric: “If you find love hang on to each caress
And never let love go
For when it’s gone you’ll know the loneliness
The heartbreak only the lonely know” -“Only The Lonely”
Elliott Smith- Either/Or
The late Elliott Smith was known for his sparsely beautiful acoustic songs about every sad subject in the world. Either/Or is Smith at his most vulnerable. Songs like “Say Yes” and “Between The Bars” are evocative in their simplicity. Simply a beautiful record.
Key Lyric: “Crooked spin cant come to rest
I’m damaged bad at best
Shell decide what she wants
Ill probably be the last to know”- “Say Yes”
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You should throw Fiona Apple’s Extraordinary Machine up on that list.
Key Lyric? “When I was looking with calm affection, you were searching out my imperfections. What wasted, unconditional love on somebody who doesn’t believe in the stuff.” - Oh Well
Becca
Brilliant, Jack. Brilliant.
May I submit lyrics from Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love”: “And now all your love was wasted/Well then who the hell was I/And I’m breaking at the britches/And at the end of all your lines…Who will love you?”
and my favorite bittersweet relationship aftermath lyric ever from The Shins’ “Pink Bullets”: “When our kite lines first crossed/We tied them into knots/So to finally fly apart we had to cut them off./Since then it’s been a book/You read in reverse/So you understand less as the pages turn/Or a move so crass and awkwardly cast/Even I could be the star”
Julia Reidy
Aimee Mann’s Whatever. With titles like “I Should’ve Known,” “Stupid Thing,” and “I Could Hurt You Now,” it’s the ultimate CD for the dumped. She had some issues left over from her ’til tuesday days.
Oh, and the CD is really good, too…
My hmphs
Thanks Julia. Bon Iver almost made the list but I got bored so I didn’t include him. I think the song “Smoke” by Ben Folds Five pretty accurately describes a breakup in my mind.
Aimee Mann…ahh…dream city. Love that woman.
Jack DeYoung
Elvis Costello — Blood and Chocolate
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