The only reservation I have for Feb. 14 is to hide away in my bedroom with a bottle of red wine and a couple of Smiths albums. Yes, this year I refuse to hide behind a pleasant facade of pink and red. I can no longer deny my loathing of Valentine’s Day. There is no sincerity in three-pound boxes of chocolate or heart-shaped mylar balloons. Instead, I intend to revel in the genuine pain of Morrissey. So in ironic honor of this weekend’s holiday, I have compiled a list of the best break-up songs.
Leave it to a band whose lead singer is rumored to have committed suicide over the dissolution of his marriage to write the ultimate break-up song — Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” What makes this song so great is that on the surface it sounds like a cheery dance number, yet the lyrics hint at a much darker message. The song begins “When the routine bites hard and ambitions are low…resentment rides high, but emotions won’t grow.” The message of the song isn’t hidden by unnecessary euphemisms or allegory. I have yet to hear faded love described as succinctly as when, halfway through the song, lead singer Ian Curtis asks “Why is the bedroom so cold?” The question seems to echo from underneath chilly covers. When love turns sour, it really does tear you apart.
On the other end of the thermometer is the warm, comforting music of Al Green. Better known for his sexy ballads, Green is not the first name that comes to mind when considering break-up songs. However, his amazing cover of the Bee Gees song “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” takes heartache and drowns it in a voice that flows thick and slow like honey.
What could be better solo listening than a band that built its entire fan base by writing songs about feeling alienated? Radiohead’s “High and Dry,” off its landmark album “The Bends,” captures the bitter sting of being deserted by someone who never deserved your affection in the first place. It’s smug and reassuring, and pretty in a depressing way.
Not all relationships end with loathing. As you may gather from the title, “Left Only With Love” by Smog is a graceful reconciliation. The sparse song features limited guitar and minimal percussion. Instead, the tune is carried by Bill Callahan’s vocals reciting “You did what was right to do and I hope you find your husband and a father to your children … When I lost you I lost my family.”
A few more songs round out the list. The Ramones cover of “Needles and Pins” is slightly more upbeat than the Smog song, but still not at the usual punk tempo.
I imagine that writing about a breakup is a hard process, and that it’s even harder when the person you’re breaking up with is in the band, as is the case with Sleater-Kinney’s “One More Hour.” And this list couldn’t be complete without the bluesy and soulful “Good Morning Heartache,” sung by Ella Fitzgerald.
Finally, I’m also fond of listening to PJ Harvey when in a gloomy mood. Although most of her songs aren’t necessarily about ended relationships, her music is dark and strong, raw and passionate, like a car accident you can’t help but gape at or a lightning storm that keeps you in the rain, even though the safe, smart thing to do is go inside.