Set the night to music.
I haven’t spent much time nursing my broken heart, but revisiting the neighborhood where I got married (Park Slope) in order to set the divorce process in motion today was a big vat of salt in a seeping open wound, so I need a soundtrack to help me along. The last time I ended a relationship, I remember listening to “Don’t Ask Me Why” by the Eurythmics on repeat at top volume for days, perhaps weeks. This time, nothing has hooked me so strongly — though now I have an impossibly deep understanding of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Tusk (ehr, the Stevie songs, not the more vindictive Lindsey songs) — but I’m healing with lots of José González (listen to him even if your heart is intact) and Fink (his new one, Distance and Time, is particularly appropriate). Besides that, a modest playlist for the many moods of the moment:
- Don’t Come Around Here No More, Tom Petty: Classic. And the Alice in Wonderland themed video is nearly as perfect.
- Your Heart Is Gonna Pay, Alton Ellis: Mr. Ellis always makes you feel it in your bones, but the timing of the tangled knot of broken-heartedness and righteousness in his tone as he chokes out “You’ll be so sorry” after the second chorus is like a punch in the face.
- It’s Too Late, Carole King: Another classic from the generation that would know.
- Let It Die, Feist: To wit, “The saddest part / of a broken heart / isn’t the ending / so much as the start.” Plus so much more.
- Lost Cause, Beck: At least he’s honest.
- Forget the Flowers, Wilco: Just send me the bill.
- I Know It’s Over, Jeff Buckley: Another exquisite cover by the late Buckley, wedding that angelic voice to Morrissey’s typically world-weary yet emotionally naked lyrics.
- I Never Will Marry, Linda Ronstadt with Dolly Parton: Good policy.
- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right, Bob Dylan: The freewheelin’ Bob Dylan has written many, many excellent break-up songs (everyone knows to go straight to Blood on the Tracks by now), but the flippant gather-no-moss style of this one makes it my favorite.
- You Never Miss Your Water, Lightnin’ Hopkins: No, you don’t, do you?
- Another Lonely Day, Ben Harper: Wow. He really goes there.
- I Will Survive, Cake: There’s a special twist in this cover — perhaps it’s the snarling of the line “I should’ve changed my f**king lock” — that makes it a revelation to listen to even if you’ve heard Gloria Gaynor’s version a zillion times.
- One, U2: When you want to find the shared humanity even in the bitterness of a break-up.
- Piece of My Heart, Janis Joplin: Strength in vulnerability.
- Irreplaceable, Beyoncé: I used to hate this song. Oh, it’s catchy as hell, in that special way that Beyoncé songs usually are, but I thought the lyrics were incredibly cynical and hard-bitten. Well, guess what? Presently, I am cynical and hard-bitten, so now it hits the spot. Plus, the production is pretty sweet.