Well I think it’s safe to say, love sucks. A lot of times.
Sometimes getting through heartbreak feels nearly impossible. Music is cathartic. In times of heartbreak, or just general sadness, I try to refer to an old saying of mine – “music will save your life.”
And then today, I read an article titled: Broken Hearts Are Truly Painful, Research Shows on the Huffington Post. A very informative as well as surprising article, obviously- they go on to describe comparisons in brain functioning in people describing physical pain versus societal rejection, heartbreak, etc- and how incredibly similar the brain patterns are. Truly not very surprising, when you really get down to it, but still, remarkable nonetheless. They also explain how the same part of the brain controls both physical and social pain, which may be the most important correlation. They also make reference to Broken Heart Syndrome, which is a sort of deep depression type of state following great loss, when experiencing a deep rooted sort of grief.
So, for the love lorn, lovesick, heart stricken – Here’s my compilation playlist of 101 Anti-Love, Break-Up songs, in no real particular order. In other words, my favorite sad bastard music.
Sorry- you won’t find Miley Cyrus or Justin Timberlake on this list. It’s mostly indie, alternative, alt-rock, folk type stuff, with a lot of oldschool-Patsy-Cline-stuff in between. Check out a YouTube playlist with these songs included at the bottom of the playlist below. Also, Spotify playlist below! Sad songs for sad people.
& feel free to let me know what I left off.
Tracks
- Love is a Losing Game – Amy Winehouse
- Crying – Roy Orbison
- You Belong to Me – Patsy Cline
- Don’t Think Twice, it’s All Right – Bob Dylan
- I’ve Been Loving You Too Long – Cat Power (cover)
- Wake Up Alone – Amy Winehouse
- My Dreamgirl Don’t Exist – Neutral Milk Hotel
- Summer in the City – Regina Spektor
- Ladder Song – Bright Eyes
- You Really Got A Hold On Me – She & Him (cover)
- Goodnight Bad Morning – The Kills
- Anenome – The Brian Jonestown Massacre
- You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go – Bob Dylan
- Don’t Bring me Down – Sia
- Lost Cause – Beck
- Back to Black – Amy Winehouse
- Lose You – Pete Yorn
- I Fall To Pieces – Patsy Cline
- Scattered Leaves – The Be Good Tanyas
- Archipelago – Mirah
- Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh – Bright Eyes
- Perfect – Smashing Pumpkins
- Black Star – Radiohead
- Somebody That I Used to Know – Elliott Smith
- Where I End and You Begin – Radiohead
- Lost in My Mind – The Head and the Heart
- The Child is Gone – Fiona Apple
- Skinny Love – Bon Iver
- Poison Oak – Bright Eyes
- Don’t Think Twice it’s All Right – Bob Dylan
- You Know I’m No Good – Amy Winehouse
- Wrapped In My Memory – Shawn Smith
- A Crime – Sharon Van Etten
- Unrequited Love – Lykke Li
- The Engine Driver – The Decemberists
- Look For Me (I’ll Be Around) – Neko Case
- Most Likely You’ll Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine – Bob Dylan
- Going Nowhere – Elliott Smith
- Something Vague – Bright Eyes
- Metal Heart – Cat Power
- Heart of Gold – Neil Young
- A Case of You – Joni Mitchell
- Somedays – Regina Spektor
- Hopefully – My Morning Jacket
- Gravity Rides Everything – Modest Mouse
- Rattlesnakes – Tori Amos
- A Perfect Sonnet – Bright Eyes
- Hope – The Submarines
- 1,000 Oceans – Tori Amos
- I Can’t – Radiohead
- Black Hole – She & Him
- Twilight – Elliott Smith
- Werewolf – Cat Power
- I Wish I was the Moon – Neko Case
- How To Fight Loneliness – Wilco
- Summer in the City – Regina Spektor
- I Buried a Bone – Blind Pilot
- Never is a Promise – Fiona Apple
- Still in Love – Cat Power
- Motion Sickness – Bright Eyes
- Climbing up the Walls – Radiohead
- Somebody That I Used to Know – Gotye
- Girl From the North Country – Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash
- You Will. You Will. You Will – Bright Eyes
- Red Right Ankle – The Decemberists
- Song of our So-called Friend – Okkervil River
- The Lines of My Earth – Sixpence None the Richer
- Love is a Battlefield – Pat Benatar
- Bell Bottom Blues – Eric Clapton
- Miss You – The Rolling Stones
- Human Thing – The Be Good Tanyas
- Like a Hurricane – Neil Young
- Body and Soul – Billie Holiday
- I Hate Myself For Loving You – Joan Jett
- Everything Reminds Me of Her – Elliott Smith
- Things I Cannot Recall – Blind Pilot
- Cry, Cry – Mazzy Star
- About Her – Malcolm Mclaren
- Strawberry Wine – Ryan Adams
- Blood Bank – Bon Iver
- Serpents – Sharon Van Etten
- I Go To Sleep – Sia
- Empty – Ray LaMontange
- Flume – Bon Iver
- In Spite of All the Damage – The Be Good Tanyas
- A Sorta Fairytale – Tori Amos
- Leave the City – The Magnolia Electric Co.
- Going to Acapulco – Jim James & Calexico
- Pyro – Kings of Leon
- Stumbleine – The Smashing Pumpkins
- Cracker Jack – Starlight Mints
- Kiss Off – The Violent Femmes
- Modest Mouse – Parting of the Sensory
- Bloodstream – Stateless
- Up From the Ground – Fort Atlantic
- Playing for Keeps – Elle King
- Cigarettes and Coffee – Otis Redding
- October – Broken Bells
- The Notwist – Consequence
- Ghost Towns – Radical Face
- Piece of My Heart – Janis Joplin
4 Comments. Leave new
This list is missing “No Children” by The Mountain Goats. WHY?
Hmmm – I am sad to say I have not heard The Mountain Goats yet. Thanks for the tip!
Another suggestion would be “No-One’s Gonna Love You” by Band of Horses. And by the way, this is a brilliant list.
Thanks. Much appreciated! 🙂