The 5 All Time Greatest Help You Through a Breakup Songs by Mario Cotto
Mario Cotto , KCRW DJ.
I’m a dj. I’m not very good at math or science. This is not to say that djs can’t be good at math or science in general, I mean I personally am not. I am not a statistician. However, as a dj, I am prone to making great, sweeping, opinionated but potentially unfounded, hyperbolic statements like, "this is the best song ever," or…"89.9% of songs written in the whole of human history are about breaking up."
1. I Thought This Was Ours : Alexis Taylor (Rubbed Out)
Hot Chip’s front man wrote what I consider the best Fleetwood Mac song Fleetwood Mac never wrote on his solo debut last year. [Denial]
2. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue : Them (Them Again)
Dylan’s biting lyrics + Van Morrison’s heartbroken wail + Psych/Soul instrumentation = The prettiest, bitterest song EVER. In a 1969 review Greil Marcus described it as, "terrifying." You bet. [Anger]
3. Seasick, Yet Still Docked : Morrissey (Your Arsenal)
The song begins and ends with these ambient silences, echoes, and clocks that are simply devastating. Then the bass, and a plaintive strum. Morrissey. Then, the LYRICS. It’s okay to cry. [Bargaining]
4. To Wish Impossible Things : The Cure (Wish)
Sure…I could’ve made this list a several dozen times over using just Robert Smith songs…from ’82, ’89, or ’00. But…nothing compares to the gravity of Robert Smith singing in harmony, "the hope of all we might’ve been." NB: Still recovering from hearing this live @ Coachella 2009. [Depression]
5. Leave Me Alone : New Order (Power, Corruption & Lies)
Despite the perfectly catchy New Order guitars, the lyrics and their delivery are so shattered and despondent, and the drums crack so high in the mix you can feel it in the back of your skull. This is the aural equivalent of taking a bath in ice water. [Acceptance]
If you need a light at the end of the tunnel:
6. I Guess I’m Floating : M83 (Before the Dawn Heals Us)
NB: We all need a light at the end of the tunnel. [Transcendence]
