Top 5 Breakup Songs of the Night (and why):

1. "Cardinal Song" by the National – The song, which opens and sets the tone for the band's 2003 release Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, begins with the stabbing lyric, "Never look her in the eye/never tell the truth/if she knows you're paper/you know she'll have to burn you." While these grim lines are somewhat pessimistic, they do in fact sum up the most egregious quirks of human nature: once you know you have it, you don't want it anymore. Ain't it the truth, brother!

2. "The Engine Driver" by The Decemberists – When I heard this song tonight, that catchy, haunting, cyclical "And if you don't love me, let me go," I was delighted with how much it hurt to relate to that moment. I knew what it was like to pour words out of my soul, a "writer of fictions" of sorts, just praying that one day I could close the book and not ache and long anymore. This blog post is attempt #1.

3. "Lilac Wine" as rendered by Jeff Buckley – I suppose it is college-aged human nature to look to the first substance one can find for relief. While I wasn't lucky enough to ferment my own wine tonight, I wept along with his touching inquiry, "Why's everything so hazy?/Isn't that she/or am I just going crazy?" Isn't it a tragically lovley image, there drunk beyond description, imagining the one you lost there delicately among the fog?

4."Afford" by Akron/Family – The only lyrics in this song are, "The power I afford you/is the one I wish I had over you."

5. "Tract for Valerie Solanas" by Matmos – This song is a reading of the S.C.U.M. manifesto by someone that sounds like not only an enlightened but an empowered female. Admittedly, I only included this song for the part when she proclaims the bottom line of the manifesto's mission: "Destroy the male sex."

I hope everyone has as lovely an evening as I! Cheers!

-C. Gubala