They Just Don't Write Em Like That Anymore

And the last word on Christmas week over here? It’s Sufjan...

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 22:45:37 -0500

And the last word on Christmas week over here? It’s Sufjan Stevens’s “Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved It)”, of course — and could be nothing else, as far as I’m concerned.

This song contains one of my favorite phrases of all time, which is, “I’m writing poems about you/and they’re not very nice.” This song speaks to a quiet place inside each of us that has no idea how to be with another person, and this evokes a deep, solemn feeling in me each time I listen to it. What is first amusing about the brash title of the song gives way to a gentle reality check that is nonetheless brutal.

uh…Merry Christmas everyone! Regularly scheduled posts will begin again after the holiday.

hoarr: Hoarr’s Top Seven Christmas Tunes Of All Time (OF ALL...

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:12:45 -0500

hoarr:

Hoarr’s Top Seven Christmas Tunes Of All Time (OF ALL TIME)

#4 The Ramones - Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight)

This song is truly worthy of being posted on the big day itself. I play this all year round, and it’s one of my favorite disparity-between-sound-and-lyrics songs.

What’s a blue Christmas without Bright Eyes?

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:07:18 -0500

What’s a blue Christmas without Bright Eyes?

Cold Enough to Snow — Jennifer Warnes On the radio There’s a man...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:07:22 -0500

Cold Enough to Snow — Jennifer Warnes

On the radio
There’s a man says
It ain’t freezing
What’s he know
He didn’t watch you go

This song is completely tied to my childhood staple Christmas movie, Life With Mikey.

It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop — Frightened...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:04:00 -0500

It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop — Frightened Rabbit

So forget the names
I called you on Christmas Eve
In fact forget the entire year

A very special thank you from Natasha to a non-tumbling Jeffrey Parker, who provided the suggestions for the Okkervil River, Neko Case, and Frightened Rabbit songs. Without him, Christmas would be a lot more merry this year!

wooliebear: feastingonroadkill: The Long Blondes: ‘Christmas...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:35:04 -0500

wooliebear:

feastingonroadkill:

The Long Blondes: ‘Christmas Is Cancelled’

“So she’s turned you out, has she?
well I can’t say I’m surprised.
After last year’s festive fuss,
I find it hard to sympathise.”

Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis — Neko Case...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:41:03 -0500

Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis — Neko Case (Tom Waits cover)

I’d buy me a used car lot
and I wouldn’t sell any of em
I’d just drive a different car
every day depending on how
I feel.

Okkervil River“Listening To Otis Redding At Home During...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:37:00 -0500

Okkervil River
“Listening To Otis Redding At Home During Christmas”

Home is where beds are made and butter is added to toast. On a cold afternoon you can float room to room like a ghost. Take the crèche out and argue about who gets to set up the kings. And I know that it’s home because that’s where the stereo sings “I’ve got dreams to remember.” But not even home can be with you forever. It’s Christmastime and the plane flies me over white hills to a town in a dream, where the sky is frozen and still, and a room (that’s not mine but it’s just like I left it before, with the wax from the candles all dusty and locks on the door) where I held you so tenderly, and where in summer I opened your letter to me. I’m standing where we knelt and a miracle mile now borders it, but if I turn my back and look at the field I don’t even notice it for a second. There’s a tangle of greenery where winter scenery ends. And I hear that song sometimes and imagine us much more than friends - like if we stayed in this town, bought the first house that went up on sale, and how each Christmastime would bring inlaws and snowdays and holiday mail. Your dad says you’re living in Georgia since last September. Well, “I’ve got dreams to remember.” I’ve got dreams to remember. Oh Sara, come back to New Hampshire. We’ll stay here forever.

Photo

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:09:31 -0500

Kill your boyfriend / ho ho ho

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:42:30 -0500

Kill your boyfriend / ho ho ho

Every Last Christmas You Take — Wham!/The Police You guys...

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:17:05 -0500

Every Last Christmas You Take — Wham!/The Police

You guys knew this one was coming. Last Christmas is a cornerstone of Christmas sadface, and don’t let anyone tell you different. But, since you’ve probably heard it about a thousand times this week alone, here’s a slightly different version set to The Police’s Every Breath You Take.

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone“Traveling Salesman’s...

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:42:00 -0500

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
“Traveling Salesman’s Young Wife Home Alone On Christmas In Montpelier, VT”

It goes nearly without saying that Casiotone For The Painfully Alone is practically the house band here at Break Up Song. We remember seeing them play—they opened for Xiu Xiu (who played frightfully loud—faith and begorrah!) at a small college in the American southwest—and it was very intimate. It was like how you’d imagine Robert Lowell would have given a poetry recital if he were a big, emo teddybear who sweated all over his several banks of keyboards and synthesizers. We had a spot right by the big 18” speaker. It was me and you back then. It was a fun night. You smoked a cigarette on the way home, and I just watched the road until it became the driveway.

You took the job that put you on the road.
For days and weeks in motels. Sleepy TV glow
with static filter in through payphones in the snow.
It drowns your “Home by Christmas”es and “Love you so”s.
But all our promises come so easy.
They fill the distances til our next meal.
But you’re always off the phone long before I prefer to be.

Lonely Without You (This Christmas) — Mick Jagger &...

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:46:18 -0500

Lonely Without You (This Christmas) — Mick Jagger & Joss Stone

Hang Myself From the Tree — The Vandals Christmas is dark...

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:16:00 -0500

Hang Myself From the Tree — The Vandals

Christmas is dark and wet, so I can’t forget
Christmas reminds me I have nothing
this is the end of hope, I won’t write a note
because it would be addressed to no one

hoarr: The Darkness - Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells...

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:44:19 -0500

hoarr:

The Darkness - Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)

Every now and again, I’ll post some of my favorite Christmas tracks. Enjoy!

Dust underneath the mistletoe leaves when you’re not here,
You went away upon boxing day,
Now how the hell am I gonna make it into the New Year.

Excellent.

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone“Cold White...

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:16:00 -0500

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
“Cold White Christmas” (Daytrotter)

Every day is a cold white Christmas when you’re down and out in Saint Paul.

Beer for breakfast. Who’s gonna scold?
You’ve got your early hours dulled by the cigarettes you rolled.

tylercoates: Aimee Mann - “Clean Up For Christmas” What...

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:24:00 -0500

tylercoates:

Aimee Mann - “Clean Up For Christmas”

What better way to launch Break Up Song’s Christmas week than with this lovely paean to the futility of sticking together for the holidays?

The Future of the Left “You Need Satan More Than He Needs...

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:01:00 -0500

The Future of the Left
“You Need Satan More Than He Needs You”

Break-Up Song is undergoing a horrible wave of prosperity: new loves, jobs, and shit. It’s messing with B-US’s blackhearted normalcy.

Goddamn it’s gonna rain.
I only brought my socks.
The night might hide my shame,
But she won’t dry my balls.

The spell that brought me here
Dissipated when the weather turned.
Yeah, sure. Satan rules. But
That doesn’t mean I can’t be practical.

What kind of orgy leaves
A sense of deeper love?

You need Satan more than He needs you.

Lies — Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova The little cracks...

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:23:28 -0500

Lies — Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

The little cracks they escalated
And before you know it is too late
For making circles and telling lies

The other songs on Once don’t get enough play. This is heart-wrenching!

Elton John“Can You Feel The Love Tonight” No.

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:00:17 -0500

Elton John
“Can You Feel The Love Tonight”

No.