Help me make a breakup mixtape

August 7, 2009 2:14 PM

Please help me put a mixCD together for a friend who was recently dumped by her boyfriend.

A friend of mine has given me the task of putting together a bunch of songs that will match her current mood. She was dumped a few days ago by her boyfriend.

The problem that I have is that there wasn't a problem with their relationship, or it's ending. They got on really well, but both of them realised that it was time to call it a day. They were happy together, and now they're happy apart. She's looking for songs that celebrate the positive ending of a positive relationship.

I Will Survive, by Gloria Gaynor: No.
Thank You, by Jamelia: No.
Etc.

Any song suggestions? I'm completely out of ideas. Every song I think of is either lamenting the end of the relationship (which she isn't) or if the singer is glad the relationship is over, the relationship was a bad one (which theirs wasn't). Any songs that you can think fit the bill will be very welcomed. I'm not ruling out any genre or age of song.

posted by Solomon to media & arts (42 comments total)

Geez. It's tough to figure out a song that won't at least make her feel wistful. Is a Leonard Cohen like "Dance Me To The End Of Love" in the ballpark?
posted by bonobothegreat at 2:28 PM on August 7

Bang on the Ear by The Waterboys has that kind of vibe... it's about looking over the relationships in ones life and being able to wish all those exes well.
posted by kimdog at 2:32 PM on August 7

Scratch that one. I just realize I've totally misinterpreted it until now.
posted by bonobothegreat at 2:32 PM on August 7

Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac.
posted by milarepa at 2:33 PM on August 7

Long May You Run by Neil Young
"Long may you run, although these changes have come. With your chrome heart shining in the sun. Long may you run."

and

Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac. (seconded)
posted by soelo at 2:41 PM on August 7

you say "dumped" and then you say their relationship had a "positive ending" - bit of a mixed message, no?

are they still going to be in contact? still friends? if so, maybe you could go with songs that celebrate friendship?

e.g., Queen - You're My Best Friend

or maybe Led Zeppelin - Friends

there's also this thread of friendship songs to check out if this is all to yr fancy

(and seconding "Bang on the Ear" by the Waterboys - great song)
posted by jammy at 2:43 PM on August 7

I think Drawing Board by Danny Schmidt suits that nicely. I couldn't find it on Youtube, but here's a nice cover. And the original version also comes up on Hype Machine here.
posted by diamondsky at 2:43 PM on August 7

I think Jason Mraz's You and I Both would work, too.
posted by soelo at 2:46 PM on August 7

For my money the best, most bittersweet breakup song ever written is "Make War" by Bright Eyes.
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:21 PM on August 7 [1 favorite]

re: stacks by bon iver is a classic - sure the album's about a bad breakup, but the conclusion is about much much more.
posted by Think_Long at 3:40 PM on August 7 [1 favorite]

Maybe "Better Things" by The Kinks
posted by thebergfather at 3:40 PM on August 7 [1 favorite]

Absolutely every song on Frightened Rabbit's The Midnight Organ Fight. I keep waiting for someone I know to break up so I can slip a couple songs off that record onto a mixed CD for them.
posted by togdon at 3:42 PM on August 7

Danke Schoen
posted by kathrineg at 3:52 PM on August 7

Sweet Marie by Hothouse Flowers
posted by corey flood at 3:52 PM on August 7

Cold Hands, Warm Heart
"You're too quiet, i'm too loud, now we've hit a storm cloud
I'll see you on the other side..
Old habits, young ways, maybe we're just in a phase
But we can say we really tried"

There's a live/acoustic version out there that's much much better than the album version I linked to here. It's from the Cold Hands (Warm Heart) EP that I can't seem to find anywhere.
posted by amethysts at 3:52 PM on August 7

Woody Guthtrie: So Long, It's Been Good To Know You
posted by Postroad at 3:55 PM on August 7

I have the perfect song. Blue Skies by Noah and the Whale. Their new album comes out at the end of the month.
posted by spork at 4:09 PM on August 7

How about Just One of Those Things?

So good-bye, dear, and amen
Here's hoping we meet now and then
It was great fun
But it was just one of those things
posted by timeistight at 4:12 PM on August 7 [1 favorite]

Heh, to increase the cheesiness factor, try "Our Last Summer" by ABBA

Or a very long shot, but I think it would be funny: "I Ain't Mad Atcha" by Tupac (this version contains profanity)
posted by kathrineg at 4:13 PM on August 7

"New Soul" by Yael Naim "This is a happy end/come and give me your hand/I'll take you far away"
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:45 PM on August 7

Time of Your Life - Green Day

"At the time I wrote it, I was breaking up with a girl that was moving to Ecuador, and I was trying to be as understanding about it as I could. I wrote the song as kind of a bon voyage."

posted by nooneyouknow at 4:49 PM on August 7

Sorry not to directly answer the question, but I can't strike a theme while:

She was dumped a few days ago by her boyfriend.

and

both of them realised that it was time to call it a day

are conflicting in my brain.
posted by rhizome at 4:55 PM on August 7 [1 favorite]

Don't Get Your Back Up by Sarah Harmer would be a good fit.
posted by backwards guitar at 5:09 PM on August 7 [1 favorite]

Short and sweet by Julia Nunes
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:30 PM on August 7

Closer to Me, by Dar Williams
posted by Countess Elena at 5:34 PM on August 7

Not a song, but a genre -- Punk fucking rock.
posted by bunny hugger at 6:05 PM on August 7

Got To be True to myself by Ziggy Marley (sorry I don't have a link).
posted by little_c at 6:25 PM on August 7

Four Leaf Clover by Badly Drawn Boy
posted by SkylitDrawl at 6:44 PM on August 7

Don't Think Twice, It's Alright by Bob Dylan. Best breakup song ever. (but slightly bitter)

and there's also "We Just Disagree" by Rockell:

There ain't no good guy, there ain't no bad guy,
There's only you and me and we just disagree.
posted by emd3737 at 7:59 PM on August 7

Ooph... I have to disagree about Don't Think Twice... that song's harsh! The kiss off is pretty damn brutal to my ears:

I ain't sayin' you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don't mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time

A pretty perfect Bob Dylan track for these purposes is All I Really Want to Do. Here's a verse:

I don't want to straight-face you,
Race or chase you, track or trace you,
Or disgrace you or displace you,
Or define you or confine you.
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you.

And here's the song on YouTube.
posted by Kattullus at 8:11 PM on August 7

Roy Harper: "Francesca" (here).
posted by ryanshepard at 8:18 PM on August 7

"Pretty Wings" by Maxwell.
posted by anekona at 9:53 PM on August 7

Music will just keep her mired in "the tragedy!"--want to be a real friend? get her a batch of very funny movies instead!
posted by naplesyellow at 9:55 PM on August 7

Just to sell you on the song, here are lyrics from "Pretty Wings" that I find relatable/applicable to this type of situation:

I had to set you free
Away from me
To see clearly the way that love can be
When you are not with me
I had to leave, I have to live

If I can't have you, let love set you free
To fly your pretty wings around

I am so glad Maxwell is making music again. =)
posted by anekona at 9:57 PM on August 7

No, no Bob Dylan. All of his songs regarding women say: "I want to sleep with you" or "I hate you, you bitch." Excellent in a lot of situations but not here.

Not necessarily about a breakup (I mean, it could be), but Belle & Sebastian's I Don't Love Anyone is guaranteed to cheer anyone up, even if they don't want to be cheered up.
posted by oinopaponton at 10:25 PM on August 7

How about "It'll All Work Out" by Tom Petty? "Mexican Wrestler" by Jill Sobule?
posted by lauren'spsychichotline at 10:43 PM on August 7

"Birds" by Neil Young is a wistful, yet loving, breakup song. Not sure which album it's on.
posted by chicainthecity at 11:12 PM on August 7

Livin' A Dream by Dr. Dog is bittersweet, but more general than just relationships. I still think it would be *perfect* for the end of your mixtape. The poem at the end breaks my heart everytime, in a good way.

So to all you future dreamers and lovers and leavers,
to all those who know there's still something between us that binds us
and reminds us of times that passed,
I appreciate you listening to this one man's last gas.
In spite of all the words that we can't fit to song,
I'd thank you to take off your eye shades, please... sing along.
posted by yaymukund at 11:47 PM on August 7

Maybe....."Song is Over" by the Who.

The lyrics have a "that part of my life is over, the next part of my life is ahead of me, rah rah" feel, and they also hint at "song" being a metaphor for a love affair -- but the chorus is this wonderful, rousing, "the world is ahead of me and the new chapter is starting" feel: "I'll sing my song to the wide open spaces, I'll sing my heart out to the infinite sea..."

The very last line also alludes to the whole "the love affair is over but it had an impact on me that I'll be grateful for" thing you get too.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:12 AM on August 8

Engine Driver- The Decemberists
Here I Dreamt I was an Architect- The Decemberists
Volcano- Beck
Fake Plastic Trees- Radiohead (check the 3rd verse)
Intuition- Feist
Soul and Fire- Sebadoh
Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)- Sebadoh
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses- U2
Lost Ones- Jay-Z
posted by Wayman Tisdale at 8:58 AM on August 8

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again
posted by knile at 11:56 AM on August 9

They Can't Take That Away from Me, Sinatra
posted by kathrineg at 12:34 PM on August 9