Top 25 Indie Break-up Songs

Hi Ravewreckers,

Stumbled upon this cool "stumble upon" list. The awesome thing is that you can stream all 25 of these very cool songs. Give it a try by checking this addie out.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/toolbar/#...break-up-songs

My favourite is Ryan Adams' "Come Pick Me Up": “I wish you would. Come pick me up. Take me out. **** me up. Steal my records. Screw all my friends, they’re all full of ****. With a smile on your face, and then do it again…”

What other "indie breakups" would you add to the list??

Enjoy,

audiobill

Please excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is "Indie"? Its a term I hear bandied about a lot, but I have no idea what it is. Does it mean independant perhaps?

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Originally Posted by emesbee

Please excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is "Indie"? Its a term I hear bandied about a lot, but I have no idea what it is. Does it mean independant perhaps?

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Hey emesbee,

The term "indie" has been used in a variety of ways. To many of the Rrer regulars it means punky cool below the radar. But a quick inventory of definitions yields a clearer or sometimes blurred picture. As evidenced below.

Ryan Schreiber, the editor and founder of Pitchfork Media, a popular online magazine that chronicles the indie music scene, said the definition also embodies a sense of idealism and an anti-corporate attitude.

"[The term] has also, for years, been sort of the de facto label for an entire subculture of idealistic artists and music fans who place a lot of stock in the idea of making music for yourself or your friends, rather than for profit or popularity," he said.

According to critics, indie is now nothing more than a branding tool: a highly commercial and money-driven movement, more concerned with marketing a particular image instead of culture with a truly independent nature and passion for its art.

In May, Dave Cool, a Montreal-based filmmaker, released "What is Indie?" -- a documentary that takes a look at indie musicians and attempts to determine what being indie actually means.

With major labels and corporations now handling distribution for some indie record labels and major film studios buying or inking deals with what were once independent film studios, the definition has become "irrelevant at this point," Cool said.

Another way of looking at the term "indie": (from The Urban Dictionary)

A gloriously vague term for Independant Music. Basically unsigned or more obscure bands (It's odd that Radiohead and REM are considered indie...). While the indie scene is known for it's jackass elitism, this doesn't spill over and hurt what's most important....the music. One of the few generas left that can at least carry a ****ing tune without screaming like a retard or crying.

(Examples of Indie music)

80's- Joy Division, Sonic Youth, The Smiths

90's- Pavement, Radiohead, The Pixies, Happy Mondays (Are they considered dance music or indie rock?).

Now- The Shins, Bright Eyes, Death Cab For Cutie/The Postal Service, Rilo Kelly, Modest Mouse.
Indie Kid- "Do you guys carry Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain by Pavement or Closer by Joy Division?

Confused FYE Employee- "Uhh, no. We do have a wall of My Chemical Romance albums on the wall behind you".

Indie Kid- "****"


Hope this helps and that it does not add more confusion.

Check out the music and get a feel for yourself,

Bill

Thanks for that. Actually, I think I've come to the conclusion that all the labelling of music into different categories is rather pointless. I've heard people having heated arguments over whether a particular song is this style or that style. As far as I am concerned they are just splitting hairs. I just listen to music.

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Originally Posted by audiobill

What other "indie breakups" would you add to the list?

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"Hopeless" - The Wrens is the first thing that came to mind.

The Shins - Gone For Good -

Untie me, I've said no vows
The train is getting way too loud
I gotta leave here my girl
Get on with my lonely life

Just leave the ring on the rail
For the wheels to nullify

Until this turn in my head
I let you stay and you paid no rent
I spent twelve long months on the lam

That's enough sitting on the fence
For the fear of breaking dams

I find a fatal flaw
In the logic of love
And go out of my head

You love a sinking stone
That'll never elope
So get used to the lonesome
Girl, you must atone some
Don't leave me no phone number there

It took me all of a year
To put the poison pill to your ear
But now I stand on honest ground, on honest ground

You want to fight for this love
But honey you cannot wrestle a dove
So baby it's clear

You want to jump and dance
But you sat on your hands
And lost your only chance

Go back to your hometown
Get your feet on the ground
And stop floating around

I find a fatal flaw
In the logic of love
And go out of my head

You love a sinking stone
That'll never elope
So get used to used to the lonesome
Girl, you must atone some
Don't leave me no phone number there


Swish

...regardless of lists. It may not be abut an actual break-up, but one that's about to happen. Read the lyrics and decide. If you haven't heard this from their stellar Ohio double cd, you need to get your hands on it. Karin Bergquist's vocals are nothing short of incredible, and the song, while only 4 simple chords (G, D, Em, C I think), is pretty much perfect.

Over the Rhine - Long Lost Brother

I thought that we’d be
Further along by now
I can’t remember how
We stumbled to this place

I loved you like a long lost brother
On a bad day maybe I thought why bother
I’ve seldom seen so much anger
In a face

I wanna do better
I wanna try harder
I wanna believe
Down to the letter

Jesus and Mary
Can you carry us
Across this ocean
Into the arms of forgiveness

I don’t mean to laugh outloud
I’m trying to come clean
Trying to shed my doubt
Maybe I should just keep
My big mouth shut

More often than not
When it comes to you
You want whatever’s not in front of you
Deep down I know this includes me too

So tell me your troubles
Let your pain rain down
I know my job I’ve been around
I invest in the mess
I’m a low cost dumping ground

Trouble is I’m so exhausted
The plot, you see, I think I’ve lost it
I need the grace to find what can’t be found

Swish

I thought they were all about tight sweaters and bad haircuts and retro-hippie environmental stuff...

Ramones - "I Remember You"
Cursive - "The Casualty"
The Wrens - "Happy"

Who would know? Most singers in indie bands mumble so much that you can't tell what they are singing about. So I'll go with "Fake Palindomes" by Andrew Bird. I mean, really, who wouldn't stay away from a chick that had blood in her eyes and power tools in her hands?

Is Elliot Smith really indie? Ya know, if he is, then maybe Richard Thompson is too, and if that's the case. "I Misunderstood" is it for me. "I thought she was saying good luck, she was saying goodbye", ouch, that's the worst goodbye. Think that wound up on one of my comps. Or it should've. Brilliant.

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Originally Posted by Davey

So I'll go with "Fake Palindomes" by Andrew Bird. I mean, really, who wouldn't stay away from a chick that had blood in her eyes and power tools in her hands?

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Man, you must've had some rough break-ups to think of that one as a breakup song. I've always though it to be more about a psychotic killer.

I'm going to go with Luke Doucet's song Broken One.

One day you're gonna miss me.
One day you're gonna wake up cold.
Then you'll wish that you could kiss me
when you're old and you're alone.
So cry if you want to.
Yeah, you can come undone
but you've gotta have a heart to have a broken one.

You can take your accusations.
You can have all your records back.
You can have an opinion or a heart attack,
'cause if you lose a kindred spirit, you'll find another one.
But you've gotta to pull the trigger to have a smoking gun.

Oh my girl, it must be so tight in your skin
'cause there's no room to breathe- this fantasy you're living in.

I need a new perpective, I need a fresh start.
I need a girl like you like a stolen car
because we all love the joyride until you wind up dead.
You see, you don't need a heart to have a swollen head

Is indie-ish close enough?

Elbow - Grounds For Divorce
Porcupine Tree - Shesmovedon
Ben Folds Five - Song For The Dumped

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Originally Posted by 3-LockBox

Is indie-ish close enough?

Elbow - Grounds For Divorce
Porcupine Tree - Shesmovedon
Ben Folds Five - Song For The Dumped

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It was so freakin' obvious. And great lyrics too:

So you wanted
to take a break
Slow it down some and
have some space
Well f<a>uck you too
Give me my money back
Give me my money back
you b<a>itch

I want my money back
(And don't forget to give
me back my black T-Shirt)
Wish I hadn't bought you dinner
Right before you dumped me
on your front porch
Give me my money back
Give me my money back

Bob Dylan I'm sure once qualified as indie. In fact, he's at the top of the register in my books.

How's about these lines from "It's All Over Now (Baby Blue)":


(The Opening salvo)
You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last.
But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast.

(The Cryptic "ha!")
All your reindeer armies, are all going home.
The lover who just walked out your door
Has taken all his blankets from the floor.
The carpet, too, is moving under you
And its all over now, baby blue.

(The Final Burn)
Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you.
Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you.
The vagabond who's rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore.
Strike another match, go start anew
And its all over now, baby blue.

Dylan has a way of putting the shovel down once he's buried the relationship.

I don't believe this is a break up song.. but definitely a sad one about loss:

Set The Fire To The Third Bar - Snow Patrol

The Ten Silver Drops album by The Secret Machines includes several songs about the course of an ugly break-up. The first song is entirely from the guy's perspective, and then a couple of songs carry the theme in a back-and-forth, he said/she said way.

The last song on the disc, "1000 Seconds" wraps it all up. And it seems like it could have been written from her perspective... standing in her shoes, saying these things back to the singer. It's chilling, because this is what a breakup sounds like. And feels like.

I must admit it's a balancing act
It looks dangerous, that's part of it
Remember, don't look down
You and I standing in a crowded room
We were pressed together but we're holding on
Like we're all that was
That's all there was

In a flash of light
We were drunk, we were having a fight
I was wrong, that don't mean you were right
Then you played that song
It was a thousand seconds long
It didn't end, it seemed to play on all night
'Cause if I remember right I fell asleep there

Rainclouds passed and darkened more
An evening touched by waiting for the sky burst
Storms had gathered in crushing lines
I surrendered to a way that I remembered you
That's all there was

If I were forced to choose
What I have, I have to lose
I need love, that don't mean I need you
It started with that song
It was a thousand seconds long
It didn't end 'cause we never got through

And did you think that I had planned it all along,
Hoping not to be alone?
Well I was there on the edge of the rush
And did you leave because you thought that I would stay,
Stricken with a holy fright?
And it was clear as the night in the cold
And I won't ever know what you're afraid of