Many a year ago I coached a soccer team of 14 year olds. The team was organized to give the kids who didn’t make the “elite” teams a place to play. I enjoyed coaching and got along with most of the guys I coached. One practice or game I remember one of the kids brought his friend Severin along. Severin played for one of the “elite” teams and was probably pretty unimpressed with our team. After this one visit I didn’t see Severin any more. A couple years later my sister asked Severin to a dance. I’m not sure of the specific details, but my general impression was that things went really poorly at the dance and afterwards my sister didn’t think to highly of Seve. About 4 years later my brother invited me to go to a show he was playing in a carpet warehouse. I’m still not quite sure why there was a show in a carpet warehouse to begin with, but I went with the girl from Brazil who I was dating (and mentioned in my previous post). After my brother’s band played I got my first taste of Seve vs. Evan. This was the third time I’d ever heard/seen this Severin character, and was by far the most impressive. I didn’t know that Seve knew how to play the piano or sing. I didn’t know he had the capacity to write and perform a song. I really enjoyed the music and the energy of their performance and was pretty well hooked. As I’ve gone through my various break ups it’s been nice to have Seve and Evan there singing and playing about carving hearts into their chests, eating Little Red Riding Hood, etc. Enjoy.

Mega Bomberman

P.S. Seve vs. Evan have a new album…BUY IT!!

I haven’t been listening to much of Pedro the Lion lately, which is a shame. I used to listen to their music all the time. In fact not more than a couple years ago I had an interesting experience involving a Pedro the Lion song and a girl I was dating. The girl I was dating was from Brazil. I only mention that to point out that there were certain cultural nuances that were sometimes lost in our conversations.

At one point during our relationship I decided that I should change the info on my AIM account. This was something I did impulsively and very irregularly. When the desire to change my info hit, I happened to be listening to Pedro the Lion’s Bad Diary Days. The song tells the brief story of a trusting man who finds out his wife has been cheating on him. I decided to include part of the song’s lyrics in my info. A couple days later this girl I was dating me called and told me we “had to talk.” This was always bad news as it meant we’d get in my car, drive to a secluded area and then have an in depth talk about what I had done wrong. This conversation was different. Mainly because I don’t really think I had done anything wrong. My Brazilian girlfriend had taken my act of changing the info of my AIM account (to a song about a woman cheating on a man) to mean that I wanted to get back together with my ex-girlfriend (who had cheated on me). I’m not quite sure how the connection was drawn between me quoting a song depicting someone who discovers he’s being cheated on and me wanting to get back together with a girl that cheated on me, but that was one of those subtle nuances that was lost in our interactions together. So, while this song isn’t necessarily something that helped me get over a broken heart, it certainly caused some heartache in the life of another.

Bad Diary Days:

I guess sometimes when you’re feeling down it’s not even really the words that matter, but the general sentiment that is conveyed. I don’t know that many if any of The American Analog Set’s songs are specifically about heartbreak, but the important thing is how I feel when I listen to them.

Their songs are smart and simple and can usually be described as “mellow.” Sometimes “mellow” is exactly how I’ve felt/do feel about my love situation. Sometimes I’m feeling down enough that I don’t want to be reminded of how poorly things are going and I’m not over things enough to be ready to look towards the future with optimism.

So, when I’m in emotional limbo, it’s always nice to have a “mellow” band to turn towards whose lyrics won’t make me cry or cringe, but will give me something to take my mind off of everything else, and whose music is great.

The Postman

Alright, so continuing with in this indie vein (isn’t indie just the next emo?) I figured we better at least spend a moment talking about the quintessential broken hearted indie rocker, Conor Oberst. Oberst is the front man and main contributer in Bright Eyes. While the music Bright Eyes has produced ranges greatly, I’ve tried to include some of that music which seems best suited for heartbreak.

Basketball is a song that I listen to frequently while going through rocky relationships. It always seems like when things are going well, they suddenly crash. Then, when things are at the worst my ex shows up and we get back together and the cycle starts all over again. Hopefully this song will help you wallow, like its helped me.

Basketball

I was first introduced to Owen when I was taking an Intro to Film class by a friend named Jeff. I had to search high and low to find songs, but when I did I realized it was worth the effort.

So imagine with me, if you will, a band that features a great guitarist, great drummer, solid vocals and songwriting. Now, imagine that they’re all the same person. If you were able to imagine such a thing you’d pretty much be thinking about Owen. Owen is the work of Mike Kinsella. Having played with Joan of Arc, Cap’n Jazz, Owls and American Football, Kinsella already had a few successful projects under his belt when he decided to go solo.

So, Owen is good. The music is mellow, the lyrics are intelligent and if you’re looking to be impressed, feel vidicated, and still wallow in your sorrow then you don’t need to look any further than Mike Kinsella’s Owen.

Who Found Who’s Hair In Who’s Bed?

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That Mouth:

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