Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra) [Official Music Video]

If there is any one human experience that is truly universal, it's a broken heart.

There is no pain quite as sharp or as lasting as your very first heartbreak, which is not to say subsequent heartbreaks are easy. But what remains consistent through it all is the power of music to offer comfort and catharsis. Whether your heart is broken for the first or the fiftieth time, these songs will help you throughout every stage of your journey to healing. Some are angry and defiant, some are sad and self-pitying, and some are about letting go and moving on. Whatever kind of break up song you need right now, we guarantee it's on this list.

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Music Lists

Leave Your Man at Home: A Galentine's Day Playlist

From Diana Ross to Beyoncé, here arethe songs you need to celebrate.

TLC - No Scrubs (Official HD Video)

Galentine's Day might've started as a bit in the Parks and Recreation universe, but Leslie Knope's holiday for celebrating her favorite women has since become an occasion for many ladies in real life.

Intended for celebration on February 13, Galentine's Day is best spent sharing the love with your closest gal pals—we recommend a potluck complete with wine and copious amounts of dessert—before sharing the following day with your sweetheart. If you're single this season, Galentine's Day and the following weekend also mark the perfect occasion to hit the town with your fellow bachelorettes, soaking in each other's companionship instead of wallowing over a lack of romance.

No matter how you're spending Galentine's Day, you need a playlist. We've compiled plenty of empowering hits—from classics and modern pop stars alike—to get your day (or night) started on the right foot.

Robyn, “Dancing On My Own”

Robyn's biggest hit to date is simply magical. It's a relatively simple dance-pop song that remains pretty level throughout, but "Dancing On My Own" still has a cathartic power that's made it the definitive sad banger. It's irresistible to sing along to, but the best part is you won't actually be on your own—you'll be dancing with your girls.

Follow the playlist on Spotify!

Galentine's Day

BTS at the American Music Awards

By Featureflash Photo Agency

Congratulations–you've survived 2019

We've been through haunting commercials, traumatically bad movies, and the fall of a favorite childhood author. But through it all, there's been Spotify, judging our music tastes like a disapproving boomer. And yet, we persisted. In alphabetical order, these are the top 50 musical lifelines of the 2010s. In the top 25 are the likes of BTS, Bon Iver, Kendrick Lamar, and Childish Gambino. Among the bottom 25 are FKA twigs, Tayor Swift, Julien Baker, and Charli XCX. Notably absent is anything by Ed Sheeran or Justin Bieber, because we don't believe bad listening habits should be encouraged. Happy listening in 2020!

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Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

Netflix continues to resuscitate the rom-com art form after the major success of movies like To All The Boys I've Loved, Summer of Love, The Kissing Booth, and Set It Up, among a slew of others.

The streaming platform's latest feel-good offering is called Someone Great. The Jennifer Kaytin Robinson-written-and-directed Netflix original movie tracks the emotional arc of a breakup over the course of a night of drugs, tequila shots, and lots of dancing––plus a soundtrack full of anthemic gems.

Someone Great finds New York-based music journalist, Jenny (Gina Rodriguez), reeling from a breakup with her boyfriend of nine years, Nate (Lakeith Stanfield), after she accepts a job at Rolling Stone that requires her to move across the country to San Francisco.

Soon, Jenny recruits the help of her best friends—stick-in-the-mud type A, Blair (Brittany Snow) and Peter Pan syndromer, Erin (Dewanda Wise)––to embark on a wild night. Soon, the girls are running around New York City in what can only be described as a millennial scavenger hunt. They visit drug dealers and Instagrammable pop-up shops that sell "feminist" shirts, in the pursuit of "rebound outfits" and hype molly.

Like any adventure that takes place over the course of 24 hours, there are a host of run-ins and cameos. There's the appearance of Mikey (Jaboukie Young-White), the Craigslist dealer who rides around on a hoverboard in a Soho loft (bought by his parents) as he preaches about the importance of Time's Up, before disclosing that he doesn't actually have the tickets the ladies came for but would be down for an orgy. The ladies also meet Nate's Cousin (played by Rosario Dawson) in an awkward run-in on the street. The trio goes on a mission to get molly from the fabulous Hype (RuPaul) who beckons the ladies into his fuzzy pink den where he shows off an aquarium of illegal baby sharks. Some of the cameos work better than others, but they all serve to pepper chaos and absurdity into the buzzy film's zig-zagging plot. Finally, all of the scavenging culminate in a visit to Neon Classic, an exclusive party that Nate and Jenny used to frequent together.

While the film certainly tailors to the millennial demographic, sometimes the writing can feel preening, in a #YaaasQueen sort of way. When this movie tries to be funny, the dialogue delivery tends to fall flat and sound more like a viral tweet than an actual conversation between real friends. But when it turns dramatic, it can tug at your heartstrings in a way you might not expect. That's not to say there aren't genuinely, energetic funny moments.

Robinson employs a useful tactic to give context to the relationship and add some emotional texture by interspersing flashbacks throughout. As the girls gallivant from Soho to the Lower East Side to Williamsburg, Jenny's thoughts are invaded with memories of Nate. Films that take place over the course of one night –– think Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Rough Night, American Graffiti — can often falter when it comes to adding the depth that's usually earned from longer timelines. These flashbacks, however, are Someone Great's emotional core. You get a glimpse into the disintegration of the relationship, as scenes flash of the two fighting, screaming, and having hard-to-watch makeup sex as Mitski plays in the background.

In her starring role as Jenny, Rodriguez delivers an electric performance, navigating easily from bursts of comedic dialogue and tequila-aided dancing to genuine moments of hurt and confusion. The breakup scene, in particular, is heart-wrenching. Lakeith's performance is also brimming with hard-to-resist charisma, and throughout the movie, it's hard to figure out whether you're rooting for the two to get back together or finally move on to bigger and better things. Meanwhile, Jenny's trying to figure out the same thing. The two actors dynamic portrayals of Jenny and Nate further complicate the usual formulaic quality of a rom-com, and while the movie still follows a classic chick flick structure, it feels a little more rooted in lived experiences than other movies of its type.

Part of that is achieved by the expert performances but is also largely due to the excellently curated soundtrack. From the dark, broody folk of Phoebe Bridgers to the melancholy synth-pop of Robyn, Someone Great is full of musical gems. The expectedly sing-able anthem of Lizzo's "Truth Hurts" plays as the girls dance around Jenny's apartment, swigging straight from the bottle. Selena's "Dreaming of You" plays in a bodega and sends Jenny into an emotional, teary-eyed ballad right then and there in front of the drinks fridge. Vampire Weekend's "Mansard Roof" transports Jenny to the night of her junior year at college when she met Nate at a party. Along the way, you can hear contemporary classics like Frank Ocean's "Moon River," and some oldies from the likes of Sam Cooke. It's full of tracks that feel applicable to any millennial woman's experience as if Jennifer Kaytin Robinson ripped them straight from your private Spotify breakup playlist.

Along the way, Blair and Erin reveal their own relationship struggles tied to growing up and entering their '30s. Working at a PR firm, Blair just wants stability, which is why she plays it safe with her current goofy boyfriend (Alex Moffat). But in reality, she craves more excitement, which manifests in a sometimes cringy affair with a music business fuckboy. Erin, on the other hand, is afraid of feeling stagnant. She's chronically late to work, always has a beer or joint in hand, and can't find the will to commit to her current girlfriend (Rebecca Naomi Jones). While the film is largely centered around relationships and breakups, it becomes clear that its real essence lies within the friendship dynamic between Jenny, Blair, and Erin.

Someone Great isn't just about Jenny figuring out how to move on from a relationship, but also how to move on from her 20s, a period marked by feeling in love and carefree. Now that she's moving to San Francisco to work at Rolling Stone, she's not only leaving behind the love of her life but the city where she came of age alongside her best friends. Everyone in the movie is, in some capacity, grappling with the issue of how to say goodbye to their younger selves and accept the responsibility of growing up. But before any of that can happen, there's only one way to bid farewell—one last long, crazy night in the city that never sleeps.


Sara is a Brooklyn-based music and culture writer.


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MUSIC

10 Picks for Record Store Day

Support your local record store and don't sleep on releases from Soccer Mommy, My Chemical Romance, Courtney Barnett, Julien Baker, Green Day, Death Grips, Robyn, Weezer and more!

Photo by blocks on Unsplash

The 12th annual record store day is upon us, and it's taking place this Saturday, April 13th.

Each year, RSD is a time to celebrate independent record stores with a slew of new releases, expanded editions, special reissues, and uniquely shaped/colored vinyl. This year is seriously stacked. We've compiled a list of ten hand picked favs to serve as your record shopping guide, but you can see the full list of 500 releases and participating record stores here.

1. Soccer Mommy – For Young HeartsEP 12"

Sophie Allison, aka Soccer Mommy, is re-releasing her 2016 EP, For Young Hearts, a collection of soft-spoken bedroom-recorded songs that helped launch her Bandcamp breakout. The EP, which was initially put out on only 300 cassettes, will be released via Fat Possum Records on a green smoke vinyl with lyrics and a custom Soccer Mommy poster.

2. My Chemical Romance The Black Parade Is Dead!2 x LP

Come join The Black Parade once and for all this Record Store Day. This year, MCR are offering the first-ever vinyl version of The Black Parade Is Dead!, their 2008 live album from their Mexico City concert that was previously only available as a CD/DVD package. The double-vinyl set will feature bonus tracks "Kill All Your Friends," "My Way Home Is Through You," and "Heaven Help Us."

3. Courtney Barnett – "Everybody Hates You" 12"

"Everybody Hates You" is a bluesy cut where Barnett voices her anxieties and delivers cutting lyrics ("I'm bleeding, you're leaving, I feel strange") over a rugged guitar riff in her quintessential Australian lilt. The brand new track is an RSD exclusive that will be put out with a previously released track, "Small Tack," on the B-Side.

4. Death Grips -Steroids (Crouching Tiger Hidden Gabber Megamix) LP

Death Grips are releasing two singles that were previously only available online –– the 22-minute "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Gabber" on side A and the Les Claypool-featured "More than the Fairy" on Side B, plus a track entitled "electronic drum solo dub mix (single take)."

5. Angelo Badalamenti / David Lynch –Twin Peaks Season Two: Music and More2 x LP

"Twin Peaks" is a series known for being shrouded in mystery and confusion. One of the biggest questions to date is how to get your hands on season two's soundtrack, which was only available on a limited CD released in 2007. Well, RSD has the answer to your prayers. The soundtrack of Twin Peak's second season is being re-released. Overseen by David Lynch, the double LP reissue will feature 24 tracks on dark green and blue vinyl.

6. Julien Baker –"Red Door"/"Conversation Piece" 7"

This Record Store Day, singer-songwriter Julien Baker is putting out two previously unreleased tracks, "Red Door" and "Conversation Piece," on a gorgeous red vinyl seven-inch. Baker, who performs in indie rock supergroup, boygenius, alongside Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, already has a few solo albums under her belt––Turn Out the Lights (2017) and Sprained Ankle (2015)––which helped the 23-year-old gain notoriety for her direct, vulnerable style of songwriting.

7. Robyn -Body Talk2 x LP

Robyn is releasing an exclusive vinyl edition of 2011's Body Talk (featuring the hit single "Dancing On My Own"), which will bring together the Body Talk EPs into a double LP for the first time. It will also include unreleased acoustic versions of "Stars 4-Ever," plus a voucher for digital download.

8. Green Day –Woodstock 1994LP

Green Day's set at Woodstock '94 went down in infamy when it turned into a mud-slinging riot, and now you can hear the live performance from the comfort of your non-muddy home. The RSD release will feature re-mastered versions of "Basket Case, "When I Come Around," and "Chump," among other songs. The vinyl is limited to 6,800 copies so be sure to get yours fast!

9. Weezer - "Dusty Gems and Raw Nuggets: The B-Sides" "Rockabye Baby: Lullaby Renditions of Weezer" and "Weezer (Teal Album)"

Weezer fans, it's time to rejoice because this Record Store Day, Weezer is doing a lot. They're releasing the first ever vinyl pressing of the blue album's B-sides, rarities, alternate mixes, and demos. Also, If you've ever wanted to hear Weezer's legendary Blue Album re-imagined into a series of lullabies, now's your chance. There's only 900 copies being made, but don't worry. Weezer is also putting out their set of ten covers, that make up the Teal Album, on limited edition teal vinyl for Record Store Day.

10. Various Artists -Office Space Original Motion Picture SoundtrackLP

The 1999 cult classic soundtrack is getting pressed on vinyl! The soundtrack includes the movie's iconic songs from Ice Cube, Slum Village, Kool Keith, and more.


Sara is a music and culture writer who lives in Brooklyn. Her work has previously appeared in PAPER magazine and Stereogum.


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