dark side of love

Shawn and I decided to compile a list of our favorite anti-love songs, and March is an appropriate time to do it (for reasons I won’t explain here).

So, here is my Dark Side of Love list, which will grow in the future, and which currently covers (in no particular order) different elements of breaking up (sadness, bitterness/hatred, regret, fury), unrequited love, toxic love, dying relationships, obsession, betrayal, the idea that being single is best, etc.

Your Ex-Lover is Dead – Stars
The Moment I Said It – Imogen Heap
Fallen for You – Sheila Nicholls
I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You – Colin Hay
Toxic – The Chapin Sisters
You are the Dark – Joseph Arthur
Fools in Love – Inara George
I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
I Who Have Nothing – Shirley Bassey
On My Own – Les Misérables
You’ll See – Madonna
I’ll Never Fall in Love – Mary Chapin Carpenter
You Don’t Bring Me Flowers – Barbara Streisand/Neil Diamond
Love on the Rocks – Neil Diamond
Worn Me Down – Rachael Yamagata
Famous Blue Raincoat – Leonard Cohen
Overs – Simon & Garfunkel
The Dangling Conversation – Simon & Garfunkel
No Man’s Woman – Sinéad O’Connor
Jealous – Sinéad O’Connor
What Doesn’t Belong to Me – Sinéad O’Connor
The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance – Sinéad O’Connor
Troy – Sinéad O’Connor
Autumn Leaves – Eva Cassidy
I Wish I Was a Single Girl Again – Eva Cassidy
It’s Good to be a Single Girl – Varttina
As Heaven is Wide – Garbage
Not My Idea – Garbage
I’m Alive – Heather Nova
Jennifer’s Body – Hole
Ghost – Indigo Girls
Sundrenched World – Joshua Radin
What if You – Joshua Radin
Absolutely Zero – Jason Mraz
Otherwise – Morcheeba
It’s Only Love – Heather Nova
It Doesn’t Matter – Alison Krauss
All Cried Out – Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
All at Once – Whitney Houston
Always Something There to Remind Me – Naked Eyes
Against All Odds – Phil Collins
Can’t We Try – Dan Hill & Vonda Shepherd
Could’ve Been – Tiffany
Didn’t We Almost Have it All – Whitney Houston
Foolish Beat – Debbie Gibson
Heartbreaker – Pat Benatar
I Hate Myself for Loving You – Joan Jett
Look Away – Chicago
My Heart Can’t Tell You No – Rod Stewart
No More Rhymes – Debbie Gibson
Separate Lives – Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
Separate Ways – Journey
True Devotion – Samantha Fox
Where Do Broken Hearts Go – Whitney Houston
Harden My Heart – Quarterflash
Another Crack in My Heart – Take That
Crash! Boom! Bang! – Roxette
Foolish Games – Jewel
The Beast – Concrete Blonde
Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad – Def Leppard
I Can’t Make You Love Me – Bonnie Raitt
Love Is – Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight
The Power of Good-Bye – Madonna
Unbreak My Heart – Toni Braxton
Where the Wild Roses Grow – Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue
You Oughta Know – Alanis Morissette
Every Breath You Take – The Police
Obsession – Animotion
Uninvited – Alanis Morissette
The Wrong Man – Amanda Ghost
And So It Goes – Billy Joel
I’m Gonna Be Strong – Cyndi Lauper
Rootless Tree – Damien Rice
Accidental Babies – Damien Rice
Cheers Darlin’ – Damien Rice
Silent Night – Lisa Hannigan
Hunter – Dido
Don’t Think of Me – Dido
My Lover’s Gone – Dido
Black Horse & the Cherry Tree – KT Tunstall
Gone – Jessica Riddle
Gone – Madonna
Solitaire – Neil Sedaka
I Still Believe – Miss Saigon
Honey – Tori Amos
Ruby through the Looking Glass – Tori Amos
I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself – Nicky Holland
I’ll Be Okay – Amanda Marshall
I Saw Red – Warrant
Love Bites – Def Leppard
Speaking of Happiness – Gloria Lynne
I Can’t Cry Hard Enough – Williams Brothers
Bye Bye Love – Simon & Garfunkel
Blinded – Tara MacLean
Shiver and Shake – The Cure
Apart – The Cure
Last Night I Dreamt that Somebody Loved Me – The Smiths
Blood Roses – Tori Amos
Iieee – Tori Amos
Baker Baker – Tori Amos
Strange – Tori Amos
Your Cloud – Tori Amos
One – U2
So Cruel – U2

Shawn’s songs about lost love, unrequited love, jealousy, and pain:

Never gonna get it – En Vogue
Until the end of the world – U2
He doesn’t see me – Sarah Brightman (because I love this song)
Golddust woman – Fleetwood Mac
Never going back again – Matchbox 20
Why – Annie Lennox
Mouth (stingray mix)- Bush
Precious things – Tori Amos
Stupid Girl – Garbage
Turned blue – Caroline’s Spine
Crucify – Tori Amos
Special – Garbage
the Beast – Concrete Blonde
Watching you without me – Kate Bush
The lady of shallot – Loreena Mckennit
Who’s that girl? – Eurythmics
With you / Crawling / Runaway/ In the end / Pushing me away – Linkin
Park (so many of their songs fit this category.)
I Will Love Again – Laura Fabian
Harden My Heart – Quarter Flash
Send Me an Angel – Real Life
Something going on – Frida
(Kiss You) When it’s Dangerous – 8 Seconds
Poison – Groove Coverage
Wings of a Butterfly – H.I.M.
Stand my Ground – Within Temptation
Chewing Gum – Annie
Love is a Blind Ambition – Concrete Blonde
Jesus Forgive Me (for the things I’m about to say) – Concrete Blonde
You Oughta Know – Alanis Morrissette
Memory – Cats :)
Little Black Heart – A-Ha
Frozen – Madonna
Tainted Love – Soft Cell
Tell Me Lies – Fleetwood Mac
Hold Her Down – Toad the Wet Sprocket
My Last Breath – Evanescance
Haunted – Poe
Don’t Speak – No Doubt
Mother ’93 – Danzig
Toxic – Britney spears
Ave Adore – Smashing Pumpkins



song heard most recently before posting:
Concertino for Flute, Viola, and Bass, ii: Furiant—Ervin Schulhoff