I made a mix last night, which will hopefully close off the first installment of “The Pleasure of Leaving,” which was posted here a few weeks ago. This one is called The Pleasure of Leaving (Part Two), if you hadn’t guessed.

First, a note: I kept a music blog with Petra a few years ago (warmest corner, holla! Some links still work, so try your luck), where we made mixes and wrote about them. Recently, I haven’t really, really written about the music I put together. Or music, in general. So, I was thinking of reviving this practice. Just noting it right now, in case you get confused by a mix more superfluous than usual. Anyway. I’m still easing my way into it, so I’m not going to write about all of them.

Tracklist:

1. True Affection • The Blow
   just because it’s real, don’t mean it’s gonna work

   I love everything about this song. The rhythm, oddities, the lyricism of the words, the kind of throw-away manner she treats this relationship that she sings about.

 

2. Whiskey • Voxtrot
   & when the time has come for leaving, I will love you instead

   One of my favorite Voxtrot songs, with an oddly upbeat tune for something filled with so much discontent and disappointment. I love how easy this sounds, and how the words roll over and sort of connect with each other, when you sing them altogether.

 

3. Black Hole • Frances Alvarez (She & Him cover)
   it’s nowhere in here & it’s everywhere else that I don’t want to be

   Frances is my friend from school. I quite love this cover (she sings and plays the guitar). Her voice is a little bit sweeter than Zooey Deschanel’s.

 

4. Try, Try, Try • Smashing Pumpkins
   and we are still alive, try to hold on

   Possibly my favorite Smashing Pumpkins song. I find it endearing, and so resolute in trying. It’s kind of like in the Bible, where certain words are repeated for emphasis, because superlatives don’t exist in the Hebrew language. To make a point, they would repeat certain words, and I think Billy Corgan is making one with this song.

   Here’s a gem I found on SongMeanings. I wonder if Lucy ever found it.
   

 

5. Romantic Comedy • Stars
   I’ll love you and leave you and drive from this town.

 

6. I Always Knew • Tilly & the Wall
   a lullaby won’t change my mind, and i won’t ever go back to that

 

7. What Sarah Said • Death Cab for Cutie
   But I knew that you were a truth,
   I would rather lose than to have never lain beside at all

 

8. Lost Cause • Beck
   I’m tired of fighting, fighting for a lost cause

 

9. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart • Wilco
   What was I thinking when I let go of you?

 

10. Two-Headed Boy Part 2 • Neutral Milk Hotel
    Two headed boy, she is all you could need
    She will feed you tomatoes and radio wires
    And retire to sheets safe and clean
    But don’t hate her when she gets up to leave

 

11. Don’t I Hold You • Wheat
    i’m in the way
    and wasting too much time
    don’t i hold you like you want?

    This song is always about leaving.

    
    A video of a different version of the song.

 

12. Last Words • The Real Tuesday Weld
    I did the biggest thing that I could
    But I was not enough
    last words, leaving.

 

13. Motorcycle Drive By • Third Eye Blind
    And this is our last time
    We’ll be friends again
    I’ll get over you, you’ll wonder who I am
    

 

14. Books • The Acorn
    i’m the books you’re tired of reading; stories all the same

 

15. About Today • The National
    How close am I to losing you?
    Hey, are you awake?
    Yeah, I’m right here.
    Well, can I ask you about today?

    Started this mix with the song that I’m ending it with. So sad, and so yielding to the obvious demise of a relationship. I think it’s very telling, that he tries to salvage this loss by asking domestic questions. Sometimes, it’s the simple, little things — the nurturing and ignoring of them — that will count and matter when the end comes.

Download .zip file here.