3. The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ozRC0iSe40&list=PL007C2309C67524E0 When: 10th/11th Grade Why: Summer relationship, bound for disaster Farmer's Tan: Serious Our relationship ended as the sun was setting (God, so poetic) and the summer was winding down. I had picked up guitar and began scratching words and notes that would never become songs. Of course, everyone's summer camp experience relied on the kid who knew just four chords to serenade at campfires, and so for the betterment of the camp, I took it to be my civic duty to learn every song that John Darnielle had ever written (well, the singles) (well, just "This Year" and "No Children"). Every aspiring singer/songwriter should take it upon themselves to check out The Mountain Goats, as there is a reason that there is a White House Petition to make John Darnielle a poet laureate. While "No Children" is the quintessential "My ex was such a bitch and I hate her" song, The Sunset Tree tackles a more mature root: redemption, whether it comes from someone else or yourself. It's about overanalyzing every little thing that went wrong and how you messed it all up, as Darnielle tends to do in every song (he even tells listeners the street corners where all of it went down). He's a hell of a storyteller, as proven by his insane use of detail. He is one of the only people that within 3:53 can tell you all about his rocky relationship with his step-father, and how his old girlfriend was the "last best thing (he) had going" (pro tip: weird thing to tell a girl in real life). The Sunset Tree is album that will help you dissect your breakup, and let you know that you can make it after the fact. Well, at least until the end of the year.