Plenty of heartache to go around

Everyone gets to-do lists these days. There are so many of the damn things they prevent VH1 from even showing music videos any more. I admit, they're addictive to watch. \nEveryone gathers around the tube to see if William Shatner or Mark McGrath will talk about his or her favorite albums. I've never gotten to make a list myself, and since my girlfriend and I recently called it quits, I thought I could do a little tribute to the best of the breakup acts of the last few years.\nRyan Adams: Adams has made a career off getting his heart broken so he comes in No. 1 for me, particularly for his solo debut Heartbreaker. \nIt's tough to hang yourself out for the world to see, but Adams comes through brilliantly on this album. His songs range from gut-wrenching to slightly funny in a tearful sort of way. If you've been lucky enough to have never had a broken heart, listen to this album, and all secrets will be revealed. For those of you that know rejection, just sit back and realize there is someone out there who knows. Adams may have abandoned (hopefully temporarily) his folk/country past, but Heartbreaker will always be around when you need it.\nThe Jayhawks: This band has been around for almost 20 years, so they know sorrow, especially frontman Gary Louris. He's one of the people responsible for equating alternative-country to sad bastards like myself. \nHe's also one of the few responsible for getting alt-country away from twang and banjos and into the experimental side of things. Don't worry, though. While the group is old enough to have been through more relationships than I could dream of, they're also old enough to know life goes on and gets better, and they sing about that too.\nJosh Rouse: I can go on and on about this dude, but Rolling Stone and Mojo beat me to the punch years ago. Albums such as Dressed Up Like Nebraska and Under Cold Blue Stars tell of more than loneliness and misery; they usually tell a good story to go along with it. \nHe's a master of hooks and poetic lyrics that are encompassed by a rich tapestry of acoustic and electric forms. Each of his albums sets the standard a little higher for everyone else. His latest effort, 1972, is the happiest record I have ever heard. When you're at the stage of a breakup where you want to get back up again, accept no other.\nDavid Gray: It's been three years since Gray released his most successful album, White Ladder, and I still can't get enough of it. Sure, "Babylon" is pretty upbeat, but for those of you that listen beyond the radio tracks, White Ladder shows a world of morose self-destruction with songs like "Sail Away," "This Year's Love" and his devastating cover of "Say Hello Wave Goodbye." His other albums are certainly worthwhile, but nothing even comes close to this hook-driven hit.\nKasey Chambers: This Aussie writes country and bluesy songs about inadequacy, heartache and needing the love of a good man, and I don't mean that in a misogynistic way. She needs love the same way all the others I've described here. Tunes like "Captain" and "Not Pretty Enough" give a woman's perspective of loss in a male dominated field. Chambers gives women a voice while making men pine away for her.\nSo there it is. I hope everyone can find something on this list they can agree with, but I doubt it. Music, like breaking up, is a personal thing. Everyone has his or her own way of dealing with it. Mine just happens to be spinning some tunes and letting others do the talking for me.\nHonestly, this column was supposed to be about what I think of leaving college and entering the real world while having to deal with being alone for the first time in awhile, but I didn't know if it was right hanging my laundry in public, or maybe I just wussed out when it came down to deadline time. \nEither way this is a column about endings. I've had a blast working for this magazine, but I've got to get out here. So goodbye to my college life, goodbye to the Weekend, and especially goodbye to my baby girl. I wish you all the best.