The cruelest lesson of life is that of achieving a goal, and then having it taken away from you right away. All that effort, pain, and sacrifice, gone in a snap. It’s not uncommon for this to happen to relationships and it’s understandable: we might overlook red flags because of several factors which might be concomitant.

A few of those red flags: bad relationship with the parents, intolerance to other viewpoints, passive aggressiveness, constant putdowns, breadcrumbing, leaving the stupid toilet lid up (or messy).

I don’t believe I’m alone on this, and I’ve been part of this before. I’ve fallen head over heels many times over the wrong person, and a few days after the inevitable break-up (if it even managed to reach the relationship stage), I go back to this track.

a-ha took the world by storm (deservedly) with Take on Me, a perfect symmetrical track with a memorable video. The Sun Always Shines on T.V. takes that happy ending and burns it to the ground in the very first seconds of the video, handwaving it and moving on to the next thing. It’s brutal. It’s cold. It’s so … Scandi Noir!

No hate for Take on Me, but I think The Sun Always Shines on T.V. is the better song. A moodier pace, akin to a The Cure song. “Don’t ask me to defend the shameful lowlands of the way” is such a dramatic line that is swiftly delivered, with no mercy on heart, no sweetness of tongue. This should be your fave break up song. Not that I wish you to experience this soon.

-Sam J. Valdés López