Songs for the Breaking of the Fellowship

• Sam Ary +2
• Corey +2
• Edward James +1 — It’s the GOAT, simple as
• Brad Stalcup +1 — Legitimately a good song, whatever the haters say.
• shea nowicki +1
• Claire +1 — This song is just perfect musically as well as lyrically. Exactly the kind of song you and your friends sing along with at the top of your lungs because it’s so angsty but so unironically good, and that’s exactly the kind of memory you’ll look back on fondly after you’ve parted. Also this got me headbanging and finger pointing in my CA bedroom the second it came on which was a much needed serotonin hit in this time of transition
• fionmul 0 — A necessary addition
• Joseph Harvey 0 — I mean come on

• ared56 +1
• Joseph Harvey +1 — I am a huge Keane fan and this was one of my favorite songs growing up. I never thought about it as a ‘breaking of the fellowship' type song. I can see the connection though.
• Brad Stalcup +1 — This is almost a perfect song of longing and missing the past.
• shea nowicki +1 — Classic, very appreciated. Gets me into "melancholic reflective" headspace every time.
• Regina Scime +1
• judd.baker +1 — Beautiful.
• fionmul 0 — 😌
• Edward James 0 — Sadly, any hope this song had a placing was destroyed by the fact that I have only heard it in the context of a meme where a Star Wars battle droid is singing it while playing piano https://youtube.com/shorts/0qtWbZvUkq8?si=E6w7tQp2pLaVzZbH

• fionmul +2 — This was so great and I had never heard it before so it felt special. “I hope all your favorite bands stay together”🫰🏻
• Joseph Harvey +1 — DANG. That was really good. So many great lines in this especially the one about the El Camino running forever. This is exactly the vibe I’m looking for here.
• Claire +1 — Yeah this one really got me lyrically. Sometimes when you lose people it’s the little things that really get you, like seeing a random article of clothing like one they used to wear, or hearing a song that you absolutely know they’d love but not being able to share it with them.
• judd.baker +1

• ared56 +1
• Joseph Harvey +1 — Ooh that was lovely. The vibe is right.
• Sam Ary +1
• Corey +1
• fionmul 0 — 🥺
• Edward James 0 — This didn’t really leave an impression on me. Sounded v nice tho

• fionmul +1 — The title reads like a shea meditation (a high compliment if this isn’t her) “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard" - Winnie the Pooh 💛
• ared56 +1
• Regina Scime +1
• Claire +1 — I loved this so much. It really gets at the bittersweet feeling of recognizing and holding together the seemingly contradictory emotions that occur during a period of transition—you can have an experience that utterly breaks your heart, and yet you still would never for a second wish it hadn’t happened.
• Edward James 0 — This one didn’t leave much impression, but her voice sounds really nice
• shea nowicki 0 — one of my RAs told me (unaware that I submitted this song) that she would also submit this song for this round, so I feel like I won a million bucks in validation
• Corey -1 — My hand was forced, I didn't want to, but the League had dirt on me.

Sam Ary: "Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil." — Gandalf the OG

• fionmul +1 — 💘 I listened to this in an airport and it sent me 😭
• Edward James +1 — The Road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can, Pursuing it with weary feet, Until it joins some larger way, Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say.
• Joseph Harvey +1 — It's almost cheating, but also impossible not to vote for. I bet this is what Alex had Eddie submit. Eddie would be against submitting something this obvious on principle
• Brad Stalcup +1 — This is relying completely on presumed nostalgia from the LOTR films and I'm here for it.
• Regina Scime +1
• shea nowicki 0 — Wow wow wow. The quote coupled with the music got me. Amazing.
• Claire -1 — Perhaps controversial but this one gets the downvote for being extremely literally on theme. It’s still of course an amazing song and it fits the prompt perfectly. But in a round where I genuinely liked every song, I had to pick some criterion according to which to assign a downvote. Alas
• judd.baker -1 — Too easy I’m sorry

• Edward James +1 — The Warren Zevon original version is better for sure, but this was a really great cover. He wrote this song after finding out he had terminal cancer. What makes it so good I think is “a while.” recognizing that people will move on and you won’t occupy as much space in their mind, but you’re still in their heart, even as they learn to get along without you.
• Brad Stalcup +1 — Big fan of this one. Probably my favorite on the list.
• fionmul 0 — You’re already there and you’ll stay 💞
• Joseph Harvey 0 — In my own listening I would never, ever encounter an album cover anything like this

• Edward James +1 — This is a really great song, and I also love the interpretation of the breaking of the Fellowship being a positive. When you know that something better is in store so you’re willing to go through the sadness involved in the breaking.
• shea nowicki +1 — Always gonna upvote Lizzy regardless of the round theme, tbh. She never misses. This was great.
• Regina Scime +1
• Corey +1
• fionmul 0 — 🥧 several lines from this stand out to me but it has a warm and fond and calm vibe and that’s what the bend is to me 🫶🏻 also I’d be remiss if I didn’t insert more lizzy before the league is up
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I didn't want to like this song but I did. Unfortunately, doesn't really do it for me as a "goodbye, gonna miss you" song.
• Claire 0 — I did not have another vote to give to this song but this one really hit for reasons that definitely don’t have anything to do with recent personal experience
• Joseph Harvey -1 — It’s well known that I am a big Lizzy appreciator and it breaks my heart to downvote. But this is a poor fit, being more about finding someone than leaving.
• Sam Ary -1

• ared56 +1
• shea nowicki +1 — This was perfect. Cried throughout. Thank you for this.
• Claire +1 — Hard to really articulate why but this one just felt like the musical vibe fit perfectly with the lyrical/thematic content. Maybe this just betrays my own fondness for indie rock but idk. To me this song really captures that feeling you get when you know your days/hours with friends are numbered, so you start to feel sad and nostalgic even though the time isn’t actually up yet, and you have to fight to keep from wallowing in that angst so you can be fully present in the moment itself.
• judd.baker +1
• fionmul 0 — 🧡 has almost an Irish vibe to it instrumentally which we all know earns brownie points with me
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Not the best song mentioning old photographs here. I bet this was Judd
• Edward James -1 — I don’t know, this one just kind of struck me the wrong way. I think it might’ve been something in the vocal styling.
• Brad Stalcup -1

• judd.baker +1 — Wow this was awesome
• fionmul 0 — 🩶
• Edward James 0 — This one also didn’t leave much impression. I feel like I should like Whitney, but they just really don’t usually hit for me.
• ared56 -1
• Regina Scime -1

• Sam Ary +1
• Edward James 0 — Never been a huge fan of these guys. But they were on to something here with the idea of going back somewhere and knowing your a different person but the people there see you as someone you were before. I have been there, do not recommend. This album cover is also so heavily 2013-coded
• Joseph Harvey 0 — I enjoyed this much more than I expected from this artist. Has some early 2000s Radiohead vibes which I appreciate. However, the emotional atmosphere is too upbeat for this theme.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I really enjoyed the song. Not sure
• fionmul -1 — Lyrically good but I dont like it that much otherwise 🙈 sorry but I have faith others will vote for you
• shea nowicki -1 — I love the Head and the Heart. I think this song was a bit too loud/chaotic for me for some reason? Not sure why, honestly... the lyrics are spot on! In the end, it's a me problem.