Letters to exes. A big thank you to our contributors Merrin Lazyan, Dave Pickering (of the GBA Podcast), Casey, David, Andy, and anonymous others, as well as Leah for reading.

Music this week:

Amy LaVere
“Stranger Me” (mp3)
from “Stranger Me”
(Archer Records)

More On This Album

Collection Get
“I Know” (mp3)
from “Save As”
(Magnatune)

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Marc Ribot
“Delancey Waltz” (mp3)
from “Silent Movies”
(Pi Recordings)

More On This Album

This Will Destroy You
“Quiet” (mp3)
from “Young Mountain”
(Magic Bullet)

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The Haywards
“The Boy & Girl We Used To Be” (mp3)
from “Singles. Mistakes. One Takes. No Takes. 1995-2001.”
(Tokyo Rose Records)

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Sage moved across the country to be with a boy she met on the internet. They had spent just four days together. But this was NOT her biggest mistake.

Two strangers sign a contract to fall in love with each other. Can they make it happen? Is love something that strikes us if we’re lucky and fizzles out if we aren’t, or do we have more control over the process than we realize? We spoke with Dr. Robert Epstein about his love contract with a lovely woman he met on a plane one (fateful?) Christmas Day. We discuss what he thinks we can do to make ourselves fall in love and stay that way. Even if you’re not convinced, you should try some of the exercises suggested in this article with your partner. They sound very pleasant.

**Apologies for the less-than-amazing audio quality in this episode, but it’s a really interesting story!**

Try Dr. Epstein’s compatibility quiz at AreWeGoodTogether.com to find out if you and your partner are a good match, and his relationship skills quiz at MyLoveSkills.com.

Music in this episode:

Elliott Smith
“Needle In The Hay” (mp3)
from “Elliott Smith”
(Kill Rock Stars)
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Allo Darlin’
“If Loneliness Was Art” (mp3)
from “If Loneliness Was Art”
(Fortuna POP)

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Tim Halperin
“I Wanna Fall In Love” (mp3)
from “Rise and Fall”
(Tim Halperin)
More On This Album

The tables are turned, as we get interviewed by Dave, the charming host of Getting Better Acquainted. The plan was to talk about the making of I Like You, but the conversation went unexpected places, and we all ended up getting to know each other MUCH better than intended.

This is an abridged version of a GBA podcast scheduled to air March 7th. Hear the full interview at gettingbetteracquainted.co.uk!

Music this week:

Star & Micey
“So Much Pain (feat. Luther Dickinson)” (mp3)
from “Star & Micey”
(Ardent Music, LLC)
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Betty Wright
“Pain” (mp3)
from “Sevens”
(MS. B Records)
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Jimmy & The Rackets
“Black Eyes” (mp3)
from “The Complete Sixties Collection”
(Elite Special)
More On This Album

Janet had been seeing Aaron for a few weeks, and she knew she couldn’t wait much longer to tell him. They had fallen for each other fast, and it seemed like things would only get better – but how would Aaron react when she told him she was transgender?

This week we talked to Janet and Aaron about their love (a story so goddamn sweet it gave us goosebumps) and about going public.

Learn more about Janet and her upcoming memoir at janetmock.com or listen to Janet and Aaron be sickeningly cute (good sick) on their podcast, The Missing Piece.

Music this week by Madrid (Ulrich Schnauss remix of “Out To Sea”, though watch the video of the original too). Additional songs by:

Blondfire
“Pretty Young Thing” (mp3)
from “Pretty Young Thing”
(Tender Tender Rush)
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Angel Miller
“Bridge Over Troubled Water” (mp3)
from “Who I Am”
(Northern Shore Productions)
More On This Album

Allo Darlin’
“My Heart is a Drummer” (mp3)
from “Allo Darlin’”
(Fortuna POP!)
Buy at Napster
More On This Album

Clare Lawlor’s brother stubbornly refused to take this story to the talk show circuit, so we snapped it up instead. We treat her tale with the utmost sophistication and delicacy, of course, and somehow learn something about being mature adults along the way. Happy holidays!

Music this week by Drew Danburry (theme song), Abigail Clarke, and…

Jimmy & The Rackets

“Black Eyes” (mp3)
from “The Complete Sixties Collection”(Elite Special)
More On This Album

How do you make a good impression online? More precisely, how do you avoid triggering the wrath of your fellow internet daters, people who are set off by such seemingly harmless phrases as “down to earth” and “likes to laugh”? With help from friends, family and the irritable people of the web, JP and Elah give you tips for how NOT to make an online profile. If you squint really hard and think in metaphors, these are good tips for life too.

Thanks to everyone who contributed pet peeves and the talented voice actors who read them.

Music this week by Abigail Clarke and…

Hafdis Huld
“Robot Robot” (mp3)
from “Synchronised Swimmers”
(Red Grape Records)
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JReign
“Just a Text” (mp3)
from “Private Tease: The Soundtrack – Vol 1″
(Pulsar Music Group)
More On This Album

Collection Get
“I Know” (mp3)
from “Save As”
(Magnatune)
More On This Album

Elliott Smith
“Needle In The Hay” (mp3)
from “Elliott Smith”
(Kill Rock Stars)
More On This Album

JP’s parents have been married for 35 whole years. He investigates how lifelong love and commitment works and gets some handy advice for young’uns. This is one of our favourites, and we hope you like it too.

See original post for episode music downloads.

Self-help books give bizarre advice. Men like to hunt animals, so women should act like prey. (We think this means wearing camo and fleeing if spotted.) If a woman finds a man sexually attractive right away, he is dangerous, and she should stop seeing him. For all their tips and tricks, these guides make opposite-sex love sound pretty hopeless. But straight people, fear not, this week, we talk to Mari Ruti who skewers the self-help perspective in her new book, The Case for Falling in Love.

Music this week by

Fox in the Henhouse
“Fears” (mp3)
from “Fox in the Henhouse”
(IBOT Records)
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El Capitan
“Happy All The Time” (mp3)
from “Stickeen”
(GRASS ROOTS RECORD CO)
More On This Album

The Promise Ring
“Best Looking Boys” (mp3)
from “Boys & Girls”
(Jade Tree)
More On This Album

Sean Hayes
“When We Fall In” (mp3)
from “Run Wolves Run”
(Sean Hayes)
More On This Album

You get a call from an ex telling you he’s probably infected you with HIV. Remember when he said he’d gotten tested and he was all good? Well, it looks like he lied. What do you do? How will this change your life? The less we tell you about Jessica Whitbread’s story in advance, the better. But we will say that she defied all our expectations. She made us laugh so hard, we felt a little weird about it (mostly good weird). We challenge you to find a more uplifting, more entertaining hour about HIV anywhere on the nets.

For more about HIV/AIDS in Toronto, visit the AIDS Committee of Toronto, where Jessica works.

UPDATE: The No Pants No Problem underwear dance party will take place on September 10th at the Garrison in Toronto. Facebook event.

Oh, and there’s this Sarah Silverman clip too.

Music this week by Drew Danburry (theme music), Abigail Clarke, and

This Will Destroy You
“The World Is Our ___” (mp3)
from “Young Mountain”
(Magic Bullet)

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Chris Garneau
“Baby’s Romance” (mp3)
from “Music For Tourists”
(Absolutely Kosher)

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Rodriguez
“Sugar Man”
from “Cold Fact”

Pickering Pick
“Like A River” (mp3)
from “Tiger Balm”
(Yer Bird Records)

More On This Album

Marc Ribot
“Delancey Waltz” (mp3)
from “Silent Movies”
(Pi Recordings)

More On This Album

Metric
“Gimme Sympathy” (mp3)
from “Fantasies”
(Arts & Crafts Mexico)

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Maximilian
“Greyhound” (mp3)
from “Maximilian”
(Twirl Records)

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