Photo by Gary Wong

A new year is here, and while 2013 brings untold promises of the future, even the brightest hellos often come at the price of bittersweet goodbyes. Couple that with the holiday season, when emotions run rampant among family and friends and the longest stretches of night rule the sky, and you’ve got a favorite time of year for those who like the occasional wallowing session. Every once in a while, everybody wants to listen to songs that make them feel worse than they really do.

Here’s a playlist that documents a small slice of my choices for bittersweet tracks — the ones that hit you right in the sweet spot between the head and the heart.

Some of the artists on this 33-minute-long, 8-track playlist include Leonard Cohen, Spiritualized and My Bloody Valentine, along with an aria from the second act of Vivaldi’s Farnace, which acts as the lilting and operatic centerpiece. (And for the record, the official one-song soundtrack for my holiday season was Tom Waits’ “New Year’s Eve”.)

The opening slot is filled by Big Star’s “Give Me Another Chance”, which comes off the band’s 1972 debut LP #1 Record — this week’s featured record on Probably Just Hungry.