Over the last eight weeks, the “Love Letters” podcast explored the ways people try to get over their breakups. Meredith Goldstein masterfully wove her own experience in with the wisdom and anecdotes of others who struggled with breakups. I was honored to be on the episode about using music to cope, and made a playlist of songs for people going through a breakup.

The last episode of this first season came out today. I won’t ruin any of it for you, in case you happen to be one of those fans who doesn’t listen to the podcast episodes within minutes of being posted.

There were many things that I loved about this season, many of which I raved about to Meredith, Amy Pedulla, and Scott Helman. Among the things I appreciated about this season were the intimate storytelling, the therapeutic catharsis, the helpful tips, the moving anecdotes, the dashes of humor, and the sense of hope.

And, of course, Meredith’s sister Brette.

In the first episode, Meredith explained that Brette has been her go-to source of advice and wisdom for years, in part because she had experienced so much before her younger sister. Throughout the season, Brette offered wisdom and anecdotes with an authority that was part Yoda, part The Oracle of “The Matrix,” part Annie Potts’ Iona from “Pretty In Pink.”

Not only did I appreciate how Brette reminded me of my older siblings, I thought she needed her own show. I tweeted at the two Goldstein sisters that they had an open invite to be on the radio show. I might have even said that their banter made them my favorite sisters to appear in media since the Reed sisters of “Sisters.”

In honor of the end of this fantastic first season of “Love Letters” and the inevitable Brette spinoff, I thought that this week’s playlist could — and should! — be dedicated to my new Twitter BFF.

To make this playlist, I could have gone the obvious route, looking for songs that had the word “sister” in the title. But that would just have been “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves” 10 times in a row. Instead, this playlist needed to highlight Brette. So I offer a playlist of all Brets, Bretts, and Brettes that we might love, but not as much as we love Brette Goldstein.

This includes:

  • Brett Anderson, lead singer of The Donnas, a band that’s appeared a few times in the Cover Songs Uncovered series
  • Brett Anderson, who is a different Brett, and lead singer of Suede
  • Bret Michaels, lead singer of Poison
  • Brett Gurewitz, guitarist/songwriter of Bad Religion
  • Brett Gleason, a songwriter who’s been described as a combination of Trent Reznor, Tori Amos, and Ben Folds
  • Brett Naucke, a Chicago-based experimental musician
  • Brett Dennen, an earnest folk singer
  • Brette and Blake, a cutesy duo I didn’t know of until I embarked on this mission

The mix is on Spotify. You can get to it here, but it’s also embedded below.

 

Who is your favorite Bret, Brett, or Brette that isn’t Brette Goldstein? Let us know what you think in the comments.

And if you are one of these Brets, Bretts, or Brettes, do not worry. You are loved, too. Even if you’re not Meredith’s sister.

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