In honor of Sunday’s Grammy Awards, and the upcoming holiday celebrating all things love and affection, we’ve compiled a list of hits to serve as your Soundtrack to Love this Valentine’s Day. Of course, not everyone will be celebrating with a special someone; like any strong emotion, love has a polar opposite. We’ve got you covered. Our lists below are for the scorned, the hip, the nostalgic, the romantic, the decadent, and those wishing to bring sexy back. If we forgot your favorite love anthem, add it to the comments below.
Angry and Scorned – and Totally Cool With It
No doubt about it, you’ve been burned. It could have been that longstanding relationship that ended abruptly, or went on way too long causing you to look back and think, “I wasted five years on that?” Or maybe you’re perpetually single and trying to find a lasting relationship, but know how to celebrate your single self on the weekend. No matter, your certainly not going to spend Valentine’s Day listening to sappy love songs while shedding tears alone. These songs are for you.
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Beck Lost Cause Ani DiFranco Untouchable Face Fiona Apple It’s Not About Love Imogen Heap Hide and Seek Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins You Are What You Love Keiser Chiefs Everyday I Love You Less and Less The Clash Train in Vain Joan Jett I Hate Myself for Loving You Amy Winehouse Wake Up Alone Ting Tings Shut Up and Let Me Go |
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Perfect Couple’s Songs for Hipsters
You’re a couple that’s at least relatively young. And if you’re not, your still playing the part. Spotted in appearance by the your “look,” often a mix of vintage and trendy, males tend to accessorize as much as the ladies. You are a couple in the know of artsy things, usually stemming from your shared talents in the field. Your taste in music is diverse from throwback hits to indie darlings and more obscure titles. For you, it’s as much about the artist as it is about the message behind the song – bordering on music snobbery, you wouldn't be caught dead with let's say, an 80's cult classic on your list.
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The Kills U R A Fever Elvis Costello She Gary Jules Mad World Leonard Cohen I’m Your Man Jeff Buckley Last Goodbye Nina Simone To Love Somebody Ray Lamontagne You are the Best Thing Razerlight I Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got Regina Spektor Us Tom Waits I’ll Shoot the Moon |
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Hopeless romantic
You don’t shy away from tear-jerkers. Your Netflix cue starts at Casablanca, progresses to Love Story, Ghost, then The Notebook. You loved Lifetime, when their selections were classic Sunday morning hangover cures instead of the current showings featuring cyber crime and domestic violence. Thankfully the Hallmark Channel is stepping it up, turning their ways to say “I Love You” from paper into film. Aside from movie selections, you like pretty things…flowers, soft colors, fabrics—both aesthetically pleasing and comfortable. This category is mainly for the ladies, but if a man embraces romance, he will see that movie, listen to that song without too much complaint – and he may actually enjoy it. He knows the importance of lighting a candle, putting on the right background music, setting the mood.
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Damien Rice The Blower’s Daughter Queen Somebody to Love Amy Winehouse Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? The Pretenders I’ll Stand By You Lisa Loeb Stay Whitney Houston I Will Always Love You Phantom of the Opera All I Ask of You Van Morrison The Way Young Lovers Do Jeff Buckley I Want Someone Badly David Gray This Year’s Love |
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Vintage Sweet
Back in the day, people sang about love without the emo weepiness accompanying some of today’s selections. This was an era when people had reason to sing the blues, bound by a society that wasn’t often fair. They put their hearts and souls into song. It was also an age when wooing—the act of trying to win a lover’s heart was still very much alive. Songs were more innocent, yet held that duality of being raw and provocative with emotion.
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Elvis Presley Can’t Help Falling in Love Righteous Brothers Unchained Melody Billie Holiday I’m Yours Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald Dream a Little Dream of Me Sarah Vaughn Summertime Frank Sinatra My Funny Valentine Etta James At Last Otis Redding I’ve Been Loving You Roy Orbison Falling Sam Cook When a Boy Falls in Love |
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80’s MixTape
You’ve got to love the 80’s, known for decadence, and not much else. On the heels of the 60’s and 70’s raw with emotionally charged songs about change—the 80’s arrived and basically said, “we’re here, let’s party!” Sometimes that came in the form of grown men in tights with long hair and make-up, wailing rock ballads resulting in legions of scantily clad groupies, the beginnings of rap, or the first reincarnation of Madonna—it was a decade full of cult-classics, and it was glorious. Download these songs, and sing along…single or attached, you know you want to.
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Cheap Trick I Want You to Want Me Berlin Take My Breath Away U2 With or Without You Bon Jovi I’ll Be There for You INXS Never Tear Us Apart Whitesnake Is This Love? Journey Open Arms Firehouse Love of a Lifetime LL Cool J I Need Love Madonna Crazy For You |
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Get Your Sexy On
These songs are meant to set the, ahem…mood. These songs are the real Soundtrack to Love. No doubt about the intention for the evening, if you’ve got this list. And that’s all we’ll say about that…after all talking isn’t really the point, is it?
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Marvin Gaye Let’s Get it On Boyz to Men I’ll Make Love to You Donna Summer Love to Love You Baby D’Angelo Untitled (How Does it Feel) Al Green Let’s Stay Together Isley Brothers Between the Sheets Prince I Want to Be Your Lover Nina Simone I Put a Spell on You Sly and the Family Stone If You Want Me to Stay Thicke Make a Baby |
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