Last Valentines Day I wrote an article making playlists for every relationship status and I found myself having a hard time finding love songs for the “Taken” playlist and an extremely easy time finding ones for the “It’s Complicated” playlist. Much has changed since then and lately I have found myself feeling rather mushy and gushy. So in honor of that, here are my top 10 love songs for Valentine’s Day 2022.
1.) “High Tops” by Del Water Gap
“High Tops” was one of the songs a friend of mine with a good music taste played while having the aux. Since I had already asked for the name of 4 previous songs and didn’t want to seem like I never heard good music, I sneakily got on my Snapchat and used the app to identify the song. Soon this track was on my “Driving at Night” playlist and I’ve been belting it out on a regular basis ever since.
The song is about a hometown love, think Troy and Gabriella, except like 8 years after graduation and Gabriella never did anything with her life. The song can be interpreted different ways but to me it is someone coming home and sparking up a relationship with their high school sweetheart who is “the only queen of this one-horse town.”
2.) “No. 1 Party Anthem” by Arctic Monkeys
My favorite song by this indie rock band, “No. 1 Party Anthem” is a great love song. It is about the chase and who doesn’t love the chase? Leadman Alex Turner sings of catching the eye of a stranger and having that playful conversation where you both know the other is into it but it is still a bit of cat and mouse. Though I’m not sure this falls under the “love” category because as Turner sings “It’s not like I’m falling in love/I just want you to do me no good/and you look like you could” it still makes the list.
3.) “Treacherous” by Taylor Swift
I was kicking myself for not including this in my “Underrated Taylor Swift Songs” article (which may have yet to be published but keep an eye out, it’s a good one). I am glad I get an opportunity to pay tribute to this tune.
“Treacherous” is about the fear one experiences when they start to have strong feelings for someone else. If you have ever gone through a hard break up, you know it’s easy to want to do anything you can to avoid going through it again. However, the heart wants what the heart wants, even if it’s going to end up broken (and as we see from the rest of the Red album, broken it does get). In this track Swift is falling for someone who she compares to “quick sand” and says is “dangerous”, “reckless”, and, of course, “treacherous.” Nevertheless, Swift dives in head first because, she sings, “your name has echoed through my mind/ and I just think you should know./ That nothing safe is worth the drive/ And I will follow you home.”
4.) “Just What I Needed” by The Cars
I love The Cars. They provoke a lot of nostalgia in me because my parents would always play a best hits CD of theirs on road trips. This was before I had a device to have my own music and once I did I was quick to download this song.
The song just has a cool vibe and is very sweet and simple. The overall message is that he doesn’t mind his love interest hanging out, wasting his time, or talking in their sleep, because they’re just what he needed.
5.) “Groupie Love” by Lana Del Rey
I recently was listening to old Lana and was like, wow I really listened to this before my prefrontal cortex was fully developed. Abuse, dating old men, and ample cocaine. I probably could have chosen a better role model. With that being said, her music goes hard. As a 22 year old I am much less impressionable and can appreciate a good Lana song. Especially her Lizzie Grant trailer park phase. If you don’t know what I am talking about, clear your schedule and get on YouTube. Start with “Mermaid Motel.”
“Groupie Love” is one of my favorites from her. It’s a good song to add to your “smirky face” playlist. It’s about dating a performer and being in the crowd essentially just admiring them. The best part is ASAP Rocky’s verse.
6.) “The Only Exception” by Paramore
The music video for this song was one of the videos I would see at Summit Mall back in the good ole days when they still had Taco Bell in the food court and you could text in to play music videos on the TV monitors.
In this tune Hayley Williams sings about watching her parents fall out of love and how it made her promise to “never sing of love/if it does not exist.” One way or another we have all seen love crash and burn and the victims it has left behind. It is discouraging to say the least. In “The Only Exception” Williams acknowledges this grim reality but confidently states “darling, you are the only exception.”
7.) “Jackie and Wilson” by Hozier
This tune is fun because it is not about a real relationship at all but rather a made up scenario about an intriguing stranger. Hozier is letting his imagination run wild and thinking about the potential love he could have with a mysterious individual. He sings:
“She’s gonna save me
Call me baby
Run her hands through my hair
She’ll know me crazy
Soothe me daily
Better yet she wouldn’t care
We’ll steal a Lexus
Be detectives
Drive round picking up clues
We’ll name our children Jackie and Wilson
Raise ‘em on rhythm and blues”
It’s a sweet tune with a funny ending as he’s “looking up from a cigarette and she’s already left.”
8.) Any Vance Joy Song
Is this cheating? I just can’t pick. Man is the king of love songs. I mean his album Nation of Two is literally about the kind of love that feels like you are the only people on Earth. If I had to pick a top 3 it would be;”Georgia”, “Take Your Time”, and “Fire and the Flood.”
9.) “400 Lux” by Lorde
Lorde was very big for me in high school. Her Melodrama album means a lot to me but is full of heartbreak and party anthems so the song that makes the cut for this New Zealand singer is a track from her debut album Pure Heroine titled “400 Lux.”
The song describes young love and all of the excitement and adrenaline that comes with it as night after night she sneaks out of her window and goes on drives with her love. The chorus goes like this;
“(and I like you)
I love these roads where the houses don’t change
(and I like you)
Where we can talk like there’s something to say
(and I like you)
I’m glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway
(and I like you)
We move in the tree streets
I’d like it if you stayed”
10.) “Streets” by Doja Cat
Another great “smirky face” playlist candidate. This song shows off Miss Doja Cat’s vocals and is about being in awe of the person you are dating, knowing that you have found something special with them. It is a good feeling but very overwhelming as it could go away as easily as it came and as Doja Cat says, “I ain’t mothafukin sharing.”