As somebody who stresses over giving gifts due to the lack of money in my bank account, Valentine’s Day may seem like my personal hell. While it sounds dramatic, Valentine’s Day shopping sounds horrific for those who have no money and stress over getting the perfect, meaningful gift for their partner. To solve the first problem, I could simply get a box of chocolates from Target, but in my mind, the second problem is still very evident (I could do better than a box of chocolates…are you kidding me?).
Yet during this stressful time, I almost forgot about my number one favorite hobby in the world: curating Spotify playlists. As a Spotify user with over 350 playlists, I could say I’m a bit of an expert on it. I’ve made playlists of song recommendations for several friends, along with a variety of playlists about love— so why not combine the two for a perfect, inexpensive, and thoughtful gift this Valentine’s Day season?
For beginner playlist curators (I will use this term for the entirety of this article because it feels more professional and makes me look cooler), the idea of creating this romantic playlist seems very daunting. Music is one of the most vulnerable mediums of art — the idea of having a song that’s “ours” or telling someone that a lyric reminds you of them is the definition of vulnerability. Luckily for you, you have a professional playlist curator here to help! In this article I’ll provide several playlist ideas for you, and give my own examples if I were to make my own Valentine’s Day playlist for somebody!
Just as a note: these playlist ideas aren’t only for romantic lovers— platonic love is so special and also just as good of a reason to make a playlist for someone! So throughout this article, I’ll try to give examples of playlist making for your friends as well!
- The Classic “These Songs Remind Me Of You”
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This playlist idea is always one of my favorites! Receiving a text saying “This song reminds me of you” is so heartwarming.
They were listening to a song and thought of me?! Instant serotonin!
Due to how broad this approach is, there are several ways you could go about this. A simple way could be going off of lyrics! If a beautifully written song encompasses the love you feel for someone, add it to the playlist! To kick it up a notch, you could write a love letter to go along with your playlist, pinpointing specific lyrics and explaining why the song reminds you of your partner.
- “I Want To Listen To These Songs With You During A Specific Event/Moment”
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Personally, these are my favorite playlists to make. I adore grouping songs together based on wanting to play them during specific moments; it really comes in handy when you’re tasked with choosing what music to play with friends, and now, your lover!
Don’t limit yourself with this! It can be something as basic as “Songs to Put on in The Car” to “Walking At Sunset Together.” Get creative with this because I promise your loved one will genuinely appreciate it!
For me, I love to listen to “Like Real People Do” by Hozier while dancing in the rain with my person, or “Brazil” by Declan McKenna while making breakfast with my best friends.
- “Our Songs”
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This playlist idea is most likely the most unique of the three, and definitely the one to have the most meaning. The idea of having a song being “ours” can vary from a lot of different scenarios. For me, it usually follows after I share a song with someone, or they share a song with me. I share a lot of songs with my friends, romantic relationships, and everything in between, which makes me associate a lot of songs with specific people.
While a song like “Cigarette Daydreams” might just be a pretty song to someone, to me, it holds a very special place in my heart. The song you have with someone might be a generic song to most people, but as long as the songs are important to both of you, that’s all that matters!
These are just a few ideas— don’t limit yourself! Spotify has a cool feature where each song has a specific code you can scan to play it. In the past, I’ve made DIY polaroids and drew out the codes on a piece of paper. The possibilities are endless!
I hope you find some inspiration from this article, and I wish you the best of luck with your playlist making journey!