Valentine's Special: 14 of my favorite love songs
love songs from Alvvays, Alex Lahey, Weyes Blood, and more
Hi everyone! Thanks so much for subscribing, and happy Valentine’s Day. I made a version of this playlist last year, but I’ve updated it with some new favorites. Hopefully I can keep up the tradition.
If you have a Valentine today, I hope you have a nice day with them! I am super jealous! And if you don’t have a Valentine, pretend this playlist is from your crush and bring on the warm fuzzy feelings. At least the sweets will be on clearance tomorrow, amirite?
1) Alvvays - “Archie, Marry Me”
Marry me to this song about love in the time of student loans. I literally cannot afford a wedding or even to go on nice dates, but sing-screaming “HEY! HEY” makes it seem so much less depressing. This song is just dream pop perfection. (And surprisingly easy to learn on the guitar)
2) Kississippi - “Red Lights”
Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Zoe Reynolds’ delivery on the line “I thought about you kissing me.” If you haven’t listened to their album Sunset Blush (2018), please rectify this immediately!
3) Orville Peck - “Dead of Night”
There is so much I love about Orville Peck, and one of them is the line “spend a johnny’s cash”. (It also baffles me to no end that he’s Canadian?)
I also love the women he featured in the video for this song. It’s definitely one of those songs where you can close your eyes and imagine yourself in a different time and place.
4) Lucy Dacus - “La Vie En Rose”
When Lucy Dacus released this cover she said “I want someone to listen to this while running at top speed to the doorstep of the person they adore, ready to profess their deep, undying love” and honestly there is no better description than that.
5) Alex Lahey - “Wes Anderson”
I think this is the best love song of all time - dead serious. Alex Lahey rocks super hard, but I think the slower side of her music is super underrated. If you don’t believe me, try listening to the progression from her two album closers, There’s No Money and I Want to Live with You.
Then try not to cry!
6) The Cranberries - “Linger”
I miss Dolores O’Riordan so much. Her voice was so special.
7) Soccer Mommy - “Henry”
There is another version of this song on For Young Hearts (2016), but this re-recorded version is so sweet. The riff is just impossible to get out of your head.
8) Jhené Aiko - “While We’re Young”
This song is so good and she is so beautiful in the video, but the storyline just cracks me up so much. (Jhené plays a character who has memory loss, wakes up thinking her partner is a stranger, and starts swinging a baton straight into his head. Give this woman a sword please.)
9) Sylvan Esso - “Die Young”
I wish there was a new Sylvan Esso record but honestly I still haven’t gotten over the brilliance of “I was gonna die young / Now I gotta wait for you, honey.”
10) Julia Holter - “I Shall Love 2”
You think you know where this song is going, but you realize really don’t. It starts with Julia Holter saying “I am in love. What can I do?” in a resigned manner, and then builds and builds towards a crescendo in the most unexpected ways. Can you say masterpiece…
11) Wolf Alice - “Don’t Delete the Kisses”
What! If! It’s! Not! Meant for me! Love… 🥺🥺🥺
12) Shura - “What It’s Gonna Be?”
When this video came out, my friend Olivia and I made everyone around us watch it so we could see their reactions. Because it was so gay! And happy! 2016 doesn’t seem that long ago but we have come so far in terms of representation. I grew up on literal crumbs. I’m so happy it’s not that way anymore.
13) St. Vincent - “Landmines”
If you think about St. Vincent’s most attention-seeking work, you probably won’t think of her first album, Marry Me (2007). But this song is a sign of the degree of high drama she usually operates at. The glissandos throughout the song flourish at so many places you almost forget she is also singing about love as if she’s in the midst of World War III. Pure drama…!
14) Weyes Blood - “Andromeda”
When I first listened to this song last winter it honestly made me believe in love again. Is true love really making a comeback? Maybe for half of us, but I listened to this song and had to admit to myself that I’m still the world’s biggest sucker for romance.
I feel like I should also mention “Seven Words” here, which was also one of my favorite love songs. Meg Duffy’s slide guitar on that song is sublime.
Thanks for reading, as always! What’s your favorite love song? Be sure to leave a comment or let me know on Twitter. Let’s all share the love today 💘