V-Day Playlist!!!!!!!!!!!!

This past fall my historically single best friend forever somehow left our safe nest of aloneness, and found herself a boyfriend. I received the news after a sad trip to the grocery store. Trader Joes was out of spinach ravioloi that afternoon and I was out of love. After a half-hearted phone conversation, I walked home and made the playlist below. (Which sounds weird and depressing, and it almost is, but I promise it's not all that weird and definetely not depressing.) It is a conflicted celebration of love.

So I hope this playlist finds you well, whether you have a new fun boyfriend like my best friend or whether you are more like myself, and are celebrating your 21st anniversary of being single.

Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) --- Peter Sarstedt

If it weren't clear from the pixelated Youtube cover art, this first track is from an opening in a Wes Anderson movie. The song sounds the way the scene looks, which is in a quaint hotel room in Paris, adorned in yellow and filled with miniscule trinquets. As with most things to do with France, the song is relaxed and romantic, as Peter Sarstedt muses about the inner-thoughts of an extravagant woman.

A Little Bit --- Lykke Li ft. Drake

This one's off of Drake's 2009 mixtape So Far So Gone, which means it is quintessential soft vulnerable Aubrey Drake Graham. Now that he's buff and makes mixtapes with Atlanta trap artists, it's hard to remember this side of him. And if that is still not a convincing enough argument to get it on your Valentine's Day playlist, this is actually a Lykke Li song with Drake add-ons. Lykke Li is an an angelic Swedish singer with her own collection of hypnotic ballads. I'm not sure how the two found eachother for this, but Drake also once remade a Peter Bjorn and John song, once again proving his delicacy, as well as his surprising propensity for indie-rock.

Memorize --- Frank Ocean

I have a not yet fully developed theory that songs under two minutes are some of the best songs. (Same goes for any song with a spoken intro made in the early 2000's.) Frank Ocean quietly put this song on his tumblr page this past November. It's a quick intense far-away sounding ode to a man/woman and his/her body. It's one of the only things he's put out since Channel Orange in 2012. (We're all waiting impatiently, Frank.)

Give It To Me --- Homeshake

Peter Sagar, former member of Mac Demarco's band sounds like a more depressed Mac Demarco. This is one of a few of his funky slow jams that isn't completely centered around being alone or sad, but instead smooth, repetitive and to the point.

Let My Baby Stay --- Mac Demarco

Feels only fair to continue on with a Mac Demarco example. Demarco is charmingly eccentric scruffy goofy Canadian, who transcends his outward appearance to create beautiful home-made love songs. He met his current girlfriend , the centerpiece for most of his songs, when he was 14, and frequently puts her onto his shoulders during his live sets while he drunkenly sings his love to her.

Some Unholy War --- Amy Winehouse

The ultimate song of devotion coming from one of the most idiosyncratic voices in modern music. It's backstory is a little darker as she is singing about Blake Fielder Civil, who is widely blamed for her demise into drug abuse.

White Dress --- Kanye West

If you've read recent posts, you probably knew a Kanye one was coming. Kanye's romanticism does not draw as much attention as his penchant for aggressiveness, but this song about falling in love with a girl at the club is weirdly endearing. He talks about trips to Europe and marriage and models who are on too many drugs to walk straight. It's a look into how the egotisitical Kanye West deals with vulnerability after falling in love. But he does kind of hide the song in his prolificness, since it is not on an album, but rather a part fo the soundtrack for RZA from Wutang's movie, The Man with the Iron Fist. Regardless, even Kanye can't help to celebrate love.

Without U --- Spooky Black

Ok yes fine this is actually a sad song. It's almost at the end of the playlist, so if you're single and feeling sad about it you can know you're not the only one, and if you aren't single, it sounds convinvingly romantic, so just make sure your significant other isn't really paying attention to all of the lyrics at this point. Spooky Black, more recently known as Corbin, felt and articulated these feelings when he was about 15 years old. Feelings don't discriminate against age.

So High --- John Legend

The final song is John Legend, and his inclusion feels fairly obvious. (Well I guess it's not All of Me, so maybe it's not that obvious).