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“My Cherie Amour” – Stevie Wonder
An oldie, but a goodie, Wonder piles all the warm and fuzzy feelings of a new crush into this track. From first glances and realizations of feelings to pining for your crush’s affection, all the stages of a new infatuation are covered.
“Silly Love Songs (Glee Cast Version)”- Glee Cast
If there’s a song that perfectly captures how so many of us feel about the seemingly never-ending supply of love songs, it’s this one. When it seems as if there can’t possibly be another metaphor to be made or cheesey line to be crooned about falling in love, a new hit emerges. But who’s to say that’s a bad thing?
“Endlessly” – Green River Ordinance
This song is about the hesitation and uncertainty that comes along with any new relationship and being absolutely head over heels for someone. It’s a simple song that could send butterflies swirling in anybody’s stomach while thinking about that special someone.
“What You Don’t Do (Tom Misch Remix)”- Lianne La Havas
This alternative R&B track is soothing to both the listener’s ears and heart with its sweetly sung reminder that it’s the small things, rather than the grand gestures, that show how deeply you care for someone.
“Saying I Love You” – Girls
At first, this track sounds like groan inducing, sickly sweet couple talk. “How can I say I need you, now that you’ve said I need you,” singer Christopher Owens gently sings to his partner. The knife comes after the third verse. For the rest of this sunny song’s three minutes, the listener is treated to an “It’s A Small World” like ride through the same verses, with each go around hurting a little more each time.
“Mine”- Beyonce
“Mine” depicts the uncertainty of the future of a relationship in a way that’s both lyrically vivid and emotionally raw. A chant like chorus and a stripped down outro by Drake make the song addictive, leaving you clinging to the one you love with everything you have.
“Nothing Else Matters” – Metallica
Do you find yourself wishing your love songs had a little more heft? Are you upset with the lack of rip-roaring guitar solos in the hits of Maroon 5? Is Taylor Swift too much of a whiner for you? If so, then all signs point to this classic Metallica track. “Couldn’t be much more from the heart” has never been a more awesome thing to profess.
“Wrestlers” – Hot Chip
This bounce house of a song uses the outsized language of pro wrestling to illustrate a couple’s sex life as well as past conflicts . The goofy, aloof verses at first seem lighthearted, until a sobering slow jam chorus reveals how much of a bruise certain moves can make.
“Something” – Julien Baker
There is no love like love lost, and 20 year old Julien Baker captures the pain of that loss with pinpoint precision in this stunning track. “I knew you were gone months ago, but I can’t think of anyone else,” she sings, only barely able to let the words escape her lips. For those who know the pain of a love gone wrong, there is no greater comfort than knowing that someone else has felt that emptiness.
“Anyone Else But You”- The Moldy Peaches
This lilting duet tells the story of falling in love with your best friend, with all the highs and lows that brings. The lyrics veer from sweet to strange in a raw bearing of two souls as they try to describe their own intertwining. It’s one of those songs that compels you to find someone with whom to sing it, because you know it’s built just for that. Plus, if Michael Cera can manage it for “Juno,” anyone can.
