My intense dislike of this supposed holiday is well known. Is it to celebrate love? Romance? Relationships? Russell Stover? Tacky "cute" teddy bears? Some saint that lost his feast day decades ago? It's a vague mess that makes certain singles feel depressed, and leads to shoppers everywhere being assaulted with awful shades of pink and fuschia when then enter retail outlets.
That said, for a moment I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it really is meant to celebrate first love, or steady relationships, and joy producing things like those (as opposed to creating profits for Hallmark and the makers of cheap "chocolate", or simply being mean to those people who wish they were in a happy, steady relationship). Presuming that is what it is supposed to be about - what kind of playlist would you create for such a day?
I ask this because there's not a single person who regularly writes comments or posts on this blog who comes across as particularly cute and cuddly and full of giddy Hollywood-romantic love. So if we are to play the part and celebrate this day ... well how would we do it? And since so many of you are into music - what kind of music is it that you find especially cutesy and lovely-dovey? Songs that would come to mind in my case are "Brand New Colony" by The Postal Service, "Your Charms" by Cinerama, "The Sun Goes Down and the World Goes Dancing" by The Magnetic Fields, "He Didn't" by the 6ths (sung by Bob Mould), and Beaulah's "If We Can Land a Man on the Moon Surely I Can Win Your Heart". What songs do you think are appropriate to Valentine's Day?
And hey if you want to think about Valentine's Day and the movies instead - Edward Copeland has this kind of touching Valentine's Day post on Broadcast News and unrequited love.
Posted by armand at February 14, 2007 05:47 PM | TrackBack | Posted to Movies | MusicI'm gonna be hard pressed for "lovey-dovey". I've got heart-rending (Pearl Jam's "Black; Blues Traveller's "Alone"), but lovey?
While I claim to have diverse musical tastes (some may disagree), I do have tendencies towards music with very loud (and fast) distorted electric guitars, which isn't usually thought of in the same category as "lovey-dovey." I will, however, look through the CD collection and see what I can find:
1. Spin Doctors: "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" (more unrequited love, but cute)
2. The Decemberists: "The Crane Wife, Parts 1, 2, and 3" (indie, but very clever songwriting)
3. Harvey Danger: Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo (love for something her partner can't give her)
4. Blues Traveller: "Conquer Me" (mountains as a metaphor for love: you figure out "conquer me")
That's all I can see from where I sit; if this thread gets larger, I'll see what else I can find.
Posted by: baltar at February 14, 2007 07:48 PM | PERMALINKBaltar - Well hey, don't feel obligated to add more - thanks for playing. :)
And btw, after reading Copeland's post, I really wonder why Broadcast News isn't discussed more. It's a great movie, and perfectly captures some feelings that 10 million sitcoms and awful rom coms have tried to get, but failed to get. Plus of course the digs at television news are rather delicious.
Posted by: Armand at February 14, 2007 11:20 PM | PERMALINKHere's my list:
Oh, come one, it's The Day After. Someone had to do it.
p.s. Forgot one: Goddamn Lonely Love.
Posted by: binky at February 15, 2007 09:37 AM | PERMALINKI'll nibble. I suspect my choices will sound more melancholy than anything, but that suits me and the way I see things. So, off the top of my head:
Tom Waits -- Hard to pick one, but Little Trip to Heaven (On the Wings of Your Love)," might well be my favorite love song of all time if you forced me to choose
Kristin Hersh -- Caffeine or Candyland, neither of which is all that sunny.
Bonus random choice:
Elvis Costello's got a killer live rendition of My Funny Valentine somewhere deep within this brilliant boxset. In the same vein, Sting's "My One and Only Love," from Leaving Las Vegas, is pretty awesome too.
(Goodness I'm glad you posted this, because in hunting down the Elvis boxset for linkage I just discovered that you can buy episodes of Piano Jazz on CD (and maybe I can find them on MP3 now that I'm all iPodded up), including an episode with Elvis and another with Steely Dan -- speaking of which, for atmospherics, early Dan, Aja for example, is perfect for pretty much any occasion).
Also, if I'm just trying to set a nice mood, one could do worse than to put Coltrane's A Love Supreme on the stereo.
Oh, and Binky, excellent Ani selection -- I've always adored that song.
Posted by: moon at February 15, 2007 10:54 AM | PERMALINKHmmm, more lovey-dovey than cutesy, Binky. Interesting.
Posted by: Armand at February 15, 2007 10:59 AM | PERMALINK