Dear listeners,
Every once in a while, I like to compile a playlist composed entirely of songs with identical titles. You may recall that, last October, I sent out a newsletter about six different tracks vying to be the greatest “The Greatest.” Today, in honor of a certain loved-and-occasionally-loathed holiday, I made a playlist of seven songs with the same timely, evocative name: “Valentine.”
While most of these tracks are about romance, they vary widely in tone. Some — like the witty ditty from the precocious musician Laufey or a sloshed-but-smitten album cut from the Replacements — are rather heartfelt declarations of love. But, as Valentine’s Day can stir up some sharp pangs for the heartbroken among us, a few of these songs — like wrenching tracks from Snail Mail and Fiona Apple — are also full of longing and loneliness.
This is certainly not a complete list of every song ever titled “Valentine,” but it is a sampling of seven of my favorites. Whether you’re buying roses for yourself or someone else this year, I hope you find at least one track that reflects your mood.
Listen along while you read.
1. Laufey: “Valentine”
On this endearing 2022 single, the old-soul Icelandic jazz-pop musician Laufey captures the strangeness of suddenly falling in love after many years of celebrating Valentine’s Day solo. OK, not that many years, as she reveals in the second verse: “Maybe I should run / I’m only 21 / I don’t even know who I want to become.” But she ultimately chooses to stay put — at least for now — concluding in her weightless croon, “Honestly, I can’t believe I get to call you mine / I blinked and suddenly I had a valentine.”
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2. Snail Mail: “Valentine”
And now for a “Valentine” with a much less happy ending, here’s the blistering title track from the Maryland indie-rock band Snail Mail’s 2021 sophomore album. “Why’d you wanna erase me, darling valentine?” the frontwoman Lindsey Jordan seethes during the cacophonous chorus, her voice cracking with gnarled passion. I would like to personally thank St. Valentine for reminding me how much I love this album! (Though they don’t fit on this particular thematic playlist, if you like this track I also highly recommend the devastating ballad “Headlock” and the sauntering, synth-driven “Ben Franklin.”)
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
3. The Replacements: “Valentine”
This sweetly shambolic tune from the Replacements’ 1987 album “Pleased to Meet Me” contains what I like to think of as Paul Westerberg’s version of “I could drink a case of you”: “If you were a pill, I’d take a handful at my will and I’d knock you back with something sweet and strong.” That’s romance, Replacements style. Somebody cut this guy off — he’s had enough.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
4. Orion Sun: “Valentine”
The New Jersey-born singer-songwriter Tiffany Majette releases muted, soulful and free-flowingly intimate music under the name Orion Sun. Though this track — from a 2017 compilation titled “A Collection of Fleeting Moments and Daydreams” — only lasts a little over a minute, Majette uses the time wisely and creates a vivid, succinct snapshot of a relationship that wasn’t destined to last. Or at least not in this lifetime. In the song’s closing moments, she dreams of seeing her former paramour in an alternate universe, where “I’m your valentine.”
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
5. Justice: “Valentine”
OK, I’ll level with you: I have no idea why this song is called “Valentine,” since it has no lyrics. But I’ve always found it to be a lovely respite in the middle of the French electronic duo Justice’s 2007 millennial epic, “Cross,” so let’s allow it to serve a similar purpose here — a brief pause in the drama, and a casual invitation to d-a-n-c-e.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
6. Fiona Apple: “Valentine”
On this track from her brilliant 2012 album “The Idler Wheel …,” Fiona Apple offers up perhaps my all-time favorite rhyme of our titular word: “You didn’t see my valentine / I sent it via pantomime.” A sparse arrangement keeps the focus on Apple’s extraordinarily expressive vocal, as she embodies a tale of unrequited obsession and vicarious thrills. As she sings, devastatingly, to the object of her affection, “I watch you live to have my fun.”
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
7. The Get Up Kids: “Valentine”
And finally, here’s a valentine dedicated to someone very special: My teenage self, who was a die-hard fan of the Kansas City emo band the Get Up Kids. “Constants aren’t so constant anymore,” the lead singer Matt Pryor croaks at the end of this poignant, long-distance-love ballad from the cult-favorite 1999 album “Something to Write Home About.” At least a few constants remain constant: I’m still a sucker for this song.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
The Amplifier Playlist
“An Assortment of 7 ‘Valentine’ Songs” track list
Track 1: Laufey, “Valentine”
Track 2: Snail Mail, “Valentine”
Track 3: The Replacements, “Valentine”
Track 4: Orion Sun, “Valentine”
Track 5: Justice, “Valentine”
Track 6: Fiona Apple, “Valentine”
Track 7: The Get Up Kids, “Valentine”
Bonus Tracks
Valentine’s Day rarely falls on a Friday, when albums are usually released, so plenty of artists are taking advantage of that auspicious coincidence this year. Sabrina Carpenter chose today to release the deluxe edition of her Grammy-winning album “Short n’ Sweet” (which now features a duet with Dolly Parton), while fiancés Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco shared the first single from their upcoming collaborative album. Drake, too, is hoping to clear the air with a new album, a 21-track release with his longtime Canadian collaborator PartyNextDoor titled, rather declaratively, “Some Sexy Songs 4 U.”
You can hear songs from all the aforementioned releases on this week’s Friday Playlist, though if you’re already over Valentine’s Day, we also have thematically unrelated songs from William Tyler, Rebekka Karijord, the Lumineers and more. Listen here.
