Valentine’s Day is steadfastly approaching. While some of us are out planning extravagant dates with expectant girlfriends, grooming ourselves meticulously and buying all the candy stores have to offer, the rest of us singles will be perched on a laptop, perusing Tumblr, getting drunk, or a combination of both. There’s always a soundtrack to romance, but now the lonely audiophile has one too. Here are eight songs that give a stern middle finger to love.
Marvin’s Room – Drake (2011)
Hip-hop softie Drake and former Degrassi star Aubrey Graham, croons over an airy, drowsy rhythm about love lost while delivering a profanity-filled kiss-off to the “good guy” his former lover is now with. Don’t worry. Unlike us, Drake will probably find another stripper to swoon over.
It Is Not Meant to Be – Tame Impala (2010)
It’s the Beatles for the new millennium, washed in melancholia and dreamy elements. Anybody whose ever nursed a broken heart after a bout with unrequited love can get behind this. Singer Kevin Parker’s voice contains a sense of sadness in itself, especially when he breathes, in all of his lush glory, “In all honesty, I don’t have a hope in hell.”
Bang Bang – Vanilla Fudge (1967)
In the second cover of Cher’s Sonny Bono-penned hit, psychedelic rockers, Vanilla Fudge, put its own spin on getting shot down by the one you love. Church-like organs mix with hard-rock elements, preceding the band’s foray into a popular nursery rhyme before spiraling into the actual song. In a glorious fashion, this goes on for a little over five minutes.
I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself – The White Stripes (2003)
Shamelessly whining post-breakup has never gone this hard. Jack White’s appropriate wail is another cover making the list, this time of Dusty Springfield’s 1964 single. Though the song was already raucous to begin with, during the last twenty seconds of the this version, White’s pent-up rage, sadness and frustration is finally properly released.
Winter ’05 – Ra Ra Riot (2008)
A true anthem for the wintertime blues, indie rockers Ra Ra Riot measure sadness in violins on this appropriately themed track off the band’s 2008 debut The Rhumb Line. Singer Wes Miles’ falsetto is almost heartbreaking when he belts out, “And if you were here, winter wouldn’t pass quite so slow.” Almost makes you long for summer.
Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me – The Smiths (1987)
Anyone who listens to the Smiths knows that lead singer Morrissey is never happy. With such bluntness, he even goes out of his way to say he’s tortured by his constant dreams of being loved. As straightforward as it is depressing, the song makes a few pit stops before it hits the final heartbreak, with a cacophony of people yelling in the background amid a slow piano dance that eases you right into Morrissey’s tears.
Tired of Sex – Weezer (1996)
It should be every playboy’s anthem, a kiss-off to the one night stand. On one of Rivers Cuomo’s brashest efforts on Pinkerton, the self-confessed lover of half-Asian girls declares that he’s had it with sex and like LL Cool J, just needs love. (Spoiler alert: He does and marries her in 2006.)
Lost and Found (Find Me) – Ledisi (2007)
Minimal piano and a skittering violin mark the pain behind singer Ledisi’s voice as she cries out for someone to find her. The song itself is an emotional ride and a glimpse into the average loveless youth. Most have been there before, desperately seeking someone to find us, and apparently, so has she.
