Popular V's More Alternative Songs Of Valentine's Day (Valentine's Day Feature)
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Written by Heather McDaid
While each year is jam packed with songs of love, desire and heartbreak, there’s one day of year that they’re all likely to suffer overplay worldwide. That day is, of course, Valentine’s Day. If you’re into the whole lovey dovey thing, cheese-filled tracks along the lines of ‘I Will Always Love You’ will go down a treat; if you’re alone, some would choose to delve into chocolate and tales of heartbreak. That is how the sweeping generalisation depicts us all on this day of year at least. Warning: this may contain cynicism.
Surely many couples have seen that bizarre moment in the relationship when one has broken into the song ‘Hero’ by Enrique Inglesias. Perhaps it’s a completely serious proposition to be their hero and kiss away their pain, but more often than not (in the experiences of my friends and I at least) it’s a song sung in the random situations. In fact, the last time I crossed paths with it, my best friend was serenading a burrito with this very that seemingly ‘took her breath away’. Aside from serenading Mexican delicacies, this would appear one of the first romantic songs to spring to mind, which says a lot for the song itself as a romantic one since I believe the only mention of the word love isn’t topped and tailed by ‘I’ and ‘You’.
The next that springs to mind is currently finding itself in overplay for more sombre reasons than Valentine’s Day. ‘I Will Always Love You’ by Whitney Houston was always set to be a part of the Valentine song list, known to be one of the longest-standing power ballads that never quite grows old. So whether or not you approve of something so blunt and straightforward in message as ‘I will always love you’, it’s almost certain that you will hear this song in the next few days. Power ballads aren’t always fantastic, but with the vocal prowess of Whitney at the hilt, this one was always set to be near the top of the list.
In another straightforward message, James Blunt has no veiling of the message in his song ‘You’re Beautiful’. James Blunt seems to have the Nickelback effect to some but the song definitely seemed cute enough at first. Perhaps it’s the anti-Valentine’s devil in me that sees any track remotely proclaiming love as overtly cheesy, but this one never sat right as one for romance. If you’re going to tell your partner they’re beautiful, maybe just settle for the words rather than use this track...
Bruno Mars seems to make hearts melt by saying that when he sees your face, there’s not a thing that he would change in his track ‘Just The Way You Are’. His songs always seem to have a nice enough intention behind the lyrics, with many swooning over his promises in ‘Grenade’. Whether or not we’d still want him after catching a grenade, or having thrown himself in front of a train... Enough cynicism; there’s something relatively nice about his songs – some of them at least. ‘Just The Way You Are’ is a straight forward, nice track to play for someone; the message has a good intent. ‘Grenade’ has a good intent, it’s just a little overdramatic.
If society’s stereotypes tell us correctly, heartbreak will be another driving force of the wondrous February 14th. Cue: Adele. It doesn’t need to be a particular song, but chances are that she will work as a love-fuelled soundtrack. While I’m not necessarily the biggest fan of Adele, it’s extremely easy to see why she has become so huge through her music. She is honest and uses her experiences to fuel her music; most can relate to at least one notion in her songs to some degree.
Another lady who uses her experience for the sake of her music is Taylor Swift. While her songs openly deal with similar themes, they do seem more cutesy in sound. ‘Love Story’ depicts the typical fairytale, unsurprisingly appealing to younger listeners as well as older. “You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess, it’s a love story, baby just say yes” – it’s the Disney dream, frankly. If there was a Valentine’s school disco playlist, this would certainly make the grade.
But, as always, it’s not just the mainstream that delves into love songs suitable for Saint Valentine. KISS went down the romantic route with tracks like ‘Forever’, declaring “There’s no denying when I look in your eyes, girl I’m out of my head over you.” With a track of the exact same name, many Dropkick Murphys fans pick their number to be equally as suitable for February 14th, with proclamations such as “You inspired me truly, you did from the start, to not be afraid and to follow my heart.”
My Chemical Romance may have gone from the Black Parade to a dance-rock-party album, but they definitely have a cute little number on there. ‘Summertime’, written assumedly to Gerard’s wife, depicts crowded rooms and highways, writing on arms, etc, which sounds pretty much the story of their romance beginning back on Projekt Revolution. Claiming “If you stay, I would even wait all night, until we find our way, in the dark and out of harm, you can run away with me any time you want”, this number has become one for the romantics of the MCR fanbase.
Avenged Sevenfold have a more surprising number in their repertoire. While many are accustomed with their duelling guitars and raw vocals, years ago the band released ‘Warmness On The Soul’, a piano ballad. Slow solos and smooth vocals say, “But your unconditional love was always on my mind. You've been there from the start for me, and your love's always been true as can be.” Unsurprisingly, this is a track that after numerous shows I’m pretty sure will never be seen live.
One suggestion was David Bowie’s ‘Be My Wife’. Returning to the notion of the straight forward titles and song messages, Bowie lives up to what it says on the tin with lyrics including: “Sometimes you get so lonely, sometimes you get nowhere [...] Please be mine, share my life, stay with me, be my wife.” Some find it romantic, some find the ‘proposal’ an alternative to being lonely. It’s up for debate, really...
By this point, the mountain of love songs has barely been touched upon but there is one other alternative. Beyonce may have released some wonderful songs along the vein of this piece (‘Halo’, for one), but ‘All The Single Ladies’ is your jam if you’re thinking ‘screw Valentines’. I’m not sure what the male equivalent would be, but I’m sure it would be equally as great.
So, cynicism aside (because there has been a lot of it here), some of these lovey dovey songs are quite good and quite nice to listen to when you’re just in one of those moods. If you’re a person who celebrates Valentines in the way it’s said to be celebrated, then I’m sure you could probably come up with a far better list of songs suitable for the event. Either way, Valentines is here and whether or not you’re a single lady (or laddy) or part of a couple, there’s a fair share of songs to crack on for the occasion.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
My Chemical Romance may have gone from the Black Parade to a dance-rock-party album, but they definitely have a cute little number on there. ‘Summertime’, written assumedly to Gerard’s wife, depicts crowded rooms and highways, writing on arms, etc, which sounds pretty much the story of their romance beginning back on Projekt Revolution. Claiming “If you stay, I would even wait all night, until we find our way, in the dark and out of harm, you can run away with me any time you want”, this number has become one for the romantics of the MCR fanbase. 
