In the wake of Valentine’s Day, the roads are still covered with fading rose petals and there’s hardly a blood diamond left on the shelves of Jareds. All the world heaves either a sigh of relief that they can temporarily forget about their loneliness, or a sigh of depression that it will be another 360 some-odd days before they can express their feelings for their loved ones once more.
In honor of celebrating love year round, I want to postpone looking at new music this week in favor of songs that celebrate love, even if they aren’t quite your traditional ballad. Love is not just about holding hands and strolling in the sand before sharing a milkshake (I learned most of what I know about love from The Lady and The Tramp, is that evident?). Sometimes love is about making your relationship Facebook official, restraining the urge to badger your partner about his neck hair and falling asleep in front of the television. Here are a few songs that can help us appreciate the types of love that get overlooked on Valentine’s Day.
Up first is a heart-rending selection from the man in black — and no it’s not “Ring of Fire” or “Walk the Line.” What do you mean you’ve never heard of “Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart”? Well, I promise you, it is a real song by Johnny Cash. The title kind of says it all for this selection. A pure love ends, and poor Mr. Cash finds himself removed from the heart of his beloved much like water from a toilet bowl. One can only wonder what fight Johnny was having with June Carter the week he wrote this song.
The next song is the tale of a young woman seeking love and finding herself foiled at every turn. It’s “6060-842” by the B-52s. In this beautiful story, a young woman named Tina finds the number of an escort service in a bathroom stall and calls it repeatedly, only to find that the number has been disconnected. Can you guess what the number was? And no, it’s not a real escort service, so don’t call it. Full disclosure: I used to listen to this song in the car with my parents all the time growing up. I’m not sure they were the best influence on me.
The last song for this week is a selection from the British boy band Westlife. For those of you unfamiliar with British music after the Beatles, same-sex pop music groups like the Spice Girls are still recording and are incredibly popular. It’s kind of surprising for a country with such a cool musical history. But as I have a well-disguised love for all things *NSYNC, I can’t complain. Anyway, among Westlife’s catalogueof hits is the love ballad “When You’re Looking Like That,” in which the lead singer decides not to break things off with his girlfriend because she looks smokin’ at the club. This song has a lot to teach us about the importance of physical beauty in relationships … you know, old-fashioned moral values.
With the help of these three songs, I think you’re ready to celebrate love in all of its forms year round. Because we can’t just celebrate beautiful and inspiring love — that’s discrimination! As a very wise woman named Liz Lemon once said, “Love isn’t judgmental. Love is patient. Love is weird … and sometimes gross. Love is elusive, and you found it. So treasure it.” Here’s to those weird, gross and elusive loves. Here’s to three songs that help us give them the credit that is long overdue
Kinne Chapin is a senior in the College. She can be reached at [email protected]. FACE THE MUSIC appears every other Friday in the guide.
