I Choo-Choo Choose You

After spending two and a half hours rummaging through the greeting card racks at Target and Hallmark, I came to a simple conclusion -- Valentine's Day cards for men suck.

They're schlocky, contrived, ostentatious and last time I checked, men don't really give a shit about pink glitter or black-and-white images of kissing strangers.

That's why I made Dan his Valentine -- A piece of posterboard, a whole mess of construction paper and glue, the requisite sweet, punny Valentine and a far-from-complete litany of reasons why I love the guy so much.




Yes, there's something very elementary-school about making a valentine but I think I'm short enough to get away with it.

So, that's my valentine for Dan and here's my valentine for you. I've always believed that music ≥ love. That notes, chords and melodies can alternately break and heal a heart. That being said, here is a collection of tracks about love that I love. I hope you dig 'em too.

Fourteen For The Fourteenth

1. Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop -- Landon Pigg -- Also known as the song from the diamond commercial. It's lo-fi, very sweet and I don't know a girl who could resist being told that someone is falling in love with her.
2. So In Love -- Curtis Mayfield -- A little 70's soul does a body good...and does two bodies even better.
3. Virginia Moon -- Foo Fighters feat. Norah Jones -- Dave Grohl writes the prettiest ballads and this song is no exception. Sweet and remarkably sexy...but I'd expect nothing less.
4. Paperweight -- Joshua Radin feat. Schuyler Fisk -- Another sweet, lo-fi song about being happy to be in love. That's my favorite part, I think. Just hanging out in bed on the weekends and not wanting anything more in the world.
5. Broken -- Jack Johnson -- Another weekend morning track. A little Jack Johnson, some coffee and pancakes and sunshine streaming in through the window. It's pretty perfect.
6. Diamond Ring -- The Black Crowes -- One of my favorites from the Black Crowes. It captures the euphoria of being in love and that moment when you know you're ready to say, 'I do.'
7. All Day Love Affair -- Cee-Lo -- As you can probably tell by now, I'm not about the sweeping grandiosity of love. I dig the everyday stuff. Like the Soul Machine says, "Nothing compares to waking up this morning to you."
8. The Good Witch of the North -- Everclear -- What's got two thumbs and is a sucker for both Everclear and The Wizard of Oz? This girl. This track gets me every time. Especially the last lines.
9. As You Sleep -- Something Corporate -- When Dan and I were doing the long distance thing, I listened to this song ad infinitum. I remember never wanting to sleep because I considered it time wasted. Now, though? I think I have low-grade narcolepsy. If I'm warm and comfortable and Dan's next to me? Out like a light.
10. Not Fire, Not Ice -- Ben Harper -- Like Harper says, true love is sacrifice and probably the most worthy one you can make.
11. Love You 'Til The End -- The Pogues -- Fun fact about The Pogues? They were originally called Pogue Mahone -- the Anglicization of the Irish póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse." And who says love is dead?
12. Two of Us -- The Beatles -- All love songs don't have to be epic paeans. Sometimes, sweet simplicity will do.
13. Here's Everything I've Always Meant To Say -- Jamison Parker -- I've been called 'cute' my whole life. In fact, think of any adjective you'd assign to a Labrador Retriever and odds are, I've been referred to as such. Then, I met Dan and he called me beautiful and he meant it and more so, I felt it.
14. Wild Horses (Live) -- The Rolling Stones feat. Dave Matthews -- And what would Valentine's Day be without Wild Horses?

When I first discovered this song, I developed a theory to go with it. I call it Aural Custody.

See, when you start dating someone, you invariable have 'your song' and every time you hear it, you get a little misty. But then, catastrophe strikes and you break up! Now, you're stuck with hating a song you once loved because it reminds you too much of your jerk-ass ex.

Luckily, my first ex boyfriend decided that our song should be All My Life by K-Ci and Jojo, so no great loss there.

But then, the dude I dated after that? Our song was I'll Be There For You/ You're All I Need To Get By by Method Man and Mary J. Blige which is actually a really good track. I mean, Marvin Gaye/Tami Terrell interpolation and sick production courtesy of The RZA -- what's not to like? Anyway, after we broke up, I could no longer appreciate this track without thinking of Admiral Dickface and that pissed me off. This is a great song. Why should I have to give it up because of some asshole?

So, I came up with aural custody and the musical pyramid. This way should the worst happen, you don't end up hating a piece of music you really loved.

Yes, I am fully aware that I probably love music more than I love people and I'm OK with that. Like Sapphire said, "They don't even know what it is to be a fan. Y'know? To truly love some silly little piece of music, or some band, so much that it hurts."

Anyway, back to the pyramid:

You start off at the base with some generic love song. Something sweet but relatively harmless. A nice little Dave Matthews track. Crash Into Me, perhaps. Sweet enough that you smile when you hear it, but innocuous enough that you won't have a meltdown in the produce section of the grocery store.

Then, Phase Two -- a little more personal but fairly generic. Glycerine by Bush, maybe? Or Stellar by Incubus (P.S. -- Happy Valentine's Day, ladies and gay gentlemen. The shirtless rockstars are for you).

Phase Three -- More personal, less generic. You're getting serious...but not serious enough to give this person custody of your favorite song. Not yet, anyway. Joshua Radin's cover of Only You is a good choice as is Walking After You by the Foo Fighters.

and finally, Phase Four -- the top of the pyramid. If this was A Link To The Past, you'd be gearing up for a boss battle with Ganon, but you're doing something far more dangerous. You are willing giving custody of something you love to someone else. At this point, you trust them with your heart and more importantly, with your favorite song be it Wild Horses, an Elliot Smith b-side or a Billie Holiday gem.

Happy Valentine's Day, guys! Make it a great one!