For this week’s installment, I decided to dive deep in my iTunes library to retrieve some suggestions for your Valentine’s Day playlist. In any good movie, the soundtrack provides a constant backdrop for setting the mood and filling the otherwise empty spaces. Your perfect valentines would be utterly incomplete without an equally stunning soundtrack.
Then again, maybe Valentine’s is not your favorite day. I’ll start off with a few for you…
Coal Chamber – Unspoiled
The story goes that singer Dez Farfara’s wife left him just prior to recording Coal Chamber’s first album. He screams the lines, Do I look fine to you/ do I seem alright with such raw intensity. It’s a wholly unnatural sound, coming from a place deep inside a wounded soul.
The Verve Pipe – Barely (if at all)
Best known for the moody grunge radio song, The Freshmen, The Verve Pipe’s debut album opened with a hollow, whining guitar sustain before bursting into angst-riddled distortion. Singer Brian Vander Ark bitterly rails against the woman who pretended much but only loved me barely, if at all.
Bob Dylan – It Ain’t Me Babe
Whatever it is you’re looking for, whatever you think you need, Bob Dylan doesn’t have it for you. That’s the just the cold, cruel reality. Wherever you were hoping to the take this relationship, Dylan delivers his verdict, in no uncertain terms.
Johnny Cash – Hurt
Everyone I know/ goes away in the end. Johnny Cash’s Hurt is solemn, dark, and haunting. It’s an epic dirge for the funeral of life, love, and all that could be good. You could have it all/ my empire of dirt/ I will let you down/ I will make you hurt. Enough said.
Apocalyptica – SOS (Anything But Love) with Cristina Scabbia
Lacuna Coil vocalist Cristina Scabbia gives her intense, sultry style to Anything But Love. Listening to Lacuna Coil, you get a sense that she’s someone not to be messed around with. On this track, Christina’s love-wronged voice is powerful with Apocalyptica’s sweeping strings to comfort her bitter melody.
Jimi Hendrix
The blues are filled with lost and poisoned love. Hey Joe demonstrates a man, wronged by love, on the edge of sanity. Yet, through Hendrix’s blues-drench delivery, you feel sympathetic and almost understand Joe’s course of action. My favorite Hendrix song (for any occasion) is Red House. Imagine wandering home to your lover to find the house empty and the locks changed. Everything you knew is gone. Even if you deserved it, that’s still not cool. But Jimi offers hope at the songs conclusion: Even though my baby don’t love me no more/ I know her sister will.
Now for the playlist of love…
A Perfect Circle - Magdalena
Swirling with intense emotion and sexuality, Maynard James Keenan beckons the love of Magdalena. The song builds through the verses and charges headlong into each chorus, climaxing against Billy Howerdel’s blistering guitar breakdowns. I’d sell my soul/ my self esteem/ a dollar at a time/ … for one kiss/ one taste of you/ my Magdalena.
Deftones – Passenger
A lot of the Deftones’ music bristles with sexual tension and Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) lends his voice to one of their most intense. Let your mind wander through the twisting ambient riffing and tensely strained vocals. Throw caution to the wind and love without boundaries.
The Doors
It couldn’t be Valentine’s without playing The Doors. Take your pick: Hello, I Love You; Light My Fire; Love Her Madly; We Could Be So Good Together. There are too many to choose. Just start with Waiting For the Sun and go from there. Don’t bother sweating over the perfect soundtrack to charm your significant other. Just let Jim Morrison do all of the talking.
Franz Ferdinand
For that special kind of love that fails conventional description, go no further than Franz Ferdinand. This is dirty, slinky rock that slithers its way into your heart with catchy grooves and smooth vocals. It captivates and keeps you coming back for more. Perhaps you should keep the lyrics away so she doesn’t get any ideas… or maybe that’s just what you need.
System of a Down – Ego Brain
System is known mostly for chaotic, politically driven metal, but Ego Brain is an alternative emotional gem. Serj Tankian’s vocals soar and reassures us that when all else fails, trust in your partner and find that love prevails over all.
Metallica – Nothing Else Matters
This song holds a lot of meaning for me. Starting slow and soulfully, it crescendos into a elegant ballad. Musically, it transcends the reach of mere rock and metal. Check out the video of Apocalyptica’s instrumental arrangement. This song teaches us that love belongs to each of us and we must love in spite of everything life throws in our way. Love is the only thing that really matters. Give everything of yourself through love and through life. This is rock. This is life. What are you listening to?
Happy Valentine's Day!
