2025 Valentine’s Day Playlist
In preparation for Valentine’s Day, KCSB’s Executive Committee has put together a playlist of songs all about love. Read till the very end to check out some picks from our winter Assistant Music Directors, Rio and Kai!
PARKER’S RECS
“I Love You Like The Way That I Used To Do” by Rocketship
– With murmured vocals and a powerful organ, twee group Rocketship express the sorrow of losing somebody yet still holding them in your heart. “The sun shines brighter every day I’m without you / but I love, love, love you like the way that I used to”
“The Centre Of My Little World” by Another Sunny Day
– The Centre Of My Little World captures the moment of noticing somebody for the first time. While it may be just a quick glance, the thought of them lingers in your mind for some time afterwards, leaving you hoping to catch another glimpse of them soon… “When I saw you getting off the bus / I knew this whole world was made for us”
“I Have the Moon” by The Magnetic Fields
– This Magnetic Fields tune tells the story of a vampire in love with a mortal man. The vampire wishes to comfort and embrace his love-interest, but is incapable of going in the sunlight to do so. He wishes to spend eternity with this person, but is unable to due to their mortality. “You’re bound to die under the sun / And I’ll be doomed to carry on”
“Perdido de Amor” by Luiz Bonfá
– Luiz Bonfá skilled acoustic guitar playing accompanies his soft, intimate vocals perfectly in this Brazilian ballad.
MAYA’S RECS
“You Can Have It All” by Yo La Tengo
– A love song stripped down to its purest form, You Can Have It All by Yo La Tengo is a hypnotic acapella style declaration of devotion. Originally written by George McCrae, the band transforms this soft funk classic into a dreamy indie lullaby, layering hushed vocals over a swaying backing track. This song is sweet and simple and feels like a warm embrace.
“Are You Mine?” by Kim Deal
– This song captures an intoxicating uncertainty of love, balancing between longing and detachment. Kim Deal’s airy vocals float over a sparse but driving melody, creating an atmosphere both tender and restless. The lyrics – repeating the question “are you mine?” – reflects the fragile tension of devotion and doubt, while the chorus hints at the desire to escape its emotional weight. Its perfectly vulnerable and hypnotic.
“I Only Have Eyes For You” by Tashaki Miyaki
– This take on a classic love song drapes sound in a hazy, dreamlike glow. Their signature blend of reverb-soaked guitars and ethereal vocals transforms the lyrics to something almost otherworldly. The soft percussion and shimmering chords swirl around the confessional lyrics, making it the perfect moody and atmospheric romance song.
“Sleepwalking (Couples Only Dance Prom Night)” by Modest Mouse
– Love as a surreal, half-conscious drift is captured perfectly in Modest Mouse’s “Sleepwalking.” The band reimagines the Santo & Johnny classic, swapping its dreamy steel guitar for Issac Brock’s raw vocals and jangly, off-kilter instrumentation. The lyrics paint a picture of restless love – loitering in parking lots and stumbling together like sleepwalkers. With its woozy, melancholic energy, this track feels like a slow dance in a dream you don’t want to wake up from.
“Sometimes” by My Bloody Valentine
– Bathed in layers of shimmering guitars and Kevin Shields’ murmured vocals, this track feels like a dream – blurry, beautiful, and overwhelming. The rising organs and layered synths feel euphoric and uncertain. The song feels like a moment suspended in time.
“Chiot” by Whatever, Dad
– This song is soft, fleeting, and full of quiet intimacy. The gentle lo-fi instrumentation and hushed vocals create a dreamy atmosphere. The lyrics are playful yet tender and capture the giddy anxiety of closeness. Sweet, strange, and delicate, Whatever, Dad captures all the right gentle feelings in this track.
AVERY’S RECS
“Two Legs” by This is Lorelei
– Nate Amos (who’s name you may recognize from his successful other project, Water From Your Eyes) explains how motivating love can be in this song off of 2024’s Box for Buddy, Box for Star. Amos’ version of love in this song is described as devotion at the sacrifice of oneself: “If it made life easy for you, I would say goodbye // And love, if you said you needed two legs, I’d give you mine”.
“The Circumstance” by Allegra Krieger
Krieger’s recent performance at the Ojai Deer Lodge (blog post coming soon keep your eyes out) had me listening to her whole discography on repeat the last two months. “The Circumstance” is a song on 2022’s Precious Things that describes mundane moments in a relationship. When you’ve been with someone for so long, things can feel predictable and cyclical. Krieger feels powerless in the routine of her relationship, but perhaps this isn’t a negative thing. “And you come downstairs to make some breakfast // I wonder where you went in your sleep // Embracing the lack of control over the circumstance // Of loving you”
“Apple Candy” by Ben Lee
– My freshman year at UCSB, I went to see “Christian Lee Hutson & Friends” at the Largo in Los Angeles. Ben Lee’s performance of “Apple Candy” that night has stuck in my mind as one of the most captivating songs I’ve seen live. The lyrics could be interpreted as being in love with both people in a relationship you’re not a part of, but I’ve always thought of the song as expressing the jealousy that accompanies infatuation. Lines like “I want to know what he knows // I want to touch what he touched // Call me by his name” remind me of the obsessive impulses that come along with a crush. How fun!
“The Kiss” by Judee Sill
– Lowkey religious
ISABELLE’S RECS
“Skin Off” by Gina Young
– “Skin Off” by Gina Young (solo ‘90s feminist punk riot grrrl artist) off of her album She’s So Androgynous is the perfect example of an obsessive love song — “I would tear my skin off for you // You’ve got me // Climbing the walls for you // You’ve got me // Dying my hair for you.” This song perfectly encapsulates the feeling of having a crush — what feeling could be more “Valentines Day,” than that.
“Solitaire” by Everyone Asked About You
– This song (arguably about unrequited love) is for those of you who might be single or yearning on this Valentines Day. Everyone Asked About You, a tweemo band from Little Rock, Arkansas, has their fair share of sappy love songs, but this is not one of them — “My cards are on the table // And my heart is in your hands // And I don’t feel like playing // Solitaire anymore.”
“Molasses in January” by Team Dresch
– Queercore band Team Dresch writes amazing love songs, but this one is the creme de la creme. This song could be interpreted as a song of love between friends or as a romantic song, but the delivery of the line “You super-butch-punk-ass-motherfucker,” is one of the best in their discography.
“Unabomber” by The Crying Nudes
– Don’t let the name of this song fool you — despite the tongue-in-cheek name, this song is about as romantic as it gets. The hazy vocals and offhand guitar strumming combine to make a dream pop inspired track, and the lyrics “Put your arms around me // Baby, I could turn them into stone,” prove this track to be very V-day inspired.
JOYCE’S RECS
“Strangers in the Night” by Connie Francis
– The definitive song for first encounters and first chapters. When I listen to “Strangers in the Night,” I imagine the following (and just humor me here)… Coming home after some nondescript event in a nondescript city. Shutting the door behind you as you slip off your shoes. Remembering how – despite the warm weather – it didn’t feel at all pointless to accept that stranger’s jacket. Thinking about how much you loved the way they said your name, how easy it was to talk to them. And, suddenly, feeling there was nothing more important in the world than seeing them again.
“Little Things Mean a Lot” by Bettye Swan
– “I never cared too much for diamonds or pearls / Oh, but honestly honey, they only cost money / You could do twice as much with your touch.” Why yes, I agree… real romance doesn’t have to rely on buying things you don’t need; and in fact, I love anticonsumption as much as I do love. And anyways, I just resonate with these lyrics so much. A diamond bracelet is nice and all, but so is having dinner ready after a long day of work. I think showing how much you care about someone in quiet ways makes it all that more intimate and special. Which is maybe why I get freaked out by PDA.
“Sunday Best” by Bobbie Gentry
– Jeez, this song is almost sickeningly sweet and simple (in the best way possible). It should be noted that I’m the absolute farthest thing from an expert when it comes to matters of the heart, but frankly, this song is how I’d always imagined love would be – pure and sincere. The giddy, teenager-like feeling while getting ready to see them again…the nerves that wash over you as your hand fights the gravitational pull towards theirs…the excitement of just being in their presence – Bobbie Gentry has masterfully captured all of that in less than three minutes.
“The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act 2: No. 14a, Pas de deux. Andante maestoso” by the Berlin Philharmonic
– Lush, adoring, and stunning – to me, this is the most beautiful piece of music ever written. Each listen still knocks the wind out of me, even though I’ve probably listened to this version hundreds of times. And if I hear just the first few notes, I have to listen all the way through. I can’t say enough about this song, but I also can’t find the words to say what I want to. I just hope you’ll listen and understand what I’m talking about.
MACK’S RECS
“Drugs and hella Melodies” by Don Toliver and Kali Uchis
– A track made by one of the most notable romantic couples in modern music, Don Toliver and Kali Uchis mesh a beautiful blend of rap and lullaby singing over a melodic beat that is sure to send a listener to another atmosphere.
“In Love” by Aaron May
– Off his 2019 album “Chase” In Love talks about May’s own personal experiences with love and regardless of knowing that his past relationship is over, he cannot find it in himself to move on and accept that his love can no longer be.
DAWN’S RECS
“Alive in the Toned” by Pretend
– “I want to sing about love, without having to sing anything” The starting line to this song sets you up for an instrumental filled with variety, now charged with meaning thanks to the amazing Luke Palascak’s drawn out delivery and softened, worn down sounding vocals. The bass tone in this song specifically stands out to me, as it fills in the melodic role vocals would usually play, instead with a gritty texture that I find gives a unique feel to the entire song.
“Clark Gable” by The Postal Service
– “I’d been waiting since birth to find a love that would look and sound like a movie” This track from The Postal Service’s 2003 album “Give Up” reads to me as an obsession with perfection. Another lyric stands out to me, “The script had called for rain, but it was clear that day, so we faked it”. This speaks to me like the lyricist is lying to themselves, so that they can feel the warmth and protection of what they believe ‘love’ to be. This is echoed in another song from this album, “Nothing Better”, where the singer takes the place of someone hopelessly trying to mend a relationship, despite failing the multiple second chances granted to them. The textures of the synths coupled with the strings featured regularly on this album create a very strong, cohesive sonic “narrative”
– This, without exaggeration, might be the most devastatingly beautiful piece of music I have heard in my ENTIRE LIFE. “Seasons drain, time it breaks out of me, call it age, call it love, I’ll call it me. I was only a dove” There are many interpretations that could come from this piece, but as the most repeated word is love, I think it counts for this valentines playlist! To me, this reads as a regret, a fear that you never truly appreciated those around you who make your world full. Another line, “Came back that night and took my baby out the crib so I could hold him. I know it can all slip away slow, yo, you could lose it all in a moment.” This line to me indicates the lyricist has learned from their previous lack of investment, and it comes full circle to influence the way they interact with those they still can hold close, strengthening their bond knowing that nothing is permanent
– From the film “I Saw The TV Glow”, a 2024 film that highlights the trans experience, and showcases the dangers of denying something you know to be true to your full self. “It’s late enough to call it what it looks like. Are you waiting? Cause it feels like I’m waiting.” So much of the magic of lyrics comes from our own interpretation, and this line could read to me as two people dodging their feelings for one another, or from a perspective of self love, where someone is finally accepting their own identity.
EMMA’S RECS
“Tiny things” by Tiny Habits
– There’s love in everything and thus everything is love.
“Can You Tell” by Margo Guryan
– Unrequited love isn’t always a bad thing “because loving you the way I do / makes me feel good inside.”
ROSIE’S RECS
“I Just Wanna Stop” by The Jimmy Castor Bunch
– The Jimmy Castor Bunch always creates catchy songs that are just a little bit out of the box. I like how this song feels like a classic 70s R&B song with a little funky twist.
“Ndapandula” by Shishani and Namibian Tales
Shishani is an amazingly talented Namibian singer. I think her voice is nothing short of angelic. If you are in love, this is the song for you!
“Baby, I Needed You” by Shuggie Otis
This song speaks to the more complicated love feelings people may experience during Valentine’s day. Shuggie Otis never misses with a good melancholy funky lowkey number.
GALILEA’S RECS
- “Dazzle” by Siouxsie and the Banshees
Probably the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. A song not just about romance, but a love letter to the unbounded incandescence of the human spirit.
- “Jasmine and Rose” by Clan of Xymox
This one’s for all the goth lovers out there. I’m living vicariously through your relationship just so you know.
- “The Love” by Screaming for Emily
LONG LIVE DEATH ROCK!!!
RIO’S RECS
“Picture” by Feeble Little Horse
– In classic indie fashion, Picture has a warm feel, inducing hope through soothing sound and soft vocals. This song describes the fantasy of a future with one’s lover, “imagine me in the kitchen by the stove.” Nothing is more romantic than imagining the life you could have, the perfectness of an idea, of a person.
“Cupid Come” by My Bloody Valentine
– Descending the listener into an overwhelming bed of droning guitar and lulling vocals, Cupid Come is a song about lust, love, and longing. The song name begs for love to come, and lyrics like “Every time I look at you, Pins me to the ground,” convey the unexplainable feeling that is true longing and adoration. As you would expect from the band that pioneered shoegaze, this whole song feels like a dream, a single connected river of sound that sweeps you away through the ethereal feeling of love.
“Samson” by Regina Spektor
– To me, this song is perhaps the sweetest love ballad I have ever heard. This song reinterprets the biblical story of Samson, and while in the bible it is a story of betrayal, Spektor’s version is one of pure love. Warm and melancholic piano is paired with her gorgeous vocals, inevitably creating a picture of perfect love that will never come for the listener. This song is equally sad as it is beautiful, providing such a contrasting set of feelings that I can’t even explain it.
“You are my sweetest downfall.”
“On The Brightside, She Could Choke” by Fear Before the March of Flames
– As per the name, nothing is more emotional than emo and screamo music. With abrasive vocals, harsh guitar, and a perfect harmony of screaming and melodic singing, Fear Before The March Of Flames paints the visceral reality of love and the hatred it has the power to invoke. Departing from the sweet themes and sounds of classic Valentine’s day songs, this song is about the person that you love being in love with someone else. This love runs so deep that the only thing left to do is hate the love itself, and hate the suffering that unmet love causes. The words “I bet you love this don’t you,” are repeated over and over again, each time building in anger until it sounds as if the vocalist is on the verge of tears.
“Thrill Of The Hunt” by Kind of Like Spitting
– Entering into the realm of acoustic music, Kind of Like Spitting’s anguish filled vocals and healing piano create an upbeat yet melancholic song. Love, as it often is, is about understanding a person through and through, and this song comes through the eyes of someone who loves someone so deeply, but is saddened by their lover’s lack of self-love: “You’ll be nothing until you notice.”
“Song To The Siren” by This Mortal Coil
– Song to the Siren drowns the listener underwater, with atmospheric vocals and an almost aquatic bed of sound. A song of both infatuation and visceral danger, as it uses the metaphor of a Siren to convey the hypnotic and terrifying aspects of love. The lyrics describe a sailor in the ocean being lured to a rocky shore by a siren, so overwhelmed with love that he continues, despite being aware of his imminent death. This song emphasizes simplicity, using only synth and singing. Perhaps the most intensely sad yet hauntingly beautiful song ever made, this song continues to move my heart places that no other can. “Should I stand amid the breakers, or should lie with death, my bride?”
KAI’S RECS
“Feels So Good” – Bobby Harden & The Soulful Saints
– Some funky upbeat soul that sounds like it could’ve come from the 70s despite it releasing only in 2023. The song is about the singer expressing how they feel when they’re with their loved one, the singer “feeling so good” with that joy being perfectly captured in the song. The mix of brass, strings, background vocals, and Harden’s passionate vocals all complement each other and create an amazing sound
– It’s Daft Punk and it’s Discovery. That alone is enough to be said. The singer is expressing their wishes to be with someone, dreaming of them dancing side-by-side and having a good time, the vocalist longing to make this dream a reality. When paired with the animation of Interstella 5555, this song packs more emotion than you might think. Beyond the lyrics, the instrumental is a mix of electronic sounds that all come together to craft a dream-like sound that is still Daft Punk with the way it can make you move. Insanely good song!
“High School Love” – Charizma and PeanutButterWolf
– Early 90s upbeat hip-hop greatness. This song is about the joys and mishaps of having a high school crush, the singer talking about carrying her books and buying her items from the student store. Charizma’s flow and fun lyrics are complemented by PeanutButterWolf’s sample-rich and funky instrumentals. Both the vocals and instrumentals culminate to create some fun, funky 90s hip-hop to vibe to. Some seriously underappreciated work!
“The Perfect Drug” – Nine Inch Nails
– This is a bit of a stretch but I like Nine Inch Nails so it counts. This song, rather than be about love necessarily, is about addiction, the singer commenting on how the person, or thing, they’re addicted to causes everything to fall apart when they’re not with the singer, making them feel “hard” when they’re “all soft inside.” The person, or thing, being described is almost like their life-line, the singer relying on it like their life depended on it. Trent Reznor’s vocals are paired with a harsh, industrial soundscape with the ending section of the song being a harsh breakcore segment which sounds super cool. Also, this song is in Hi-Fi Rush which is a great game!