Post-Valentine’s Day angst is real. Everyone is in love and happy and goes out to nice Italian restaurants and it makes me sad. So here are some songs about when love isn’t perfect, because it’s not, and also all love songs are trash. Is it cliché for me to make a playlist of sad songs? Yes, but you know what, these songs are good so shut up and deal with it.
1) Awkward // FIDLAR
The title is pretty self-explanatory: you get worried that you’re going to do or say something stupid so you’re too scared to tell someone how you feel. “I take a beer and take another then I’m gonna call her / I’ll probably end up fuckin’ up and making’ it feel awkward.” This definitely resonates with me at most parties.
2) Eventually // Tame Impala
At a point where he knows he has to break up with his signif, the Tame Impala’s lead singer explains, “I know that I’ll be happier / And I know you will too…eventually.” The break between words seems to be said out of necessity and the realization that the happiness won’t come for awhile which fits with the mix between hard-hitting drums and soft synth throughout the song.
3) So Sad, So Sad // Varsity
Varsity’s beach-punk vibes and calm melody make for the perfect anti-Valentine’s Day song. The singer can “never walk away,” but can also “never make you stay.” The lyrics turn those easy vibes to desperate pleas for love, just like her own attempt to be collected while knowing that this emotion won’t leave her.
4) First Love / Late Spring // Mitski
Similar to Varsity’s beach-punk, Mitski’s alt-rock calmness translates to her own attempt to be still while facing a crisis of love. The song’s confusion of emotion speaks volumes to what to do with a “first love,” especially when she sings, “So please hurry leave me / I can’t breathe / Please don’t say you love me.” It’s beautiful and it’s incredibly sad and it’s artistic and it’s one of the reasons I love Mitski so much.
5) Lover Is A Day // Cuco
Two people who have changed and need to move on, but one person that really can’t. “My mind still says redundant things,” even when you know at heart that the love isn’t there any more. And then there are lines like, “Processing the information transferred from your mind to me at light speed like the Falcon from the original Star Wars trilogy,” that make you smile in the context of the song’s melancholy.
6) Birds Dont Sing // TV Girl
At the point in the playlist where I’m starting to feel like buying a pint of ice cream and breaking down in tears because the guy at the checkout line at Safeway didn’t smile back at me as I left, here’s a happier song about when love doesn’t work out. “Girls don’t call and they never tell you why / That’s just how they say goodbye,” are the lyrics overlaid onto a fun, swinging beat that makes you question whether this song is actually sad? But trust me, it is.
7) Funny Little Frog // Belle & Sebastian
This song is tricky because it starts off as a love song, but it ends with a realization that the girl he’s singing about isn’t really there. It’s so catchy and makes you want to sing out loud until you realize it’s underlying sadness that he’s alone and it’s all in his head. Quirky like most Belle & Sebastian songs, it’s a good mood-lifter as well.
8) You Make Me Wanna Die // The Shivas
At this point you’re thinking two things about me: I’m depressed and I really screw with beach punk. Well, I’m living my
best life and am not depressed but you’re right about the second thing. This song is the quintessential I-hate-happy-couples song and the-guy-I-like-doesn’t-love-me theme song. Slow and reminiscent of a 50s-era prom scene, this piece of music is perfect.
