Mood music: Tracking your Valentine’s Day


Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching, which means last-minute jewelry, chocolate and flower sales are most likely through the roof. Passive aggressive comments by boyfriends and girlfriends alike are being tossed across phone lines, and single people are sending “who needs a relationship when you have a …” Snapchats up the wazoo. Whether you’re nursing a broken heart, celebrating your singledom with a girl’s night/bro trip, spicing up an old relationship or honeymooning in a new one, there’s a playlist for you.

Wine connoisseurs could tell you exactly what glass of Pinot to pair with your dinner. Likewise, music connoisseurs could perfectly match a song to your personality. I, however, am neither, but I can combine the two and tell you what music to play during your Valentine’s plans.

While terms like “girl’s night” and “bro trip” may seem to be gendered, I use them only in their contextual sense. What I suggest for each is more-than-welcomed to be used by whichever gender if it fits the type of night they plan on having (if it doesn’t, I’m not going to show up at your place and berate you if you decide to listen to something I didn’t suggest).

It’s girl’s night; a night to be filled with ice cream, rom-coms, dancing about and pampering yourself. Maybe your group is looking for a distraction from loneliness or celebrating your single confidence, you need badass music. There’s the traditional route of Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson and Miranda Lambert, but punk pop is always an unexplored second. Put on some Tokyo Police Club, some Heartsrevolution and some Does It Offend You, Yeah? for the perfect mood to dance in your underwear with your best friends.

Or maybe you’re more of the bro-y type and your weekend plans consist of a front yard tailgate or an outdoor camping trip. Daytime means it’s time to break out the trip hop — Griz and Big Gigantic will soundtrack you through the beer guzzling and meat consuming day of vague emotional expression. For added fun, throw in some experimental hip hop in with Yung Lean, Death Grips, Milo and Captain Murphy. Then when the sun lowers and it’s time to pitch your tent, it’s also time to switch from beats to zen and rock. Violent Femmes mixed in with Washed Out for an upbeat but soft punk experience interspersed with electropop vibes.

If you and your sweetie have been dating for multiple years, Valentine’s Day may seem more like a routine than a holiday. You’ve got traditional plans of dinner and a movie or a stay-at-home Netflix binge fest. Either way, the right background music can remind both of you why you still let each other through the door. Your night’s recipe is Sufjan Stevens, Passenger, James Bay, Iron + Wine and Father John Misty to create the perfect acoustic soundtrack. You know each other like the Netflix homepage and you don’t need lyrics to speak for you, you need a singer’s emotion to back you.

Lastly comes the situation Hallmark invented Valentine’s Day for brand-new couples ready to make any income dispensable in the name of the color red and anatomically incorrect hearts. The mood should be set by The Belle Brigade, Matt Nathanson, Avalanche City and Alexander. Upbeat indie and pop artists to mimic the never-ending smile that significant other brings to your face.

And for those of you who have no specific plans, I recommend Cage the Elephant’s newest album, “Tell Me I’m Pretty” for the perfect read-as-much-into-it-as-you-want, universal background music.

Recommended Playlist:

“Cheer It On”

– Tokyo Police Club

“Kishi Kaisei”

– Heartsrevolution

“I Wanna Dance (But I Don’t Know How)”

– SKATERS

“Good Times Roll”

– Griz

“Sky High”

– Big Gigantic

“Sweet Louise”

– The Belle Brigade

“Run”

– Matt Nathanson

“A Million Years”

– Alexander

“To Be Alone With You”

– Sufjan Stevens

“Shape of Love”

– Passenger

Malorie McCall is a junior majoring in philosophy.  Her column “Mal’s Mix” runs on Fridays.